Newton Citizen

Start to finish: 1 hour and 10 minutes

3 cups of sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed

Three eggs, beaten

One and half sticks of butter (half stick melted and full stick chopped)

1 tablespoon of vanilla

1/3 cup of flour

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup pecans, chopped

Mix together mashed potatoes, eggs, half stick of melted butter, and vanilla.

Pour batter into buttered casserole dish.

Topping instructions:

Mix together in a bowl one stick of butter, flour, brown sugar and pecans. Mixture will be crumbly.

Drop mixture on top of casserole until it forms a crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, until lightly browned on top.

Tip: Boil the potatoes and peel them the night before serving to save some time on preparation.

You can’t have Thanksgiving dinner without turkey. And you certainly can’t have Thanksgiving dinner and turkey without the sweet potato casserole either. So, this week we will feature a family recipe for sweet potato casserole submitted by Barbara Knowles.

Barbara, who is the Newton Citizen news editor, has been with the paper for more than 25 years. She has covered all kinds of beats, but one of my favorites is the “On the Beat” feature, brief recaps of crimes in the area. She knows how to pick the most bizarre crimes to highlight and it’s an entertaining read.

Barbara’s sweet potato casserole recipe came from her mother. She said that she liked this version of the casserole because “it didn’t have all that gunk in it, like raisins and marshmallows.”

When Barbara’s mom stopped cooking, Barbara’s daughter Amy starting cooking it for Thanksgiving and has been doing so for about 10 years now. As a matter of fact, Amy and her husband and son will be traveling out of town for the holiday and she will be making the casserole while in Washington, D.C. for her sister-in-law and family.

I loved this recipe for two reasons. It was very easy and it wasn’t uber-sweet like some casseroles turn out to be.

It was my first time ever making sweet potato casserole. I personally love the marshmallows all over the top of the casserole and I didn’t think I’d ever really like one without it, but this family recipe changed my mind.

I asked Barbara what it is that she cooks on Thanksgiving. She laughed and said, “Nothing, if I can help it.” But then she fessed up and told me she makes green beans, deviled eggs and squash casserole.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you have a recipe idea, email julie.wells@rockdalecitizen.com.