Saturday, November 3, 2012

Recipe: My Delicious Holiday Yam Squares Make Thanksgiving More Festive!


If you never tried preparing yams or sweet potatoes now is the time to see how wonderfully versatile they can be as a part of your Thanksgiving dinner.  With the same combination of spices, these vegetables are famous in this recipe for imitating pumpkin pie!

But, the only way you are going to believe how identically they compare to pumpkin is to personally put this to your own taste test.  So, I challenge you to bake my Delicious Holiday Yam Squares and trick your guests by telling them you are serving pumpkin pie squares.

At this time of year, yams or sweet potatoes also have another important advantage over pumpkin.  When you compare the cost of canned pumpkin, buying a few fresh ones for a recipe is a real bargain.

Therefore, have some fun this Thanksgiving and make the "switch" from traditional pumpkin pie and be prepared to chuckle when no one can catch on to your little deception.  Your family and friends will be glad you did!

However, if you have your heart set on your favorite homemade pumpkin pie, then you can  prepare fresh yams or sweet potatoes in the same way in substitution of pumpkin.  Follow your usual pumpkin pie recipe and no one will notice.  I promise!

My Delicious Holiday Yam Squares

Crust:

1 cup of unsifted flour
1/2 cup of quick oats, uncooked
1/2 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup of margarine (not spread)

Filling:

2 cups of cooked, mashed yams or sweet potatoes
1 can (13-ounce) of evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

Topping:

1 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of margarine (not spread)
2 tablespoons of flour


To Make Your Crust:

Cut in the margarine with the crust ingredients until the  mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Press into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and bake in a 375-degree oven for about 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. 

You will be preparing the filling as the crust bakes.

Next, you reduce the oven temperature to 350-degrees.


To Prepare Your Filling:

Combine all the filling ingredients and beat with your electric mixer until well mixed. 

Pour this beaten filling mixture in your baked crust.

Bake at 350-degree temperature for 15-20 minutes or until this mixture is set.

As the filling mixture is baking, you will be working on preparing the topping.


To Make Your Topping:

Combine the topping ingredients with a fork until crumbly.  After the filling is set, sprinkle this topping over it and continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the topping is a deep golden color.

ENJOY!