Friday

No Trick ~ Healthy Treats!



Elise, over at Simply Recipes recently shared a Cinnamon-Sugar
version of these baked sweet potato jack-o-lantern treats, 
and I knew I wanted to try them right away.

They are fairly easy to do, but just a bit time
consuming ~ 


First of all, try to find uniformly
cylindrical shaped sweet potatoes that are of a good
sized diameter.



Photo: Columbia University



Peel the potatoes and slice crossways into
 1/4-inch thick slices.
You can cut the pumpkin shapes out with a
pumpkin cookie cutter, but my pumpkin cookie cutter
was too large so I used an exact-o craft knife 
(a very sharp paring knife would work, too.)




Next you can cut shapes out to represent
eyes, nose and mouth*... 
make the expressions spooky and scary if you dare. 

I wanted gentle faces to please the youngest among us. :D

*You can skip this step if you want to,
because it is fiddly work ~ and definitely best
left to adults to do.




Lay the pumpkin cut-outs on a parchment (or
silicone-mat) lined baking sheet. Elise instructs to
bake them (as is, no oil or butter)
in a very hot oven for about 35 minutes
until they are golden brown.


I did not want them to discolor much, so I brushed
them lightly on both sides with melted butter*, baked, uncovered for approximately
5 to 10 minutes (until the bottom edges begin to bubble and become a little crisp.)
  Then I loosely tented the pan with aluminum and baked 
them in a 375ºF oven, for about 10 minutes until the sweet potato 
cut-outs were tender, but still holding their shape.  Remove
the aluminum foil and bake an additional 5 minutes if you would like the texture 
to be a bit firmer. The baking time will depend upon your oven, the
moisture content and thickness of the sweet potatoes, so watch and
adjust accordingly.

*(you can use your favorite oil if you prefer)






I would be perfectly happy serving them just like
this ~ but maybe your young ones would like them
a little sweeter. In Elise's version, she instructs to dip them into
melted butter and then cinnamon sugar to coat.



 


 
This version is  moist  and tender, easy for young ones to eat.
 I simply sprinkled cinnamon sugar over and placed them on a rack and allowed
them to set up a bit.  These are best served the day they are made.

If you want them drier and a little chewy, I suggest
you bake them in a hot 425ºF oven for longer, until they take on some
color and dry out a little, then dip them in melted butter and
then cinnamon sugar, the way Elise suggested.


An 'almost' guilt free snack ~ I hope you enjoy !



Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

xo~mari





14 comments:

  1. Mari~ What ADORABLE JOL sweet potato chips! It must have taken you a while to carve their happy faces with a knife but what a fun Halloween treat and result! I love these!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Mary! I'm still swooning over your apple week creations ~ every single recipe you posted is calling my name. :)

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  2. These are just too cute. What a great idea and perfect for Halloween. I make baked sweet potato fries all the time but these would be so much fun to serve when guests come over for dinner before taking the kids out for trick-or-treating. I love this idea. I'm definitely making these even if my kids are now 24 and 27. They'll love them too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Vicki! Oh, there is still a mommy of a 5-year-old in me... my son is all grown up, too. :) Thank you for your sweet comments!

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  3. vegetable cookies, WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TOO! how would i know says the little piggie...

    so cute!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I tell you --- I would gladly give these up for any one of the apple recipes you've shared this week (especially those little pies a la mode!)
      Yikes those look sooo delicious...

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  4. I think you are the Queen of Cuteness..
    I would love these served to me:)
    You would have been a hit last night..had 3 of the alphas for a sleepover:)
    I think I would have seen even more twinkles in their eyses with these.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, how fun for you (and the alphabet boys!) It's so good that they live close by, you're able to create memories every day. :)
      Thank you for your sweet comments!

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  5. I need to make these for my grandson.
    His mom feeds him sweet potatoes, but no sugar.
    How fun and what a good idea for all kinds of shapes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marilyn! I hope your grandson (and his mom) approve(s). Cutting them into different shapes is brilliant!
      Thank you for coming by. ((hugs))

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  6. Oh boy these are just the cutest little things i have ever seen! I would be delighted to have one of these served to me...even though I am grown up, I too still have the Mommy of a 5 year old inside me! Love them! Adorable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Linda! Isn't it amazing how we never forget how it feels to be a mom of the young ones we've raised? I wish I had taken even MORE time to enjoy it as it was happening, it seems to have zipped by in a flash!

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  7. So stinking cute and I will surprise Joe with them on Halloween! xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Debbie ~ aw, thank you! That's high praise coming from you (you, the one who has shared with us soo many CUTE ideas through the years!) I can't wait to see your 'take' on them. :D

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Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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