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