Sweet potato dish with pretzels and cranberries.

So I’ve been holding onto a recipe for weeks now, just waiting for Thanksgiving to roll around and provide the perfect opportunity to make a new sweet potato casserole. I found original recipe here on the Taste of Home website, and I only tweaked it slightly {less sugar & butter} to make it a little less guilt-filled. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this recipe was SO good!

I even ate the leftovers for two extra days & loved it each time. The pretzels add a great salty contrast to the sweet potatoes, and the cranberries {on my word, the cranberries!} were the perfect ingredient to put this dish over the top. I used fresh cranberries, and I recommend using fresh. It was the first time I’ve cooked with fresh cranberries & it was a breeze {plus the whole bag was only $0.99 at Aldi…score!} I love this dish & it will definitely become an annual must at Thanksgiving for me.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pretzel & Cranberry Topping

• 2 cups chopped pretzel rods {about 13}
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup fresh cranberries {I think I’ll add more next year because I loved them so much!}
• 1 cup packed brown sugar for the topping {and a small handful for the potatoes}
• 3/4 cup butter, melted, {1/2 cup for topping, 1/4 cup for potatoes}
• 2 1/2 lbs fresh sweet potatoes {recipe says you can use 1 can  sweet potatoes, drained, but fresh’s much better in my opinion}
• 1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, since I used fresh potatoes, we had to peel, dice & boil them until they were soft {fell off a fork inserted into the middle of them}. Thanks to my brother-in-law, Dale {aka BUD}, for chopping them for me!

Then, I enlisted my hubby to crush my pretzel rods. {I was in a delegating mood apparently.}

 

Just placed them in a zip lock baggie & used a rolling pin to smash them into small chunks.

 

Meanwhile, I diced the pecans & rinsed the cranberries.

Then, in a large bowl, I combined the pretzel pieces, brown sugar, cranberries, pecans & 1/2 cup of melted butter.

 

Stir until it’s mixed well.

Shortly after this, your potatoes should be soft, so you’ll want to drain them & mash them. {I prefer the ol’ fashioned method.}

Into my sweet potato pan, I added the evaporated milk, vanilla, and a small handful of brown sugar. {I didn’t do as much sugar as the original recipe called for because I prefer my sweet potatoes to taste more like a side, rather than a dessert….just my preference.}

 

See, just a bit of brown sugar to sweeten them…

 

Then you add your 1/4 cup of butter, and honestly, I bet you could skip this step and it’d still taste just as good.

Once you’ve whipped/smashed the mixture together, add it to your greased 2 quart baking dish, and smooth the top.

Now’s time to add the topping {if you can get your sister to stop picking out the brown sugar-covered cranberries…it was a challenge for me!}

 

Here’s a close-up of the topping. YUMMM.

Pop it in the oven at 350 uncovered, & bake it for 30 minutes {the edges will be bubbly when it’s done.}

The recipe says it makes 10-12 servings – perfect for a holiday dinner! 

Oh so delish!