We grew up eating this dish for every Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. It is so sweetly delicious and very filling, almost like eating pie. It reminds me of Ruth’s Chris sweet potato side dish if you’ve had a chance to eat there. I like that this is one side I can make for Thanksgiving dinner ahead of time and even freeze if need be.

Recipe

For the Filling

10 medium or 6 large sweet potatoes

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

4 eggs

4 tablespoons cream or milk

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Score the sweet potatoes with a fork or knife. Place on rimmed baking sheet and bake until soft at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. Let cool slightly so you can handle them without burning yourself. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Remove skins from the potatoes and place in large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and whip with a hand held mixer. Place in a 9×13 baking dish.

For the Topping

In a large bowl place 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, 1 stick of cold butter (1/2 cup), 6 tablespoons flour and cut the butter into the sugar and flour. Add 3/4 cup chopped pecans to the bowl and toss until incorporated. Sprinkle on top of the sweet potatoes.

At this point you can cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for a day or in the freezer for up to a month.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm.