Something Sweet and Just a Little bit Saucy.

So here we go. Sweet potatoes and bourbon. Something I know very little about. Especially bourbon.

But Bakerella had a recipe for Sweet Potato Bourbon Cupcakes and I decided to totally try something new. The recipes are on the bottom. She also topped them off with a Bourbon Glaze over the Vanilla glaze, but I omitted that. You can find the recipe for that on her page.

Here is what you'll need for the cupcakes.

 

 Butter, Sugar, Egg

 Sweet potato, vanilla. I used a caned pre-cooked sweet potato because I was not interested in waiting on cooking one myself, but you can cook one or two if you want. Bake it or boil it.

They came out nice and rounded, perfect for dipping them in the vanilla glaze I used as the icing. 

 Top them off with some pecans to make them look less boring.

 I am not going to lie to you, these were not as good as I thought they would be. (I prefer chocolate though.)

My husband on the other hand LOVED them. He liked them more than most of the desserts I have made. He even put some on a plate and brought them to my neighbors. Weirdest. Thing. Ever.

So they are good, just not MY favorites.

And the sweet potato makes them very moist.

Bourbon Sweet Potato Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup cooked sweet potatoes
1/3 cup bourbon

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line cupcake trays with 24 baking cups.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl.
• In another large mixing bowl, mix brown sugar, butter and eggs until fluffy.
• Add sweet potatoes and vanilla. Mix well.
• Add 1/3 of flour mixture to sugar mixture until combined. Add bourbon. Add second 1/3 of flour mixture. Add milk. Add final 1/3 flour mixture.
• Mix well with each addition.
• Fill baking cups.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.
• Cool completely.

Vanilla Glaze
2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 Tbsps milk

• In a medium bowl, mix sugar and butter. Add vanilla.
• Add milk 1 Tbsp at a time until you get the desired consistency. (Adding more milk will make it thinner.) Mix until smooth.
• Transfer glaze to a small, deep bowl and you can just dip the tops of your cupcakes in it.

Candied Pecans
sugar
water
pecan halves
spices of choice (like nutmeg or cinnamon)

• Add 2.5 time the amount of sugar to water in a pot. (I used 1/4 cup water for 1/2 cup pecans.)
• Add spices and bring to a boil.
• Add pecans. Simmer for about six minutes. Drain syrup off.
• Lay on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350 for between 8 to 10 minutes. 
• Sprinkle some extra sugar on top to make them prettier.
• Allow to dry completely.
• Note: These rocked! They can be made by themselves and served as a sweet snack