Sweetie's Sweet Potato Casserole

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Chef and restaurateur Kelsey Barnard Clark shares her great-grandmother's Thanksgiving recipe.

Kelsey Barnard Clark

Published on October 19, 2021

Sweetie’s Sweet Potato Casserole — Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Cook Time:

15 mins

Active Time:

25 mins

Cool Time:

10 mins

Bake Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 10 mins

Servings:

Thanksgiving has never been a sit-down affair for chef and restaurateur Kelsey Barnard Clark. When she was growing up in Dothan, Alabama, her parents owned a beach house on the state's Gulf Coast, where both sides of the family would meet up on the holiday weekend. "We didn't set a table. Instead, about 30 of us would eat on paper plates with our legs dangling off a dock," Clark says. "It was a loud, casual, fun, and absolutely magical potluck."

The undisputed star of the show? Sweetie's Sweet Potato Casserole, named after Mildred Rayford Buckhaults, who was called Sweetie by her family (including her great-granddaughter Kelsey Barnard Clark). "My great-grandmother made this every year, and we have all carried on the tradition. It actually tastes of sweet potatoes and is speckled with orange throughout—a refreshing contrast to the very sugary, more processed versions that many in the South typically dote on," says Clark.

Read more about Clark's Thanksgiving traditions and her family matriarchs here.

Ingredients

4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 8 medium potatoes), peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 ½ teaspoons grated orange zest plus ½ cup fresh juice (from 1 large orange)
½ cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for baking dish
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups pecan halves, toasted and chopped
20 marshmallows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 13- x 9-inch baking dish, and set aside.
Place sweet potato chunks in a large pot, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander, and let cool 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir together orange zest and juice in a small bowl. Stir in melted butter until combined.
Stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a separate small bowl.
Arrange half of the sweet potato chunks in an even layer in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar mixture, and drizzle with half of the butter mixture. Sprinkle with half of the toasted pecans. Repeat process with remaining sweet potatoes, brown sugar mixture, butter mixture, and toasted pecans. Top evenly with marshmallows.
Bake in preheated oven until marshmallows are golden and casserole is bubbling around edges, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Sweetie's Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients

Directions

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