Recipe - Orange and Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Some may think that the bird is the main show of Thanksgiving but I think it's the side dishes that make you give in and forget all about any diets. As you start to gather recipes together, consider these delicious orange and maple whipped sweet potatoes. They are creamy and light but bold in flavor (and in my opinion, better than a typical mashed sweet potatoes dish). I normally have a Test Kitchen recipe posted on Tuesdays but knowing that the holidays are upon us, I predicted not being able to prepare something in time. However, Savory Spice Shop had me covered because they have recipes posted online for all to try. This particular recipe for sweet potatoes requires just a handful of ingredients too so it's simple. I appreciate the way the orange zest (we used a navel orange)gives a unique pop to the dish. If you want the full recipe on their site, it's available here. Ingredients and directions below are by their instructions online.

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 6 servings)

• 6 large sweet potatoes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup pure maple sugar
• juice and grated zest of ½ orange
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tsp Marrakech Moroccan Spice*

Step 2: Prepping the sweet potatoes
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse and scrub sweet potatoes. Poke a few holes in each with a fork and rub each lightly with oil. Place on a large foil-lined baking sheet and bake until easily pierced through with a knife, about 45 minutes. (While I waited for them to bake, I prepped the other ingredients.) Remove from oven and let cool until comfortable to handle. Peel off skins and slice flesh directly into the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. (I used a hand mixer since I didn't have an electric mixer to use.)


Step 3: Finishing
Add remaining ingredients and whisk at medium speed, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary, until smooth. Transfer to a large baking dish and serve or cover and place in a warm oven until ready to serve.


They also have suggested examples of alternative spice blends to use when making this dish such as Bucktown Brown Mustard & Honey Ham Rub, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Garam Masala, Park Hill Maple & Spice Pepper or Brown Sugar & Spice Honey Ham Rub.

*Their notes on this spice blend: "We handcraft this ras el hanout from cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, mace, white pepper, galangal, black and green cardamom, ginger, anise, allspice, rose petals, cloves, lavender, orris root and cayenne. Marrakech, one of our curry style blends, joins Ras el Hanout, Tan-Tan Moroccan and Harissa to give you a nice selection of Moroccan spice mixtures."

Photography by Duc Duong.

This post was sponsored by Savory Spice Shop who provided us with the spices necessary to prepare this recipe.