Hey ya’ll! It has been way too long since I have posted. I have been in full on Holiday Mode since Thanksgiving. I am sure many of you can relate to that! Buying presents, gift wrapping, decorating, cooking and baking…like, I think we have earned a glass or bottle of wine by now. Amirite?

There is one thing on the list of holiday to-do’s that I typically don’t do much, and that is baking. It is not that I am necessarily a “bad” baker. I just tend to steer clear. Partly because I enjoy cooking (and eating) meals rather than baked treats, and it is a tad less precise than baking. But mostly, I am just not a confident baker! There. I said it. In my mind, you are either a good cook or an excellent baker and not many can do both well. Please tell me I am not alone in thinking this? So, even though baking is kind of unknown territory for me, I decided to just wing it.

I was already making my Papa’s camp potatoes for our Thanksgiving feast, so I wanted to bring something sweet too. I opted for a very simple recipe, yet a slight twist on classic sweet potato casserole: Sweet Potato Marshmallow Bars! And honestly ya’ll, they turned out pretty great! Read on to see how I made them.

Sweet Potato Marshmallow Bars 1 1/2 cup pureed sweet potatoes 1 cup unsalted butter, melted 4 eggs 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups granulated sugar 3 cups all purpose flour 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350º and lightly coat a baking dish with cooking spray. I combined all of my “wet” ingredients first. Add the pureed sweet potatoes, eggs, butter and vanilla extract to a mixer and blend well.

Next, stir the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and ginger into a separate bowl. With the mixer on, fold in the dry ingredients slowly until a smooth consistency is formed.

Look at that beautiful orange batter! Yum. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Once done, remove the baking dish from the oven and top off the sweet potato bars with mini marshmallows. Pop the bars back into the oven for a minute or so until the marshmallows turn golden brown.

Warning! Keep a close eye on your mallows. I’m gonna be real…I completely burned the marshmallows to a flaming crisp the first time I did this. Luckily, I was able to remove the burnt marshmallows in one solid piece and I had another bag. Second time is the charm!

Let the bars cool completely and cut them into squares.

Despite the marshmallow snafu, the sweet potato marshmallow bars turned out delicious! The sugary marshmallows pair so well with the warmth of the cinnamon and ginger, and I like that they have a thicker consistency rather than the souffle texture of a typical sweet potato casserole.

Give these a go at your next holiday party! Hopefully without almost burning the house down like me.

Happy Holidays!