Updated 10/1/2016
Start your holiday morning with these sweet potato pancakes topped with toasted marshmallows and candied walnuts.
Are you ready for the holidays? Me too. Make sure you’ve got stretchy pants ready—these pancakes are worth it. This recipe is inspired by a Cooking Channel idea from Tori and Dean: serving sweet potatoes as individual pancakes topped with toasted marshmallows. I loved the concept but preferred a flavor profile closer to sweet potato pie, so I adapted the recipe and added candied walnuts and maple syrup.
I used classic sweet potato pie seasonings—cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup—plus a touch of vanilla and butter-flavor extract. Nutmeg is optional; a pinch would work well if you like it.
Because mashed sweet potato makes the batter thicker and softer, full-size pancakes took longer to cook and were fragile to flip. To avoid that, I made silver-dollar–sized pancakes. They cook faster, flip easily, and develop crisp edges with a tender, fluffy center.
If you’d like a simple candied walnut recipe, you can search for one (for example, Dawn’s candied walnuts on AllRecipes). Below is the adapted recipe and instructions for the pancakes with marshmallows and candied walnuts.
Sweet Potato Maple Pie Pancakes With Candied Walnuts and Marshmallows
April Boller Wright
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 tablespoons melted and 2 tablespoons cold
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup whole milk or more if batter is too thick
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs separated
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp butter flavor extract
- 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
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Poke small holes all over the sweet potato and bake for about an hour, until tender. Let it cool slightly, then peel and mash the flesh in a large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons melted butter, the flour, sugar, salt, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and butter extracts, milk, cinnamon, and the egg yolks. Stir until the mixture is smooth. If the batter is too thick, add a little more milk to reach a scoopable consistency.
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In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the sweet potato batter using a rubber spatula to keep the mixture light and airy.
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Melt 1 tablespoon of the cold butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use half of a 1/4-cup measure (or slightly more) to scoop silver-dollar–sized portions of batter into the hot pan. Cook 1–2 minutes per side until golden, then transfer cooked pancakes to a warm oven to keep them hot while you finish the batch. Repeat, adding more butter as needed.
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To toast the marshmallows: line a baking sheet with parchment, spread the mini marshmallows in a single layer, and place them in the 350°F oven for 1–2 minutes, watching closely until they are lightly toasted. Remove immediately to avoid burning. Alternatively, assemble pancakes with marshmallows between layers and place briefly in the oven so the marshmallows melt between the pancakes.
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Assemble stacks of pancakes, placing toasted or melted marshmallows between and on top. Sprinkle with candied walnuts and drizzle with maple syrup. Serve immediately while warm.
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