I distinctly remember the first time I had this dish. We had Thanksgiving Dinner at my Grandma Hoffman’s house, which wasn’t something we did very often. I didn’t see her much as I was growing up, actually. Grandma lived, for as long as I can remember, with her “spinster” sister Ella Mae, a.k.a. Aunt Mae.
What I remember most about this pile of deliciousness on my plate is that I didn’t know what it was! I guess sweet potatoes weren’t part of our traditional Thanksgiving at that point. I remember asking my mom for some more of that “pumpkin pie”, and then being so confused when we finished dinner and the real pumpkin pie was served!
I’ve tried other recipes for sweet potato casserole in the past, and I know that I don’t care, at all, for the ones that include orange juice or orange zest. As I get older, I feel like this recipe might be a tad too sweet, and I do plan to cut a little sugar this year just to see what happens, but I’ll post the original “Aunt Mae” recipe right here!
Oh, one more note–Aunt Mae’s recipe says that she uses canned yams, mashed, with some syrup to thin the mixture. I’ve always done it this way, until last year, when I baked my own sweet potatoes. Y-U-M!! I recommend it! 😉
Aunt Mae’s Sweet Potato Casserole
- 3 cups cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ½ cup milk
- 1.2 Tablespoon vanilla
Mix all together in a large bowl
Pour into a 9×11 casserole dish
Topping
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1/3 cup flour
Mix all together and sprinkle on top of potato mixture.
Bake at 350F for 35 minutes
