No Trick ~ Healthy Treats!

Elise, over at Simply Recipes recently shared a Cinnamon-Sugarversion of these baked sweet potato jack-o-lantern treats, and I knew I wanted to try them right away.
They are fairly easy to do, but just a bit timeconsuming ~ 

First of all, try to find uniformlycylindrical shaped sweet potatoes that are of a goodsized diameter.


Photo: Columbia University


Peel the potatoes and slice crossways into 1/4-inch thick slices.You can cut the pumpkin shapes out with apumpkin cookie cutter, but my pumpkin cookie cutterwas too large so I used an exact-o craft knife (a very sharp paring knife would work, too.)



Next you can cut shapes out to representeyes, nose and mouth*... make the expressions spooky and scary if you dare. 
I wanted gentle faces to please the youngest among us. :D
*You can skip this step if you want to,because it is fiddly work ~ and definitely bestleft to adults to do.



Lay the pumpkin cut-outs on a parchment (orsilicone-mat) lined baking sheet. Elise instructs tobake them (as is, no oil or butter)in a very hot oven for about 35 minutesuntil they are golden brown.

I did not want them to discolor much, so I brushedthem lightly on both sides with melted butter*, baked, uncovered for approximately5 to 10 minutes (until the bottom edges begin to bubble and become a little crisp.)  Then I loosely tented the pan with aluminum and baked them in a 375ºF oven, for about 10 minutes until the sweet potato cut-outs were tender, but still holding their shape.  Removethe aluminum foil and bake an additional 5 minutes if you would like the texture to be a bit firmer. The baking time will depend upon your oven, themoisture content and thickness of the sweet potatoes, so watch andadjust accordingly.
*(you can use your favorite oil if you prefer)





I would be perfectly happy serving them just likethis ~ but maybe your young ones would like thema little sweeter. In Elise's version, she instructs to dip them intomelted butter and then cinnamon sugar to coat.


 

 This version is  moist  and tender, easy for young ones to eat. I simply sprinkled cinnamon sugar over and placed them on a rack and allowedthem to set up a bit.  These are best served the day they are made.
If you want them drier and a little chewy, I suggestyou bake them in a hot 425ºF oven for longer, until they take on somecolor and dry out a little, then dip them in melted butter andthen cinnamon sugar, the way Elise suggested.

An 'almost' guilt free snack ~ I hope you enjoy !


Have a wonderful weekend, friends.
xo~mari

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