A tasty alternative...

...to the sweet potato casserole that graces so many tables this time of year are Sweet Potato Balls. My MIL and SILs tried {and shared} this recipe a few years ago, and it is truly delicious and delightful! We made them last year to complement our Thanksgiving dinner, and if we were cooking this year, I would definitely make them again. For those of you who might not like coconut how unfortunate for you, you could probably eliminate it and just roll in the cinnamon and sugar. However, I cannot endorse this method because I have never tried it.

Sweet Potato Balls

Ingredients
4 large sweet potatoes
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups shredded coconut, sweetened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large marshmallow per potato ball
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the potatoes until tender, then peel and mash them. Stir in the brown sugar, orange juice, zest and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, toss the coconut with the sugar and cinnamon. Press mashed potatoes around each marshmallow, creating a 2 to 3-inch diameter ball. Roll the balls in the coconut mixture. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully for the last few minutes of cooking; the expanding marshmallows can cause the potato balls to burst open.

(recipe and photo courtesy of Paul Deen, The Food Network)