golden yam brownies

I stumbled upon this recipe a few weeks ago. I don't know why it struck my fancy, but it did. There's not even any chocolate in the entire recipe. Usually, if there's no chocolate, I don't waste my time. Still, I knew I just had bake these brownies.

And by the way, are they really brownies if there's no chocolate? I say no. Brownies with no chocolate are called blondies, right?

And the yams in this recipe are not really yams. They're sweet potatoes. {For some interesting facts about yams and sweet potatoes and why we get them mixed up, read this. I actually learned a thing or two.}

And the sweet potatoes are not golden. They're orange. So maybe the golden in the title is referring to the final product. The brownie/blondie. They did turn out to be kind of golden in color after baking.

Whatever you call them, I made them. Four times in eight days. That's right, people. Four times. You're welcome, Judy, Dave, Dan, Kris, Jarrett, Danny, Cate, Emo, Carolyn, Kathy and Candis. Did I miss anyone?

my dutiful little "helpers"

Golden Yam Brownies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled and finely shredded yam

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the batter, just until blended. Fold in the shredded yam. Spread the batter into the greased baking dish.

Bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Mix the powdered sugar, butter and milk until smooth. Spread over the brownies while they are still warm. They will absorb some of the glaze. Serve warm or hot.

My changes to make these "brownies" even better:

Increase the flour to 2 cups.
Increase the baking powder to 2 teaspoons.
Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg.
Add 1 cup of raisins.
Bake 35-40 minutes.

I made these in the 9x13 baking dish and in muffin pans. I preferred the muffin style. Almost everyone else preferred the rectangle style. When I made the muffins, I let them cool before spreading the frosting on top. I liked them better that way too.

And next time I'm going to add chopped walnuts or pecans.

And some chocolate chips.

And call it Golden Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Raisin Nut Cake. It just rolls of the tongue, doesn't it?

Yum.