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With all those mouths to feed, it’s hard to find a recipe that fits everyone.
One kid always wants sweet foods. Another likes foods crunchy and salty. And the hubs wants dinner to be savory and filling.
I found the perfect combination to satisfy everyone’s picky palate…
Maple, Bacon, and Sweet Potatoes!
These Maple Bacon Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes have something for everyone in the family; the rich sweetness of the maple, the creamy texture of the whipped sweet potato filling, and the salty crunch of the bacon. Sounds perfect for an Autumn dinner side dish, doesn’t it? Here’s how to make it…
Maple Bacon Twice Baked Sweet Potato Recipe
Ingredients:
- 4 large sweet potatoes
- 4 tsp. olive oil or coconut oil
- 8-12 pieces of Jimmy Dean® Hickory Smoked Bacon
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 4 T. butter
- 2 T. maple syrup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
If you haven’t noticed yet, Jimmy Dean® now offers premium bacon. I picked up some Jimmy Dean® Hickory Smoked Bacon at my local Walmart to try out.
But the Applewood Smoked Bacon would work for this recipe, too.
How to Make Bacon in the Oven:
I always cook bacon in the oven. It’s way easier than standing over a hot pan and less messy, too. Of course, the Jimmy Dean® Hickory Smoked Bacon and Applewood Smoked Bacon are flavorful as-is, but I added some brown sugar and cayenne pepper to it before baking to make it sweet for this sweet potato recipe.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. (This makes for very easy cleanup!)
Lay bacon out flat on your prepared pan.
Combine brown sugar and cayenne pepper, then sprinkle about half the mixture over the bacon.
Bake for 20 minutes in a 400℉ oven. Do not preheat the oven first.
After bacon is done and cooled a bit, remove from the pan, and chop bacon into small bite size pieces.
My kids and husband love when I make bacon like this. They call it “Candy Bacon!”
Now, on to the twice baked sweet potatoes.
How to Make the Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes:
Preheat oven to 375℉.
Scrub potatoes well with a produce brush, wipe dry.
Coat potatoes in olive oil or coconut oil and sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt.
Bake for 1 hour right on oven rack or on a baking sheet.
Remove sweet potatoes from oven, and allow to cool until they can be handled.
Cut a slit into each potato, 1” away from one end to 1” away from the other. Squeeze ends toward the center a bit to open up potatoes.
Use a spoon to carefully remove the soft potato inside each potato. Make sure to leave about a ½” of potato inside, though, so the potato skins stay together.
Add soft potato “insides”, cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, and the remaining brown sugar/cayenne pepper mixture to a bowl and mix. An electric mixer or stand-mixer will whip it up nice, but a handheld potato masher could do the trick, too.
Set a 1/2 cup or so of the chopped bacon aside to sprinkle on the top, then mix the rest of the #JimmyDeanBacon into the whipped sweet potato mixture with a spatula.
Fill each potato “shell” back up with some of the whipped potato mixture, then sprinkle with a bit more coarse sea salt.
Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Sprinkle top with additional chopped bacon, before you serve and enjoy!
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Maple Bacon Twice-Baked Sweet Potato Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For Maple Bacon:
- 1 pound thick-cut bacon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For Maple Bacon Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes:
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 4 teaspoons olive oil (or coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
To Make Maple Bacon:
- Arrange 1 pound thick-cut bacon, flat and close together, on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan.
- Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper to a small mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture evenly over the bacon on the pan. Set other half of brown sugar mixture aside.
- Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, or until bacon is cooked through and crispy on the edges.
- Allow bacon to cool at room temperature, to touch, before removing from pan and chopping into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
To Make Maple Bacon Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes:
- Add 4 sweet potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Pour 4 teaspoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt on them and turn them until evenly coated.
- Arrange potatoes on parchment paper-lined sheet pan, then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to sit at room temperature until cool enough to touch.
- Cut a slit across the top of each potato, then squeeze the ends toward the center to open the potatoes. Use a spoon to carefully hollow out each potato by removing most of the soft potato inside, leaving the potato skin and around 1/4-1/2 inch of potato intact. Reserve soft potato in mixing bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup cream cheese, 4 tablespoons salted butter, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and remaining brown sugar mixture to the soft potatoes in the mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer (or potato masher) to mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined and fluffy.
- Set 1/2 cup of bacon pieces aside. Add remaining bacon pieces to potato mixture, then use a spatula to fold the mixture until combined.
- Use a spoon to fill each potato skin shell with potato mixture. Sprinkle with a bit more sea salt, then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of bacon pieces on the top of the potatoes before serving.
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Ashley Grant says
I’m not all that in to sweet potatoes, but I’m certainly going to try the candy bacon. Oh my word! How have I never thought to add brown sugar while cooking?!? Looks damn tasty!
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
Oh, it’s life changing!
Susan says
Whoa this looks awesome, must try it!
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
Let me know if you do!