Sweet Potato Pecan Bars

Since I've made lot of pumpkin this fall I thought I would give the sweet potato the limelight for a change. Sweet potatoes seem to be a staple here in the Deep South yet I live in a suburb that's a complete melting pot of the entire country or so it seems. When you think of a sweet potato what comes to mind? I'm sure you think of maybe Thanksgiving, Grandma’s cooking or maybe a BBQ restaurant. Well, that’s true for me as well but every once in awhile I'm reminded of something my Mother said just once about sweet potatoes increasing your likelihood of fertility and that you could have a higher chance of having twins or greater. I would just like to state that I was 10 when she said that :) Mother of course was pages deep into her new favorite natural health book at the time and with any new exciting thing you've just got to share it! Those words have stayed with me for years now. I remember watching the lovely serving dish with sweet potato souffle being passed around my Grandmother's table at Thanksgiving that year and wanting to avoid like plague! Now I knew better then to think that's where babies came from yet my Mother never mentioned how long the effects good last. And mind you I thought one day when I got married I did not want to have so many sweet potatoes in me that I had six or more babies all at once! Go ahead and have a laugh on me I already have! May you have a truly blessed  Thanksgiving.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp butter, softened
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ⅔ cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tbsp finely chopped toasted pecans
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes ( I used canned yams for this part instead)
• ¼ cup dairy sour cream
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1½ tsp all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ⅓ cup milk
• ½ cup chopped toasted pecans

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl stir together the butter and the 2 tbsp sugar. Stir in cracker crumbs and 2 tbsp pecans. Press onto bottom of a lightly greased square or round baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
• For filling, in a medium bowl stir together egg, mashed sweet potatoes and sour cream. Stir in the ¼ cup sugar, the flour and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. Stir in milk. Pour sweet potato mixture evenly over crust. Bake at 350° about 25 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with remaining chopped nuts; press lightly into filling. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack; chill. Cut into bars. Cover ans store in refrigerator up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month. publix recipe makes 16 bars