I’m on a small team of people who run a food ministry in north Knoxville, Tennessee. Our friend Marci Villanueva created these cookies because we need to use up sweet potatoes stored in our freezers, but also because we wanted to provide dessert a little special for last Saturday’s free takeout lunch.
The sweet potatoes were gleaned from a North Carolina farm by Society of St. Andrew, which saves produce from being wasted by making sure it gets into the hands of the needy. (The Society’s website address is endhunger.org.) We used a lot of the sweet potatoes that were gifted to us to make casseroles for a free lunch at Magnolia Avenue United Methodist Church last January. We froze the rest, and now we need to find resourceful ways to share it.
Marci found a way to combine sweet potatoes with chocolate chips to make yummy cookies! The cookies feature a blend of spices but pack a punch of sweet potato taste. They were not only delicious, but I am pretty sure I just had my first taste of fall.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. allspice powder
1 egg
1 cup pureed sweet potato*
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and spices in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg, sweet potato, and vanilla. Mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment-covered baking sheets.
Bake 8-12 minutes, until cookie bottoms are lightly browned.
Serves about 36 cookies.
* May substitute canned pumpkin.
You may reach me directly at annettespence@holston.org.
The Call to Cook 
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
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