Mexican Candied Sweet Potato & Yucatan Style Sweet Potato and Coconut Candy

5 from 1 vote

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Candied Sweet Potato

Yes, I know that it’s August and many of you don’t even think about cooking sweet potatoes until mid-October, but sweet potatoes are good for you any time of the year, so here you have two new recipes to enjoy sweet potatoes with! Surprisingly, it’s almost the end of August and we haven’t had a day over 90 degrees in weeks here in the DC metro. In fact, there are some days that I need a light sweater to go out in the morning! This cooler weather has made our afternoon coffee more enjoyable, and we can try some warmer desserts like these sweet potato candies (we usually like having our coffee with sweet bread or cookies). We always have sweet potatoes on hand at home, and ever since I learned of their health benefits in my nutrition classes, they’ve been a common staple in my kitchen.

Sweet potatoes work so great in everyday cooking because of their versatility: you can prepare them baked, mashed, steamed, pureed, roasted, and even grilled. You can also use them in both sweet and savory dishes; I sometimes use them to replace potatoes in my picadillo recipe.

Camotes Enmielados-Mexican Candied Sweet Potatoes

DIRECTIONS:

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• Rinse your sweet potatoes under running water. Place the whole sweet potatoes in a large enough saucepan and add the piloncillo, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water. (Please check the ingredients list below)
• Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 25 minutes; they will be tender on the outside but firm in the center. Pierce with a knife to taste for doneness.
• Once cooked, cut the sweet potatoes in half and serve covered with the syrup. You can enjoy it in a bowl of milk for breakfast.

Sweet Potato Dessert Yucatan Style – Atropellado de Camote y Coco

DIRECTIONS:

• Place Sweet Potatoes in a pot large enough to fit them, and add just enough water to cover the sweet potatoes. Cook on medium-high heat, and place the lid on top when the water starts boiling. (Please check the ingredients list below)
• While the sweet potatoes are cooking, place the shredded coconut and coconut milk in a bowl.
• Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, set aside until they’re cool enough to handle.
• Remove sweet potatoes and place in a colander over a large bowl.

• Mash the sweet potatoes, passing them through a metal mesh strainer to get a very fine pulp.
• Add the sugar and the shredded coconut/milk mix and stir well.
• Place this mixture in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir frequently to avoid it from sticking to the bottom. It will take about 13-15 minutes to form a homogenous puree. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Serve in small cups, garnish with shredded coconut, and dust with the ground cinnamon.

candied sweet potato & yucatan style sweet potato and coconut candy

sweet potato is good for you any time of the year, so here you have two new recipes to enjoy sweet potatoes with! Surprisingly, it’s almost the end of August and we haven’t had a day over 90 degrees in weeks here in the DC metro.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Antojitos

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 4 - 4

Calories: 202kcal

Author: Mely Martínez - Mexico in my Kitchen

Ingredients

Camotes Enmielados-Mexican Candied Sweet Potatoes

• 2 Medium-sized sweet potatoes about 1 lb
• 1 Cup of water
• 1/2 of cinnamon stick
• 8 oz Piloncillo Raw sugar cane cone or brown sugar

Sweet Potato Dessert Yucatan Style – Atropellado de Camote y Coco

• 2 Medium size sweet potatoes about 1 lb
• 1/2 cup Coconut milk
• 3/4 cup Sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Mexican Candied Sweet Potatoes

• Rinse your sweet potatoes under running water. Place the whole sweet potatoes in a large enough saucepan and add the piloncillo, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water.
• Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 25 minutes; they will be tender on the outside but firm in the center. Pierce with a knife to taste for doneness.
• Once cooked, cut the sweet potatoes in half and serve covered with the syrup. You can enjoy it in a bowl of milk for breakfast.

Sweet Potato Dessert Yucatan Style

• Place Sweet Potatoes in a pot large enough to fit them, and add just enough water to cover the sweet potatoes. Cook on medium-high heat, and place the lid on top when the water starts boiling. Total cooking time will be about 25-30 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender.
• While the sweet potatoes are cooking, place the shredded coconut and coconut milk in a bowl, to tenderizes the coconut.
• Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, set aside until they’re cool enough to handle.
• Remove sweet potatoes and place in a colander over a large bowl.
• Mash the sweet potatoes, passing them through a metal mesh strainer to get a very fine pulp.
• Add the sugar and the shredded coconut/milk mix and stir well.
• Place this mixture in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir frequently to avoid it from sticking to the bottom. It will take about 13-15 minutes to form a homogenous puree. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Serve in small cups, garnish with shredded coconut, and dust with the ground cinnamon.

Notes

• The piloncillo will become a thick syrup with the water, so be careful handling it since it reaches high temperatures. You don’t need to peel the sweet potato since you can also eat the peel (and it’s also full of fiber).
• Some versions of this candy make the sweet potato and coconut mix a little drier and then form small balls with it, like the picture above. Other recipes even add gelatin to shape the candy into small cubes.

Tried this recipe?Mention @Mexicoinmykitchen or tag #Mexicoinmykitchen!

Nutrition

Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Sodium: 3mg | Sugar: 48g | Calcium: 1.6% | Iron: 2.4%