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With gooey marshmallows hidden inside warmly spiced cookie dough, you can think of these Sweet Potato Cookies as sweet potato casserole in dessert form. A unique cookie everyone is sure to love!
When it comes to sweet potatoes and dessert, most people immediately think of sweet potato pie. But there are so many other tasty ways to incorporate sweet potatoes into dessert, like sweet potato cake, maple sweet potato bread, and these irresistible marshmallow stuffed sweet potato cookies. They’re an unexpected treat that’s sure to receive all the compliments!
Why These Sweet Potato Cookies Have Become a Favorite
- Unique & different. Don’t get me wrong, I love my classics, like chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. But sometimes it’s fun to just mix things up and try something new and unexpected, like turning mashed sweet potatoes into an irresistible cookie!
- Marshmallow filling. Perhaps my favorite part of these sweet potato cookies is the secret marshmallow filling. Sweet potatoes and marshmallows go together so perfectly in sweet potato casserole so why not in cookies too?!
- Soft, chewy, & warmly spiced. These cookies are basically sweet potato casserole in cookie form, with the warm spices and marshmallow. The sweet potatoes add extra moisture to the dough, making the cookies themselves soft and chewy.
Recipe Ingredients
These cookies are made with sweet potato (of course), marshmallows, and baking staples. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- All-purpose flour – I used the spoon and level technique to accurately measure the flour then sifted it to ensure there were no clumps.
- Baking soda – Helps the cookies rise and adds a chewy texture.
- Salt – Helps to enhance the other flavors.
- Butter – Be sure to use unsalted butter. It’s browned in the first step of the recipe and then should cool and congeal before adding to the dough.
- Dark brown sugar – In a pinch, light brown sugar would also work but the rich molasses flavor really enhances the overall taste of the cookies.
- Eggs – Bring them to room temperature ahead of time.
- Sweet potato – If you are able, use a fresh sweet potato. It costs less, takes about 5 minutes to cook and tastes better!
- Vanilla
- Spices – Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves give these cookies a warm flavor.
- Marshmallows – Add a gooey surprise to the center of the cookies.
- White sugar – Mixed with cinnamon to make cinnamon sugar for rolling the cookie dough balls.
How To Make Sweet Potato Cookies
While these cookies require a few extra steps, they’re worth every second! Remember to leave plenty of time for the dough to chill. The printable instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
- Brown the butter. Melt the butter over medium heat. Once it simmers, stir continuously until it turns amber and brown specks appear at the bottom of the skillet. Transfer the butter and brown pecks to a bowl. Refrigerate until it congeals.
- Cook the potato. Rinse the sweet potato. Poke several holes, then microwave on high for 4 minutes, flipping halfway. Check if it’s fork-tender. If not, microwave for an additional minute. Let cool, then cut open and mash.
- Make the batter. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, congealed butter, a Tablespoon of cinnamon, the spices, and vanilla on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until creamed and fluffy. Mix in the mashed sweet potato and eggs then stir in the flour mixture with a sturdy spoon.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.
- Shape the dough. Scoop 1 Tablespoon of dough. Make a deep indentation, add ½ of a marshmallow, and use your hands to fully cover the marshmallow with the dough. Roll in cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing them 3 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake for 9-11 minutes. The edges should be set and the center puffed up. Cool fully on the baking sheet before removing them.
Tips & Variations
Here are a few tricks I’ve found useful when making these marshmallow stuffed sweet potato cookies.
- Freeze the dough. If you are impatient and want to get baking sooner, freeze the dough for 15-30 minutes or just until the dough is stiff, but not frozen. This dramatically speeds up the process.
- Cool the browned butter. Make sure the browned butter is congealed and not still in the liquid state. You also don’t want it to be fully cold again so that it’s stiff. To speed things up, I put the butter in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until it had just set.
- Reshape the cookies. If the marshmallow tries to escape the cookie while baking, you can use a knife to gently try and reshape the cookie. However, do it when the cookie is 75% cooled, or the marshmallow and cookie will stick to the knife and the cookie could fall apart.
- Variations. Feel free to add in some chocolate chips, raisins, chopped pecans or anything else you prefer to the batter. You can substitute pumpkin puree for the sweet potato puree.
Proper Storage
- Room temperature. Store sweet potato cookies in an airtight container on the counter. They’re best enjoyed within 3-4 days.
- Freezer. Once cool, transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe container or ziploc bag. Freeze for 2-3 months. Thaw on the counter and enjoy.
Sweet Potato Cookies
With gooey marshmallows hidden inside warmly spiced cookie dough, you can think of these Sweet Potato Cookies as sweet potato casserole in dessert form. A unique cookie everyone is sure to love!
Servings: 32 cookies
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour spooned, leveled and sifted
- 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, browned, cooled and congealed
- 2 cups dark brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sweet potato cooked and mashed
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon + 2 teaspoons, divided
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- 22 large marshmallows
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
Instructions
- Cut the butter into smaller pieces and add to small skillet.
- Melt the butter over medium heat while stirring often. Once the butter starts to simmer, stir continuously until the butter turns amber-colored, translucent and you’ll see brown flecks appear at the bottom of the skillet. Once those specks are brown, remove the skillet from the heat and pour the melted butter, plus all the brown specks into a heat-safe, small bowl. Put the butter in the refrigerator until it returns to solid but still in a softened state.
- While the butter congeals, add the flour, baking soda and salt to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Take the raw sweet potato and wash it off. Poke several small holes into it, then place it on a plate and microwave on high for 4 minutes, flipping it over at the 2 minute mark. Test the potato with a fork and see if it’s cooked through and tender. If not, microwave for 1 minute at a time until it is cooked through. Remove and set aside to cool. Once cool, cut it open, mash the potato with a fork and scoop out ½ cup.
- In a mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, congealed browned butter, 1 Tablespoon cinnamon and the rest of the spices as well as the vanilla. Mix at medium speed until creamed and is nice and fluffy. Approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cooled, mashed sweet potato and the eggs. Mix until fully combined.
- Add in the flour mixture and mix with a sturdy spoon, or clean hands, until it’s well combined. Do not over mix the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a smaller bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or so, so the dough can stiffen.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the ½ cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to a small bowl. Stir to combine, then set aside.
- Use a 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop to grab the dough. Make a deep indentation into the dough, then place ½ of a large marshmallow deep into the hole.
- Release the dough from the cookie scoop and use your hands to fully cover the marshmallow with the dough.
- Roll the dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, placing each doughball 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the center is puffed up and the edges of the cookie are set.
- Remove the cookies and allow them to fully cool on the baking sheet before removing them.
- Enjoy!
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Nutrition
Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 138mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 488IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
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