Yummy Yam Cookies (Sweet Potato or Yam Cookies)

Blackberry Pie Murder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

## Ingredients

* 1/2 cup ***(1 stick, 8 Tablespoons, 4 ounces)*** salted butter, softened
* 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 2 large eggs
* 4 teaspoons baking powder ***(that's 1 Tablespoon and 1 teaspoon)***
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg ***(freshly grated is best)***
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon lemon zest ***(zest is the yellow part of the lemon peel, finely grated)***
* 1 and 1/4 cups mashed yams or sweet potatoes ***(You can buy these in the produce department, cook, peel, and mash your own OR use canned yams that you drain, pat dry, and mash.)***
* 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 1/4 cup chopped dried papaya ***(If you can't find this in your store, you can substitute chopped and dried almost anything -- I've used chopped and dried dates, chopped and dried apricots, and chopped and dried candied ginger -- all were delicious.)***
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans
* Approximately 30 marshmallows, cut in half horizontally. ***(I used kitchen scissors dipped in water to cut these.)***

## Directions

**Hannah's 1st Note: This is much easier if you use an electric mixer, but you can also mix up the cookie dough by hand.**

* In a medium-sized bowl, beat the softened butter and the brown sugar together until they are light and fluffy.
* Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing them in thoroughly.
* Mix in the baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Beat until everything is well blended.
* Mix in the lemon zest.
* Once your yams or sweet potatoes are mashed, measure out one and a quarter cups. Add them to your mixing bowl and blend them in.
* Add the flour a half-cup at a time, mixing after each addition.
* Mix in the dried papaya and the half-cup of chopped pecans.
* If the cookie dough is too sticky to work with, cover it with a piece of plastic wrap, pressing it down around the dough itself, and refrigerate it for one hour. ***(Overnight is fine, too.)***

**Hannah's 2nd Note: If you decided to refrigerate your dough, don't forget to shut off your oven and preheat it again right before you take your chilled cookie dough out of the refrigerator.**

* Prepare your cookie sheets by spraying them with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray or lining them with parchment paper and spraying that.
* Drop the cookie dough by rounded Tablespoon onto the cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a sheet. ***(Lisa and I use a 2-Tablespoon scooper down at The Cookie Jar when we make these.)***
* Use the back of a small spoon or your impeccably clean thumb to make an indentation in the center of each dough mound.
* Press a half-marshmallow, cut side down, into the indentation.
* Bake the Yummy Yam Cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the side of the cookie feels firm when lightly touched with a fingertip.
* Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: Approximately 5 dozen soft and tasty cookies, depending on cookie size.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: Andrea say Tracey's friends love these because of the marshmallows and they don't realize they're eating vegetables that are good for them.**