WWII Era Sweet Potatoes in Apple and Orange Cups

This recipe came from the book 250 Ways of Serving Potatoes (1941) by the Culinary Arts Institute. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are easy to grow and very filling. By the end of WWII, American farmers were growing 3 billion pounds of sweet potatoes a year!

250 ways is more ways than anyone needs to know, but this way sounded so interesting I knew I had to try it. I was not disappointed. I love the taste of sweet potatoes but we really only eat them "Thanksgiving style."

 If their sweet taste is not enough to entice you, sweet potatoes are highly nutritious. They are high in vitamin C, niacin, magnesium, manganese, antioxidants, fiber, and sporamin. Sporamin reportedly has anti-aging and cancer fighting properties. In fact, some of the oldest living humans ate sweet potatoes as 60% of their diets!

Sweet Potatoes in Apple Cups

- 4 Medium Sweet Potatoes
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 4 Red-skinned Baking Apples
- 4 Marshmallows

Boil sweet potatoes until soft then peel and mash. Add butter, salt, and sugar, mix and set aside. Core your apples, place apples in the nooks on a cupcake pan. Fill apples with sweet potato mixture and bake on 325℉ about 15 minutes or until the apples are soft. Remove from oven, top each apple with a marshmallow and return to the oven until the marshmallows brown. 

Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups 

- 2 Cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- 1/2 cup Orange Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 3 Large Oranges
- 6 Marshmallows, quartered

Boil sweet potatoes until soft then peel and mash. Cut each orange in half, juice, and remove the pulp. Add 1/2 cup of the juice, salt, and butter to the sweet potatoes and mix. Fill orange peels with the sweet potato mixture and top with marshmallow pieces.  Place oranges in the  nooks on a cupcake pan. Bake a 400℉ for about 15 minutes.



The orange was not bad but masked the flavor of the sweet potatoes too much for my preference but I could see it being a welcome change if you had a ton of sweet potatoes to eat. I very much liked the sweet potato in the apple. Maple syrup or honey would also be delicious substitutions in this. Hope you all enjoy!