Sweet Potato Crunch Cookies

Did you say marshmallow glaze?

Skip to Recipe

As much as I love sweet potato casserole, even I have to admit it’s basically dessert that’s just pretending to be a holiday side. So this year, I’m turning it into one. Rolled in pecans and dark brown sugar and drizzled with marshmallow glaze, these sweet potato crunch cookies are the essence of sweet potato casserole, but in a portable, snackable form.

Many cookies made with pumpkin or sweet potato fall into the “cakey” cookie category because of the extra moisture from the squash. While there’s certainly a time and place for a cakey cookie, I wanted a chewier, flatter result here: something that would lend itself to that crunch. Eliminating the egg white helps prevent extra puffiness, and using only baking soda (as opposed to any baking powder) encourages the cookies to spread outward instead of up. Also (fun fact), the baking soda encourages browning, which helps the cookies gain that sweet potato color.

This recipe calls for ½ cup cooked sweet potato. While you could get that in just a few minutes by microwaving a sweet potato or even just popping open a can, I highly recommend taking the extra time to roast that sweet potato. Without getting too much in the scientific weeds, roasting extracts more flavor from the sweet potato because its slower cooking time allows for more of the starches to convert to sugars. This is helpful to keep in mind even when you’re simply cooking sweet potatoes for meal prep, but in a baking recipe where you’re especially seeking out that maximum sweetness, it’s especially important.

These sweet potato cookies are great fresh, but they will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. They might lose some of their crunch, but what they lose in texture they’ll gain in flavor. The cookie dough will also keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, and you can even portion and roll balls (without the crunch coating) and freeze them in an airtight bag for up to 1 month.

Enjoy!

---

Sweet Potato Crunch Cookies

(Makes 18-20 cookies)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Mix and bake time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Cookies

½ cup (1 stick, 113 g.) unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup (50 g.) granulated sugar

½ tsp. kosher salt (I used Diamond Crystal)

¾ cup (150 g.) dark brown sugar, divided

1 large egg yolk

½ cup cooked sweet potato (from one roasted 8-oz. sweet potato)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. baking soda

1 ½ (180 g.) all-purpose flour

⅔ cup raw unsalted pecans, chopped (a mix of fine and a few rougher chunks is nice)

Marshmallow Drizzle

4 tbsp, (1/2 stick, 57 g.) unsalted butter

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup (120 g.) confectioners’ sugar

¼ tsp. kosher salt (I used Diamond Crystal)

2 tbsp. heavy cream

Equipment: 2 large baking sheets, parchment paper, large bowl, hand mixer, rubber spatula, small pot

Instructions

Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, rack in the center position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together butter, granulated sugar, kosher salt, and ½ cup (100 g.) dark brown sugar until creamy and combined. Add egg yolk, roasted sweet potato, vanilla, and nutmeg and beat until incorporated.

3. Add baking soda and beat 45 seconds longer. Add flour and mix until just combined (batter might seem oddly stretchy, but don’t worry; it will be fine).

4. In a small bowl, mix together chopped pecans and remaining dark brown sugar.

5. Scoop cookie dough into balls about 1 oz or 2 tablespoons in size. Roll in the sugar pecan mixture. Arrange balls on baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Using clean fingers, press down lightly to flatten balls into rounds about ½ inch tall.

6. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until set on the outside and also set in the center, 12-14 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet before making the marshmallow drizzle.

Marshmallow Drizzle

1. In a small pot, melt butter. Add marshmallows and stir until melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in salt, then add confectioners sugar and heavy cream and stir until a thick drizzle-able glaze forms.

2. Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over cookies. (Keep pot over low heat to prevent glaze from solidifying.) Let sit for 5 minutes to let glaze harden.

 Originally posted November 22, 2025.