Sweet Potato Au Gratins

I love sweet potatoes, especially this time of the year. They are so tasty and good for you. When I found a recipe for mini sweet potato au gratins on a bountiful kitchen I knew I had to try it out. They were absolutely delicious and looked adorable. Below is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds small sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced *
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or rosemary, divided

1 cup (4 oz.) freshly shredded mozzarella or Gruyere cheese, divided*
2/3 cup heavy cream 

1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Garnish: fresh thyme or rosemary

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Layer half of sweet potatoes in a lightly greased 12-cup muffin pan. Sprinkle with a light layer of salt.  Then sprinkle with 1 1/2 tsp. thyme and 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining sweet potatoes. (Potatoes should come slightly above the rim of each cup.) 

Microwave cream, next 3 ingredients, and remaining 1/2 tsp. thyme or rosemary at HIGH 1 minute. Pour cream mixture into muffin cups (about 1 Tbsp. per cup).

It should look like this

 

Bake at 350°, covered with aluminum foil, 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly golden.
Let stand 5 minutes. Run a sharp knife around rim of each cup, and lift potato stacks from cups using a spoon or thin spatula. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish, if desired.

This is what they looked like finished

Tips:
-Try to buy potatoes that are no larger than about 2 inches wide. When sliced these fit nicely into the muffin tins. Stagger the slices as you stack to get a fully formed stack. Is you are unable to find long, slim sweet potatoes or yams, use a wider potato and cut the slice in half.
-I prefer to use a sweet potato or yam that is orange in color, not the whiter type sweet potato.
-Make sure to stack the potatoes about 1/2 inch above the rim if you want  a nice stack, the potatoes will shrink during baking.
-I like this recipe with thyme, rosemary or sage.
-You can make as appetizers by halving the recipe or using a mini muffin pan.
-Also if you are adventurous you could add a little cayenne pepper and brown sugar to the potatoes to increase the flavor




Enjoy!