⅔cupwhipping cream, half-and-half, or milkoptional
Topping
1cupchopped pecans
¾cupfirmly packed brown sugar
¼cupbutter
Instructions
Prepare the Sweet Potatoes
Poke holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork. Microwave them on high until they are soft. In my microwave, this takes about 25 minutes for this many potatoes (but that will vary by machine). You can also bake them or boil them if you prefer.
Once cooked, cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the insides.
Discard the skins and put the sweet potato pulp in the mixing bowl.
Melt ⅔ cup butter and add it to the bowl.
Add 1¼ cups brown sugar, 4 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon to the mixing bowl.
Mix until the sweet potatoes are smooth.
If you are using whipping cream, stir it into the sweet potato mixture by hand.
Spread in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
Make the Topping
Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a small bowl.
Combine all of the topping ingredients (pecans, 3/4 cup brown sugar and the melted butter) in a medium-sized bowl.
Sprinkle over top of the sweet potato mixture in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high heat in the slow cooker for 3 hours.
Notes
You can also boil or bake the sweet potatoes if you prefer, but I think microwaving them is the easiest and fastest way to get them ready.
I like to use slow cooker liners in my crock pot. They make clean up so much easier!
You can also bake this recipe. Just spread the mixture out in a 9" x 13" pan and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
To make the casserole a day ahead of time, prepare the sweet potatoes and the topping separately, but don't put the topping on yet. When you are ready to cook it, add the topping just before you turn on the slow cooker. If the casserole is cold (ie. it came straight out of the refrigerator), cook in the crock pot for an additional 30 minutes.
Substitutons:
Substitute 2 29-ounce cans of sweet potatoes for the fresh if you prefer. I find it's a little runnier but it still tastes great.
Use half-and-half or milk instead of the whipping cream. Or eliminate the dairy altogether. It will be a little less creamy, but still delicious
Reduce the amount of brown sugar if you don't like your sweet potato casserole to be as sweet.