Twice-Baked Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

If you're bored with sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, here's an interesting twist on the classic sweet potato side dish for Thanksgiving.  I personally like sweet potatoes that are seasoned more on the salty side; so you get that sweet and salty combo.  Like sweet potato fries, I feel there's no need to add cinnamon or sugar or marshmallows.  So when I came across this recipe 5 years ago, I knew I had to try it.  It's been very yummy and I've brought it to my family's Thanksgiving twice now.

I came across this recipe of all places in the Bryan, TX electric's quarterly mailer, the "Texas Co-Op Power" November 2010 edition.

Twice-Baked Chipotle Sweet Potaotes

Ingredients

• 6 medium sweet potatoes (try picking rounder shaped sweet potatoes of similar sizes)
• olive oil
• 8 oz. goat cheese, softened (cream cheese may be substituted)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 c. cilantro, minced
• 2 tbs. butter, softened
• 1 chipotle pepper from can, minced
• 1/4 c. adobe sauce from canned chipotle

Directions

1. Scrub sweet potatoes and dry thoroughly.  Rub skins with olive oil.  Wrap individually and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until soft.  Allow to cool before handling.
2. Mix rest of ingredients in large mixing bowl.  Cut potatoes in half and carefully remove inner flesh, reserving about 1/4" border from the skins.  The skin is much more delicate than a regular potato, so be careful not to tear the skin!  Using a masher or mixer, combine the goat cheese and sweet potatoes.
3. Fill each potato with the mixture with a spoon, or for a fancier presentation, use a pastry bag with a star tip.
4. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until tops browned and potatoes warmed through.