Pinterest and Sweet Potato Pie Dip

2014 was my year of Pinterest!  This pin was the basis for building a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in our house. We now have a shelf behind our sofa in our small living room because I saw this pin.  I brought a cheesy, gooey Jalapeno Popper dip for a Christmas Eve appetizer thanks to this pin. I used the recipe for a tart, sweet, and spicy Jalapeno Cranberry dip on this pin for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and again for New Year’s. Last night, I made a creamy Sweet Potato Pie dip because I thankfully pinned this a while back.

I’m blogging about the Sweet Potato Pie dip because it is definitely a keeper, I want to make a minor adjustment to the original recipe, and family members who sampled it last night asked for the recipe AND suggested alternate uses for leftovers, which I want to share here.

Dip:
1 (8-oz) block of cream cheese, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
2 Tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Graham crackers or ginger snaps

Pecan Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup dry oatmeal
1/2 cup chopped pecans

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. When oven is ready, bake the sweet potatoes until they are fork-tender.
3. Mix together the cream cheese and brown sugar. Add the mashed sweet potatoes, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. I used a food processor to get the consistency nice and smooth.
4. Mix together all the ingredients of the pecan topping. I added oatmeal to the recipe because when I made it according to the original recipe (without oatmeal), the butter pooled on the top. Adding the oatmeal will give the dip a crisp-like feel and will eliminate butter pooling.
5. Sprinkle the topping on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes and serve with graham crackers and/or ginger snaps.

This dip was so good that by the time I remembered to take a photo for the blog, we had it 1/4 eaten!

For leftovers (if you  have any) or if you just want a twist, this would make a classy dessert served in nice glasses decorated with a cookie dipped onto the top. You could also add a dollop of real whipping cream or ice cream on top.

Pinterest treated me well in 2014. Hoping 2015 brings the same type of success!