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Marshmallow Sweets
Boil the sweet potatoes with jackets on; when tender, peel, mash and season with pinch salt. Place a layer of them in a greased baking dish, sprinkle liberally with brown sugar, then a layer of canned sliced peaches. Repeat with another layer of each, placing marshmallows on top. Sprinkle the marshmallows with cocoanut, and brown in the oven with the ham.
A sweet potato casserole built to share oven space with a baking ham, which is the only clue the original gives about heat and timing.
- Oven temperature"Brown in the oven with the ham" gives no figure; a ham was commonly baked somewhere around 325-350F, so assume that. Everything in the dish is already cooked, so you are only heating through and toasting the top. The recipe puts the marshmallows on before it goes in; if you prefer, heat the layers through for 20-25 minutes and add the topping only for the last few minutes.
- Watch the marshmallowsThis is the hinge. Marshmallows go from pale to scorched in under two minutes at the end, and the coconut burns faster still. Add them for the last stretch only and stay at the oven door.
- CocoanutPeriod spelling for coconut, and in a book of this vintage it means dried shredded or flaked coconut, which could be either sweetened or unsweetened. Unsweetened flake works better here given the brown sugar and syrup already in the dish.
- Canned peachesDrain the slices well or the layers turn watery. Two 15-oz cans of sliced peaches in juice or light syrup suit a 2-quart dish; heavy syrup makes the whole thing cloying.
- QuantitiesNone are given. About 3 lb of sweet potatoes, 1/2 to 3/4 cup packed brown sugar spread across the two layers, and a 10-oz bag of marshmallows fills a 2-quart baking dish and serves eight; a 9x13 pan is larger and will want proportionally more.
- Boiling in the jacketsCooking the potatoes whole and unpeeled keeps them from waterlogging, and the skins slip off easily while hot. Allow 35-45 minutes for medium potatoes; a paring knife should meet no resistance at the center.
- Make-aheadAssemble the potato and peach layers a day early and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before baking, and hold back the marshmallows and coconut until the final minutes.