Yummy Healthy Cupcakes

I admit that I love to eat dessert, but I don't eat it everyday the unhealthy way.  Over the years I have found different ways of tweaking recipes to make them healthy and tasty.  There were times in the past when some things did not turn out so good and I would be the only one who ate it.  This doesn't happen very often now.

I found this cupcake recipe in a Kentucky Living magazine.  (Wow, I can't believe I live in Kentucky and not Georgia!  I like it though:)

I made these Sweet Potato Cupcakes when we had company over last week and they liked them...she even asked for the recipe!  And they had organic sweet potatoes in them and sucanat instead of white sugar!  I made the icing from scratch in two batches, one dairy free batch for me.

You have got to try these!

Sweet Potato Cupcakes 1C all-purpose flour       (I used freshly ground whole wheat)              1 tsp baking powder 1/4tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon Pinch salt 1/2 C butter, softened  3/4 csucanat 2 medium eggs 1C cooked and mashed sweet potatoes 1/4 tsp vanilla extract Extra ground cinnamon (for frosting) Preheat oven to 350°. In mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and set aside, Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes; add eggs one at a time, beating on low after each addi­tion, then add sweet potato and vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until combined. Spoon batter into baking cups. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool before frosting. Recipe doubles easily. Makes 12 cupcakes.

robert and cindy bradley are Licking Valley Rural Electric Co-op members who live and farm on 275 acres in Morgan County not far from the devastation of last spring's tornado. Like many in eastern Kentucky, they grow tobacco, along with beef cattle and large gardens, because Cindy, shown, does "a of canning."

Several years ago, the Bradleys joined the East Kentucky Sweet Potato Growers' Association to

experiment with a crop that could augment their income without requiring expen­sive startup equipment or lots of labor. Kentucky studies show that farmers can earn up to $7,000 an acre growing sweet potatoes.

This year the Bradleys planted 10,000 sweet potato plants, digging them out in mid-August, a month earlier than usual. Cindy says they'll probably plant more next year. "They are really easy" to grow.

Shelf stability was an advantage that appealed to transitioning tobacco growers in the sweet potato project. Once sweet potatoes are cured, they can be stored fo

or sweet corn.

The Bradleys haven't experienced the long-storage qualities, however. Cindy says their potatoes sell out in a month or less.

But Cindy holds some back for holiday baking for herself and others. She bakes "cakes, pies, muffins, cookies, anything sweet," she says. She also makes cas­seroles, and twice-baked sweet potatoes (mixing the flesh with brown sugar, butter, coconut, and topping with marshmallows).

Her cupcakes are moist and addictive.

SARAH FRITSCHNER coordinates Louisville Farm to Table, a program bringing more Kentucky-grown food into local homes, restaurants, and institutions.

See "Cooking Tips" online at www. KentuckyLiving.com. See page 6 for how to submit your recipe. Win $25 if published.

WWW.KENTUCKYLIVING.COM  •  DECEMBER  2012