It’s finally the Christmas season and I am ready to celebrate! In fact, we’ve been decking the halls all week long. 
But before we celebrate Christmas, oh yes, the Christmas party season has begun. So what should I bring when feasting among friends? Do I use this opportunity for bringing tried and true recipes? Or use the lucky party-goers as my guinea pigs? 
Rule #354 for party guests, by Emily Post: Always test food on unsuspecting friends when no one knows what you brought. A wise woman 😉 Luckily for me, I got some very good reviews. Even more lucky, I received a couple of diverse opinions for how to make it more appealing to people that like their holiday cheer to include a little more junk food. I am more than happy to comply, and after the great feedback, this recipe is a crowd-pleaser for anyone.
Vegan/Paleo: Omit the goat cheese and replace with more coconut yogurt (or keep in if you only omit cow dairy since goats are primal).
Vegetarian: Make as is.
Holiday party/junk food lovers: Stuff in pastry dough instead of the sweet potato skin for a great appetizer, aka sweet potato pastry bites. These are pretty amazing and got 5 stars from the testers. 
The best part of this recipe is you can actually make a couple of versions and decide what you like best with minimal effort. For me, I like this recipe “as is” since sweet potato skins are good for you, goat cheese and sweet potato go really well together, and its just yum! I admit, my tongue has been numb all night since I don’t eat pastry dough. It’s much more processed than I’m used to…I haven’t baked with white flour for about a year. But I had to try my junk food version. Stay tuned for January when I start coming out with raw foods recipes to make up for the month of indulgence. Until then, you know my philosophies of food! Eat what you enjoy! Unless that’s processed food, then we need to talk. EAT. REAL. FOOD. So how does it taste you ask? Mmmmm. The goat cheese melts in your mouth. Combine that with the candied pecans and a spoonful of sweet potato and that hint of garlic. Ooo lala! Heaven!
Ingredients
- 7 sweet potatoes (depending on size)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 8 oz package of goat cheese (chèvre)
- 3 tbsp yogurt
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp ginger
- dash of clove (to taste)
- pinch of salt (to taste)
- Candied Pecans (If you don't want to make your own, these are really tasty!)
- Dried cranberries (optional)
- Use puff pastry dough instead of putting the filling back in the sweet potato skins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven for 350°F
- Rub the 2 tbsp coconut oil on the sweet potato skins, cover
- Bake sweet potatoes for 1 hr and 30 minutes (the higher the heat the faster they cook, however, coconut oil should not be exposed to high heat)
- Slice the potatoes in half once cooked
- Take the sweet potato flesh and mash with the ingredients above, but save 2-4 oz of goat cheese for the topping
- OR
- Cut pastry dough into squares, put squares in a muffin pan to create a small pastry bowl
- Spoon the filling in each square and top with around a tsp of goat cheese
- Bake for about 25 minutes at 350°F
- Once baked, top with candied pecans.
Once in squares, put them in a muffin pan, or mini muffin tin if you want to be really cute. 
Fill a spoonful or two of the sweet potato filling and top with the 2 oz of goat cheese that’s leftover. 
Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F or until brown. Top with a pecan and sprinkle some dried cranberries for color. 
So, I have a question for all of you, what’s the most memorable holiday party you’ve been to? I have to say, my friend throws a pretty killer party. She put a melting snowman in her bathtub. So cute! My church also throws an awesome party. My husband and I were going to our usual Sunday service and didn’t realize they had moved the service up by an hour for a Christmas party. There were llamas and sledding in Southern California that night. P.S. The title picture was taken with my friend’s DSLR camera, not my usual iPhone. Mad skills, right!?
