Sweet Potato Cookies (Malawian Mbatata)

Malawian mbatata are cookies made with sweet potatoes making them a healthier alternative to your everyday cookies. The sweet potato adds a lovely moisture to the final product along with sweetness. Malawi is known as the warm heart of Africa so I made them in the shape of a heart to represent that lovely aspect to our Malawian meal. They received that name because of the people, super friendly with warm hearts. A nice reputation to have indeed. Sweet potatoes are grown in many subsistence farms and they also use the leaves to make sauces to go with the national dish called nsima which is a corn based porridge. Poverty is a way of life for most Malawians. Often times nsima may be the only meal of the day.

1 cup sweet potato, mashed
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
¼ cup milk
1 egg
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 tsp. baking powder
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup raisins

Preheat an oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5).

The sweet potatoes should be peeled, cut up and put into boiling water for about 20 minutes or until fork tender and then mashed with a fork or potato masher.

Mix sweet potatoes milk, egg, and melted butter in a bowl and beat together. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Alternatively you can chill the dough for an hour and roll out on a floured surface.

Use a heart shaped cookie cutter and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

You can garnish with some cinnamon and sugar if desired. Serve warm.

Makes 24.