Sweet Potato Pie Fries - My Alexia Foods "Reinvent a Classic" Final Submission!

Have you ever tried waiting for marshmallows to get stale?

It takes longer than watching water boil.

It takes longer than the time I usually need in-between laundry loads to rejuvenate my laundry-doing determination (2.5 weeks).

It takes longer than the frequency with which I shave my legs (no comment).  (Joanne.  You're supposed to wait until AFTER you have a boyfriend to get so lax about such things.  TSK TSK.)

It takes longer than you (or I) can even imagine! 




Meaning I have no idea how long it takes.  Because I gave up a few weeks into the waiting game.  Told my roommate's mom, who was visiting at the time, that she could go ahead and eat the entire damn baking pan of them if she wanted to cause I never wanted to see their ugly powdery faces again! 

And never looked back.



You see, almost as soon as I agreed to participate in the Alexia Foods "Reinvent a Classic" french fry creation competition, I thought it would be super cute to do a sweet potato pie dessert fry.  A fry replete with marshmallow, graham cracker, cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg deliciousness.

But how to get those marshmallows into the mix?  That was the question.

I had this genius idea (or so I thought at the time) to pour a whole bag of mini marshmallows onto a baking sheet and let them sit on my kitchen table for weeks.  And weeks.  And weeks.  With the hope that they would harden enough that I could throw them in a food processor and blast them to smithereens (finely ground powder). 

You should know that in New York City humidity, marshmallows will never harden when you want them to.  Lesson learned.

Onto plan B.  Wait.  Do we have a plan B? 

Well, we didn't at first.  Until Sophie started moaning about how she couldn't stop eating the vanilla meringues that her mom had brought her.

And the rest, my friends, is history.

Those meringues had exactly the consistency I was looking for the "never-staling" marshmallows to take on.  As well as a delicious vanilla flavor.  So into the food processor they went, along with graham crackers, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch of salt. 

And there you have it.  Sweet potato pie seasoning.  Perfect for a sweet potato pie fry.



I'll be honest, I truly didn't want these to win.  But at my taste testing party...it was kind of unanimous.

And when you get five MD/PhD students, three medical students, and a philosopher to agree on something.  You kind of just have to go with it.

These fries are the perfect dessert (or after school/after work/after running practice snack) because they are sweet without being too sweet.  Just indulgent enough to satisfy that dessert craving, but also a fairly healthy treat when all is said and done. 

And if you're like me, the kind of person who craves sweet potato pie (and Thanksgiving in general) at all hours of the day.  Every day.  Ever and anon.  Then these are the perfect way to get your fix without having to worry about how much your hips or your thighs or your skinny jeans are going to hate you the next day.

Utterly addictive, in the most delicious sense of the word.



Sweet Potato Pie Fries
Serves 4-5, an Eats Well With Others Original


1 bag Alexia Sweet Potato Fries (or 2-3 sweet potatoes, cut into fry shapes)
6 vanilla meringues
6 graham cracker sheets
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 450. 

2. Put the meringues, graham crackers, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a food processor.  Puree until the consistency is of a finely ground powder.

3. Toss the fries with some olive oil to coat.  Toss with the sweet potato pie seasoning mix.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and cooked through.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt once removed from the oven, while still warm.

Serve with a sweet yogurt dip, ice cream, or even chocolate fondue!  Or, just enjoy them on their own!