Sweet Potato Cookies with Homemade Streusel

4.84 from 6 votes

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Sweet Potato Cookies are soft and lightly spiced cookies make with mashed sweet potato, topped with homemade streusel and powdered sugar. A perfect dessert for Fall!

hand holding a sweet potato cookie with a bite taken out it

Sweet Potato Cookies | With Homemade Streusel

I really didn’t want to post this sweet potato cookies recipe. Like really really didn’t want to because these aren’t the prettiest photos in the world. Like these cookies are gorgeous. These ones are also pretty. But these? Notsomuch.

However, after eating NINE of these over the course of 8 hours, I decided it would be in my best interest to post the recipe because they were that good. I needed to share the glory.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

Mashed sweet potato in cookies? Gross.

But believe me when I say you are wrong!! Vegetables in cookies are actually good! I don’t eat nine cookies just for the fun of it. Usually. I need a treat that is calorically worthy enough to keep my thighs at their current size and this dessert fits the bill a little too well 😉

sweet potato cookie dough balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

Main Ingredients Needed

Mashed sweet potato is stirred into this cookie dough along with some spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Scoop these onto a baking sheet, top with a simple, homemade streusel, and dust with powdered sugar. It keeps these cookies soft and moist. Anyway, here’s everything you’ll need to make these Sweet Potato Cookies:

  • Flour – this fills out these cookies.
  • Baking Powder + Baking Soda – for rise and lift, especially because the sweet potato makes things a litte more moist than normal.
  • Cinnamon, Nutmeg, + Cloves – three warm spices to compliment the sweet potato.
  • Salt – to balance the flavors.
  • Sugar – for sweetness.
  • Egg – for structure and texture.
  • Vanilla – for flavor.
  • Butter – for moisture and texture.
  • Sweet Potato – this needs to be cooked and mashed! To cook simply roast sweet potatoes whole at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until very tender. Cool completely, peel and mash. Store in airtight container in fridge for up to 4 days.

For the Streusel

  • Butter – for flavor and to hold the ingredients together.
  • Flour – so the butter doesn’t go everywhere when baking.
  • Brown Sugar – to sweeten.
  • Salt + Cinnamon – for flavor.
  • Powdered Sugar – this is an optional, but highly recommended, garnish!

Can I replace the sweet potato for pumpkin?

Those warm spices will have people guessing if these are pumpkin cookies which is never a bad thing, right? I asked Brooke and Blake to guess what the secret ingredient was and they guessed pumpkin. Soooo, that is winning at life, folks. Everyone loves pumpkin.

And actually, pumpkin could probably work as a great substitution in this recipe because the compositions of sweet potato vs. are so darn similar. Just be sure to use pumpkin puree found canned at the grocery store.

Speaking of pumpkin, here are some pumpkin cookies you should try: Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, and Double Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Cookies.

sweet potato cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet dusted in powdered sugar

How to Make Sweet Potato Cookies

I like to top these cookies with streusel because everything tastes better with streusel, and then add some powdered sugar to fancy them up a bit and make them look more like a coffee cake 🙂 For full details on how to make these Sweet Potato Cookies, see the recipe card down below!

Step 1: Preheat + Prep

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

Step 2: Make Cookie Dough

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and sugar together to combine. Create a well in the center for the wet ingredients.

Crack the egg and measure out the remaining wet ingredients into the well. Stir slowly, incorporating more and more dry ingredients into the wet until just stirred.

Step 3: Scoop + Shape

Scoop onto prepared baking sheets using a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop. Wet your fingers and create indents in each cookie, as if you were creating thumbprint cookies. Set aside.

Step 4: For the Streusel

For the streusel: stir butter, flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon together until crumbly. Sprinkle over each cookie, to fill up the indentation.

Step 5: Bake + Cool

Bake 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden and the cookies appear dull and no longer shiny. Cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to cooling racks.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. Store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 3 days.

sweet potato cookie with a bite taken out of it

More Sweet Potato Desserts to Try!

The finished product is a sweet, soft, mildly spicy, and chewy sweet potato cookie that will last a couple of days in an airtight container, though I don’t see these lasting that long. They are that good. (I really really loved these!)

Anyways, the printable version of this recipe is down below. Give these a try this weekend!!

hand holding a sweet potato cookie with a bite taken out it
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4.84 from 6 votes

Sweet Potato Cookies

Sweet Potato Cookies are soft and lightly spiced cookies make with mashed sweet potato, topped with homemade streusel and powdered sugar.
servings 18 cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Streusel:

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and sugar together to combine. Create a well in the center for the wet ingredients. Crack the egg and measure out the remaining wet ingredients into the well. Stir slowly, incorporating more and more dry ingredients into the wet until just stirred.
  • Scoop onto prepared baking sheets using a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop. Wet your fingers and create indents in each cookie, as if you were creating thumbprint cookies. Set aside.
  • For the streusel: stir butter, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon together until crumbly. Sprinkle over each cookie, to fill up the indentation.
  • Bake 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden and the cookies appear dull and no longer shiny. Cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to cooling racks.
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. Store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

*Roast sweet potatoes whole at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until very tender. Cool completely, peel and mash. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 43mg | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 655IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.7mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: sweet potato cookies

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Recipe Rating




16 Responses
  1. Angela

    5 stars
    I was shocked at how well these turned out! I am not that great of a cook, and my cookies are always too soft or too crispy, but I followed these directions precisely, and it worked! They are so good and so pretty!

  2. April

    5 stars
    Yummy n’my tummy! I have made this twice now and the 2nd time around got it down pat. Better, added in a few cookies with almonds and cocoa to top off before adding the crumbles. All smiles in the family 🥰. Thank you for your recipe. Cheers

  3. Jeanne Moss

    5 stars
    Delicious! Soft, crumbly. Great way to use up 1 small baked sweet potato I had in my refrigerator. I’ll make them again but I think I’ll leave off a strudel to save on calories and crumbs.

  4. CCD

    4 stars
    The cookies are good, nice and chewy with a nice spice balance. You can’t really taste the sweet potato but I think it adds to the chewy texture. Hint: roll the dough into balls rather than using a spoon to put it on the sheet. The baked cookies look nicer if you do.

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