Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 C. mashed sweet potatoes (4 med. sweet potatoes or 2 large sized cans)
6 Tble. sugar
6 Tble. butter, softened or melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (eyeball it)
1 tea. vanilla

Topping:

1 C. packed brown sugar
1-1/2 C. sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 to 1 C. large chopped pecans
6 Tble. melted butter

Note: You can make these up to a day or two ahead of time, just keep them well covered in the fridge and don't put the topping on until just before baking.  If using fresh sweet potatoes, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prick each sweet potato with a fork and place on foil in the oven.  Cook for 40-60 minutes or until tender.  Once they've cooled enough to handle, slice in half and scoop out the insides into a mixing bowl.  To the mixing bowl add in sugar, butter, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla.  Your butter should be soft enough to blend up easily.

You could mash it all up by hand, but an electric mixer works great.  You can also us a potato masher.  I don't like it completely pureed, so I mix it just until everything is incorporated but there are still some sweet potatoes in larger chunks.

Spread this mixture evenly into a greased 9X13 pan.

For the topping, combine brown sugar, coconut and pecans.  Pour melted butter over and combine.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes.  It will be more or less depending on the size of dish you use, whether you increase the topping mixture.  The top should be nice and browned and bubbly so just keep an eye on it.