Sweet Potato Sweets in Vardaman was started in 1996 selling sweet potato pies and sweet potato bread. Owners Daphna Cook and Karen Wright say those are still favorites.

In their homegrown bakery, their recipe for sweet potato casserole came from shop manager Judy Holder’s grandmother, Laudrey Alexander, 89. Daphna’s sister, Bettie Wright’s sweet potato pie recipe is used in the shop. Among other recipes used in the shop are sweet potato cooking contest winners. Their muffin tops have become a top seller, and the Yum Yum cookies, which were created by Daphna’s daughter, Tracy, are becoming a popular item.  Jan has been experimenting with an “Ooey Gooey Sweet Potato Cake.” Karen, Judy, Daphna and daughter, Jan, have all participated in the cooking contest, and Daphna’s daughter, Gayle Stafford, is a past winner.
The ladies begin in July preparing for the Sweet Potato Festival, and are busy through December.  “It takes the whole family to get the festival done,” they agreed. They do a lot of holiday shipping--to all states, and in the past have sent items to Japan, England, Germany and Iraq.
Daphna, Karen and Judy say they are all somewhat recipe collectors. Daphna likes to shop and look around to prepare economically, and likes to watch and cut grocery expense saying “a penny saved is a penny earned.” Two of her favorite foods are pecans, and sweet potato congealed salad, and she submitted the squash supreme recipe. Daughter Jan asked her to share a cooking tip: Brown ground beef and/or sausage, and freeze it ahead of time.
Karen likes easy stuff--quicker recipes-- because her family is “always on the go,” but she has a lot of recipes from her mother and grandmother. She and her family like sweet potato dishes and she always gets their favorite ones (salad and casserole) at the shop for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Karen says her favorite food is Caesar salad and the peach cobbler recipe came from her.
Judy says “the faster, the better” about a recipe and she has many from the Home Extension Service. She says her favorite is just good soul food--vegetables and cornbread. She submitted Mike’s pasta salad, chicken and yellow rice, and her grandmother Alexander’s candied sweet potato recipe.

Easy Peach Cobbler
1 can of sliced peaches
1 stick melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup milk
bread slices sliced
2 Tbsp. flour
Lightly grease baking dish. Drain peaches, saving juice. Place sliced peaches in bottom of baking dish. Spoon in 3 Tbsp. peach juice. In sauce pan, melt butter, stir in sugar, beaten egg and milk. Next add 2 Tbsp. flour, this will thicken. Take bread slices and cut into long strips, place on top of peaches, cut enough strips to cover peaches. Next pour melted mixture over bread slices. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes.

Chicken and Yellow Rice
4 chicken breasts
1 bag Mahatma yellow rice mix
1 2/3 cup water
1 Tbsp. margarine
Boil chicken until fully cooked. Remove chicken from bone and cut into small pieces. In medium sauce pan, bring 1 2/3 cups water and 1 Tbsp. margarine to a boil. Stir in Mahatma yellow rice, add chicken, cover and reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff lightly with fork and serve.

Mike’s Pasta Salad
1 jar of pimento, drained
1 bag spiral noodles
1 bottle Italian dressing
2 cucumbers, remove seeds
2-4 tomatoes
1 red onion
1 bell pepper, remove seeds
Slice cucumbers, bell pepper, onion and tomatoes. Boil noodles five minutes, drain under cool water. Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate. Serve when chilled.

Grandmamma Alexander’s Candied Sweet Potatoes
6 medium sweet potatoes
1 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
Peel sweet potatoes. In sauce pan, add water to cover potatoes. Cook until partly tender. Drain water and cut sweet potatoes into chunks. Place in baking dish to make one layer. Make syrup by adding corn syrup, sugar, butter, and salt in saucepan. Cook until it begins to thicken. Pour over sweet potatoes and bake 350° for one hour.

Squash Supreme
2 cups cooked squash, drained
2 beaten eggs
3/4 cup sour cream or mayo
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
10 green onions and tops
1/2 stick oleo or butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers.
Saute green chopped onions in butter until just tender. Add all other ingredients except cracker crumbs. Put in buttered dish and top with crumbs. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Best served warm.