This is how I have been making my sweet potatoes since I can remember, and how my mother and grandmother did before me. The only difference is that I use brown sugar instead of white. I think it gives it a more “carmelized” flavor and texture. I also omit the spices all together. I don’t care for spicy sweet potatoes, just SWEET sweet potatoes :0) Be sure to use “real” butter for this as that is part of the fabulous end result!!!! Thanks!
Slow cooking without stirring made all the difference – thank you I finally made the perfect sweet potatoes! I only baked the potatoes for a bit so they would not fall apart while slow cooking and stay firm. Also, I only used about 2 TBS brown sugar. About 5 minutes before serving, I transfered them to a casserole dish and added chopped pecans then topped with marshmallows and browned it in the oven. So yummy!
Growing up, a holiday meal just wasn’t quiet the same without a pan of these southern baked candied yams. Whenever we’d have new people over for Sunday dinner they’d always comment on how delicious the candied yams were. Everybody wanted to know “the secret”.
Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes are a wonderful fall side dish. Thick sweet potato slices are covered in a butter and sugar mixture and baked until soft. They are wonderfully sweet and flavored with a little cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla. They are a welcome addition to a holiday meal or a Sunday supper.
There were so many other gifts, none costing the giver more than the time to write the recipe and the cost of the utensil or dish they gave me, but they were each as precious as the next.
Then, as the last gift of my shower, my Grandmother handed me a stack of two presents I could tell she had meticulously wrapped. The ribbon tied around the package had her signature bow, the same one she’d showed my sister and me when helping us tie our shoes when we were little.
I opened the larger of the two boxes to find a green glass bowl that had graced her table with fruit salad, creamed corn, and so many other dishes over the years. With tears in my eyes, I opened the second of the packages. Off came the white paper with the silver swirls to uncover the white gift box with the raised, embossed design. As I lifted the top of the box, I caught a glimpse of a spiral bound notebook – the kind that my Grandmother always seemed to have on hand. She would keep notes of prayer concerns, notes to write, friends to call, and a few months before the family reunions she’d always have a notebook full of planning details.
Although I uploaded a recipe for ” The Best Candied Yams Ever” a few years ago, this recipe will give that recipe a run for it’s money. Now don’t get me wrong- both recipes are amazing. However, if you’re looking for southern or soul food style candied yams, this is the recipe that you want. Also, these yams are actually easier to make because there are less cooking steps!
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup butter
6 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add sweet potatoes, and stir to coat.
Sprinkle sugar mixture over the sweet potatoes, and stir.
Cover skillet, and reduce heat to low.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, or until the sauce is dark and the potatoes are candied.
They should be tender, but a little hard around the edges.
Stir in vanilla, and serve.