Candied Sweet Potatoes
Updated Sept. 17, 2020
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed
- ½cup/1 stick butter
- 1cup confectioners’ sugar
- Pinch of salt
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
204 calories; 8 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 76 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large pot, boil sweet potatoes in their jackets in water to cover until fork-tender, 20 to 45 minutes depending upon their size. Drain and cool.
- Step 2
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Peel potatoes and slice into ½-inch-thick rounds. Place in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or 2-quart gratin dish, overlapping slices to fit in one layer.
- Step 3
In a small saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in sugar and salt until smooth. Pour evenly over the potatoes. Bake until potatoes look shiny and glazed, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot or warm.
Private Notes
Comments
Every list of sweet potato recipes that include these old fashioned dishes that use sugar or god forbid, marshmallows I know I will soon be reading a series of comments filled with all kinds of foodie judgement. Maybe people like them. Maybe they eat them roasted with olive oil and thyme the rest of the year but they like them candied on Thanksgiving because it brings back memories of childhood. People acting like their likes and styles are superior to other people's. Now that is to laugh.
I used half brown sugar, half confectioner's sugar, then added a splash of vanilla. Really nice flavor and so easy!
Because they enjoy eating it?
Fresh Direct sent me a bag of purple sweet potatoes, which looked oddly stunning in the dish. I also couldn't make the powdered sugar and butter amalgamate, but when all came out of the oven, was able to smush the potato slices around in the glaze on the bottom of the dish and everything got coated. I also peeled and sliced potatoes before boiling. Not difficult and magically delicious. This is a historic recipe. Change it if you like, or move on--but why criticize it? Live and let live.
Perfect as the recipe is written!
As happened to another commenter, I also ended up with a thick ribbon of sugar/butter mixture that slid right off the potato slices, nearly solidifying on the pan bottom. I scraped all of it off, threw it out, and went back to the method my mother used, learned from a brilliant home cook from Georgia: melt 1/2 stick sweet butter in large sauté pan, sprinkle in 1/4 cup white sugar (I used this recipe’s confectioner’s sugar), add 1 Tbs. water to thin and stir to make smooth glaze. Settle potato slices into bubbling glaze and cook over medium-low heat, just to point of slight browning, flipping over once. Took less than 10 minutes per side, since potatoes had been pre-cooked (mother learned to make with raw 3/4” slices, which take longer to cook per side). Move this first batch of potatoes to buttered baking dish. Repeat until all slices have been glazed and bake at 350, 20-30 minutes, more to warm through than to cook. Home cooking at its simplest and finest — but definitely more time consuming. (And the reason I embarked on making this Times version in the first place was to save time on Thanksgiving morning!)
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