Southern Candied Yams Baked in Brown Sugar Butter Glaze

Thick rounds of sweet potato baked in a glaze of butter, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Covered first so they turn tender, then uncovered so the edges candy and the glaze thickens.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword southern candied yams baked in brown sugar butter glaze

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 5

Total Time 1 20

Servings servings

Ingredients

For the Yams

3 lb sweet potatoes about 4 to 5 medium, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick rounds

For the Brown Sugar Butter Glaze

½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, plus more for the dish
1 cup dark brown sugar packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg freshly grated if possible
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon heavy cream
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Prep the Sweet Potatoes

Heat the oven to 375°F and butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into even ½ inch thick rounds. Cut any unusually wide potato into half moons so every piece is the same size.
Lay the rounds in the dish in overlapping rows rather than piling them in, so the glaze reaches more of every slice.

Make the Glaze

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk in the dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until completely smooth with no grit on the bottom of the pan.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the heavy cream and vanilla, then pour the hot glaze evenly over the sweet potato rounds.

Cover, Bake, Then Uncover

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake 40 minutes, so the slices steam tender in the glaze.
Remove the foil, baste the slices with the liquid in the dish, and bake another 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife goes through a slice easily and the glaze has thickened and darkened at the edges.
If the glaze is still thin, either bake uncovered 10 minutes longer or pour the liquid into a saucepan and boil it 3 to 5 minutes until it coats a spoon, then pour it back over.
Rest 10 to 15 minutes before serving so the glaze thickens and clings to the slices.

Notes

Yams are sweet potatoes: In the American South the yams in candied yams are orange fleshed sweet potatoes. True yams are a different West African tuber.
Cover then uncover: 40 minutes covered makes the slices tender, 20 to 25 uncovered is what candies the edges and reduces the glaze.
Dissolve the sugar first: Melting both sugars into the butter prevents gritty patches in the finished glaze.
Uniform slices: Even ½ inch rounds cook at the same rate. Mixed thicknesses give you mush next to firm.
Thin glaze fix: Boil the pan liquid down for 3 to 5 minutes and pour it back over.
Not the casserole: This is the sliced, glazed dish. Marshmallows belong to mashed sweet potato casserole, though you can add them for the last 5 minutes if that is your family's version.