Mom’s Sweet Potatoes
These are my mom’s sweet potatoes. Her recipe is simply the best! No fuss or fanciness. Just smashed sweet potatoes “candied” ever so perfectly. During the holidays, they’re a must. It’s a family tradition my mom has carried out for as long as I can remember. And at every Thanksgiving and Christmas meal, I strategically spoon a generous serving onto my plate between the gravy-laden turkey slices and the Le Sueur green peas. That way, I can easily scoop up all those flavors into one forkful. Weird, I know. But that’s how I like to eat them. My kids are fans of grandma’s recipe too. They’ve even begun to establish their own unique sweet potato habits (although none of them involve food-mingling–God forbid anything on their plates touch). My oldest daughter likes her sweet potatoes heavy on the marshmallows. My son doesn’t like the marshmallows at all, which works out well for my oldest who snags his. My youngest likes equal parts potatoes and marshmallows. And they all expect to have this dish during the holidays. But that’s apparently not often enough, because they beg for grandma’s sweet potatoes every time I cook pork too. Oh, these potatoes are so good! I hope you’ll give them a try!
Mom’s Sweet Potato Recipe
Print Recipe
6 large sweet potatoes
1 stick unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups marshmallows
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scrub potatoes clean. Place in a large Dutch oven or saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until fork-tender, 20-30 minutes. Drain, cool slightly and rub off skins with your fingers. Transfer potatoes to a large, lightly greased baking dish and mash with a potato masher. Add 4 tablespoons butter and stir until melted. Cut remaining 4 tablespoons butter into 8 pieces. Spread evenly over potatoes. Pour syrup over buttered potatoes and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake until thoroughly heated, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and arrange marshmallows evenly on top. Return dish to oven and bake until marshmallows puff up and turn golden brown, an additional 5-7 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 10-12 servings.
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