Although there is no rule for making candied yams at all times, there are three times a year when candied yam recipes reach their peak popularity: Thanksgiving is by far in the lead, Christmas and Easter follow by far in second and third position.
So it’s safe to say that if you’re making candied sweet potatoes, it’s probably for a holiday treat. And with all the preparation and cooking that goes into the holidays, it’s no surprise that our all recipes home cooks enjoy a simple four-ingredient recipe like candied yams as a simple side dish to complement their Special holiday menus.
How to make candied yams
This top-notch candied yam recipe requires only four ingredients: canned sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar and miniature marshmallows. The preparation time is only 15 minutes (if any) and the cooking time is 25 minutes. All this is about 40 minutes from start to finish.
Drain the syrup: this is an important step so that your candied sweet potatoes do not leak because of too much liquid in the baking dish. Place the drained sweet potatoes in a medium baking dish.
Dice the butter: Cut the cold butter into small pieces and distribute evenly over the sweet potatoes.
Sprinkle the brown sugar: Measure the brown sugar by wrapping it tightly in the measuring cup. Then place it in a bowl to break it up and make it easier to sprinkle. This is a good opportunity to crush the lumps in the brown sugar.
Cover with mini marshmallows: here you may be able to use more than the amount of marshmallows indicated in the recipe, depending on the surface you are covering. You want them to be close enough to each other to make the signature roasted marshmallow topping that marshmallow lovers love.
Cooking: Since the sweet potatoes are already completely cooked, you really heat them up and toast the marshmallows until they are golden brown and melting.
Are sweet potatoes and sweet potatoes the same?
Sweet potatoes and sweet potatoes are not the same thing. What we call yams in the United States are actually sweet potatoes. Real yams are more like Yucca with dry, starchy meat and are usually hard to find in everyday grocery stores. Read the label on the canned sweet potatoes requested in this recipe – most likely it will say something like “sweet potatoes in syrup”. “So when someone says “sweet potatoes,” we know they’re probably talking about sweet potatoes.
How to replace fresh sweet potatoes with canned sweet potatoes
Use about three or four medium sweet potatoes for the 29-ounce can of sweet potatoes called for in the recipe. Be sure to peel, cut and cook the raw sweet potatoes before moving on to the rest of the recipe. You can boil, microwave or cook the sweet potatoes until they are soft but not mushy.