Candied Yams Recipe | Epicurious

In 1936, agriculturalist George Washington Carver published two versions of glacéed sweet potatoes in a farmers bulletin. Forty years earlier, legendary chef Fannie Farmer included her recipe for candied sweet potatoes in what would become her eponymous cookbook. This is to say, The dish most often known as “candied yams” has a long history on American dinner tables. With its deepest roots in soul food traditions, it’s a mainstay of Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas dinners across the American South.

Confusingly, though yams and sweet potatoes are different root vegetables—yams hail from Africa, and sweet potatoes are indigenous to the Americas—the words are used interchangeably in parts of the United States. Don’t use canned sweet potatoes in this recipe; they don’t have the same starchy texture as fresh tubers.

Customize this easy candied yams recipe by swapping the bourbon for Tennessee whiskey, rum, or cognac; if you prefer to go without the booze, try apple cider or fresh orange juice. Add a splash of vanilla extract or a pinch of ground cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, or other warm spices to the sugar mixture, or swap in dark brown sugar for a darker, more robust molasses flavor. After the candied yams come out of the oven, sprinkle toasted pecans, walnuts, or coconut flakes over the top. Or go for broke by adding a cup of mini marshmallows when the potatoes are almost done baking, then return to the oven for another five minutes to singe the marshmallow topping. If you have any leftover candied yams, they’re great with a scoop of ice cream. But in case you’re wondering: Yes, they are technically a side dish.