What if sweet potatoes got a whole new game? Not baked, not covered in marshmallows, rather, given texture, flavor, and style — a melt-in-your-mouth dish you can serve for guests, for a holiday, or for a Monday. These are sweet potatoes with caramelized edges and soft-as-butter centers, loaded with flavor and drizzled with a simple, gooey maple butter glaze. 

I served them at my son’s recent wedding and they were not only elegant, but very well-received! And since then, I have made them just for the pure yum factor. This is a recipe you can easily modify to make a single serving or do like I did and easily make them for a crowd.

The beauty is that they are as simple to make as they are spectacularly delicious!

I will give you the recipe based on serving 4-6 people which is about 2 lbs or 4-5 medium sweet potatoes, and you can vary it based on your needs. To begin, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Slice the pointy ends off of each sweet potato and then continue slicing into discs that are around 1 inch wide. Chop 1 tsp. garlic.

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter and put it on a baking sheet (11″x15″) with sides (jelly roll pan). Add 1 T. olive oil. Use a pastry brush to coat the baking sheet with the oils. Place the rounds onto the baking sheet and then flip them all to coat them in oil. Sprinkle them with kosher salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 20 minutes.

After the first 20 minutes of roasting, remove them from the oven and flip each disc over and roast for another 20 minutes.

Carefully pour 1 1/4 c. chicken broth/stock into the pan with the potatoes and then scatter the garlic into the broth. Roast for the third and last time for 15-20 minutes — the liquid will mostly absorb. Pile into a serving dish and pour the remaining juices over the top.

While the potatoes are cooking, toast 1/2 c. pecans or walnuts in a pan on medium heat for 3-4 minutes stirring until they release their fragrance (you can skip this step and eliminate the nuts of you don’t like them). Add 2 T. butter and when melted add in 1/2 c. maple syrup and stir and heat for 1 1/2 minutes; remove from heat. If you cook it longer, it will crystallize and change consistency so don’t overdo even though you’ll be tempted to do so. This will thicken as it cools and turn into a gooey, pourable sauce. Serve the sauce warm.

That’s it! Surprisingly simple and extraordinarily delicious! Enjoy!

Many thanks to reciptineats.com upon which I relied heavily for my measurements.