Alright, Nolan’s Foodies, meet one of my favorite sweet side dishes – candied yams! First things first, preheat that oven to 350°F. While it’s heating up, butter a 9×13 inch baking dish – make sure you get every nook and cranny. Set it aside, we’ll need it later.

Now, grab those sweet potatoes and give them a good wash, really get in there. Peel them, too, and then slice ’em on up. You can slice them in ½-inch thick rounds, or if you’re in a hurry, slice them thinner so they cook faster. Place those sweet potato rounds in your buttered baking dish and set ’em aside.

Next up, the good stuff: the sauce! In a medium saucepan, melt some butter over medium heat. Add your granulated sugar (if you so choose), brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and a pinch of salt if you’re feelin’ it. Stir it all together until the butter’s melted and everything’s combined. Then, stir in your vanilla extract and take the pan off the heat. Now, don’t be alarmed if the sauce looks a little thick and the sugar ain’t completely dissolved – that’s just how it’s supposed to be.

Pour that delicious butter and sugar mixture over the sweet potatoes in the baking dish. Now, get in there with a wooden spoon, or if you’re feelin’ like gettin’ back to your roots, use your hands like our ancestors did! Make sure every single sweet potato slice is coated in that sweet, sweet syrup. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake those yams in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take the foil off and carefully toss those sweet potatoes. You want to rotate the ones on the bottom to the top and vice versa, just to make sure every single one gets a good soak in that delectable cooking liquid. Now, put ’em back in the oven, uncovered, for another 30 to 40 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when you can easily pierce ’em with a fork, and that cooking liquid has turned into a beautiful, thick syrup. They should be nice and tender, but not fallin’ apart – though, honey, that’s a matter of personal preference!

Let those candied yams cool in the pan for about ten minutes before servin’ ’em up. Use a slotted spoon to dish them out, and don’t forget to spoon some of that extra cooking liquid over the top. Enjoy, sugar!