Among my family, this recipe is mandatory at Thanksgiving. If I’m invited to someone else’s house to share the feast, I offer to bring these. People who don’t like candied sweet potatoes because their only experience with them has been the ubiquitous “gooey canned yams with too-sweet, sticky marshmallow on top,” will like this recipe once you get them to try it.

4 large sweet potatoes (use the yellow ones, never the orange ones, and don’t used canned)

1/2 C - medium brown sugar
1/2 C - butter (not margarine)
1/4 C - hot water

Make a syrup with the brown sugar, butter and hot water.

Boil the sweet potatoes until tender but still firm. Peel and slice lengthwise in 1/2″ slices. Place in buttered oblong baking dish. Pour the brown-sugar syrup over the top. Bake in a medium oven for 1 hour.

[editorial comment] That’s how the recipe came to me. But here are some pointers I learned at my mother’s and grandmother’s knees:

– Medium oven: Bake at 375 for 1 hour or 350 for 1-1/2 hours. Whatever temp you are baking your turkey at is probably sufficient. Just adjust the time accordingly. The recipe isn’t picky about time — longer is usually better than too short. Cover with foil if the sweet potatoes start to look dry. Basting the potatoes with the syrup every now and then while baking helps to keep the top slices moist.

– How to make the syrup: In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and the hot water. Bring to a boil. Boil briskly, stirring occasionally, until syrup is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

– After boiling the sweet potatoes, drain them and let them cool until they can be handled without burning your fingers off. Steaming works as well as boiling.

– When taking these to someone’s house for a dinner (say, up to 15 guests or so) I usually use 6 sweet potatoes and double the syrup. They’re good as left-overs so bringing too many isn’t a problem.

– Grandma said that you should bake the slices in a single layer, but she must have had a bigger baking dish (and oven) than I do. I put multiple layers of slices in my dish and pour some of the syrup between the layers. It’s also helpful to baste the top layer occasionally during baking.

– These can be made and held for a long time in a warm oven, and they re-heat via microwave great.