Soul Food Candied Yams

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 4 large yams or sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

→ Syrup & Sweeteners

02 - 1 cup packed light brown sugar

03 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar

04 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

05 - 1/4 cup water

06 - 1/4 cup fresh orange juice

→ Spices

07 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

08 - 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

09 - 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

10 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

11 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

02 - Arrange sliced yams in a single, even layer in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

03 - In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, water, and orange juice. Stir continuously until butter melts and sugar fully dissolves, approximately 3-4 minutes.

04 - Remove saucepan from heat and stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and vanilla extract until well blended.

05 - Pour hot syrup evenly over yams, ensuring all slices are thoroughly coated.

06 - Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

07 - Remove foil, baste yams with accumulated syrup, and continue baking uncovered for 20 minutes until yams are tender and syrup reaches thick, glossy consistency.

08 - Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving to permit syrup to thicken further.

# Expert Tips:

01 -

The buttery brown sugar syrup caramelizes into something irresistibly glossy without any fuss or special techniques.
It's naturally vegetarian and gluten-free, so it works for almost any table of guests.
Once you pour the syrup over the yams, the oven does all the heavy lifting while you prep the rest of your meal.

02 -

Don't skip the resting time at the end—those 10 minutes are when the magic actually happens and the syrup thickens from loose to luxurious.
If your yams start looking too dark before they're fully tender, you can loosely tent them with foil again and lower the oven temp by 25 degrees to slow everything down.

03 -