Candied Yams the Shirley Mae Way

Updated: Nov 5, 2023

As a Southern girl, candied yams were a side dish served at our dinner table for every single holiday. I make my candied yams "the Shirley Mae way" because my mom made the best candied yams. Candied yams are simply baked sweet potatoes that have been seasoned with lots of sugar, some cinnamon, nutmeg and a little bit of vanilla extract. My mom always baked her candied yams in the oven until they were fork tender. I hope you enjoy this side dish as much as my family does.

Ingredients

6-7 medium sweet potatoes, sliced 1/2-inch thick

2.5 cups of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1.5 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 stick of butter, sliced thin

2-3 tablespoons of water

4 splashes of vanilla extract

Directions

1. Peel the potatoes and slice about 1/2-inch thick.

2. Place all the sliced sweet potatoes in a Pyrex dish.

3. Pour sugar on top of the sweet potatoes.

4. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top and add a few splashes of vanilla extract.

5. Add water to the dish and stir the potatoes until the water melts the sugar a bit. *Don't add a lot of water because the potatoes will make their own juice.

6. Bake at 400 degrees uncovered until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.

The full recipe is now in my new cookbook Memories on a Plate- Southern Recipes that I Learned from my Mama. Click the link below to grab a copy.

https://found.us/creators/spilling_the_sweet_tea?code=spillingthesweettea

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