SWEET POTATOES and YAMS for Thanksgiving

Someone asked me the other day how I prepare sweet potatoes or yams for Thanksgiving.  Well, when cooking for myself, I don’t prepare them at all because they are not high on my list of Thanksgiving sides.  I would much rather eat more dressing, or corn pudding, mashed potatoes or cranberry relish.  However, since many people really like sweet potatoes and yams, I do have a favorite recipe that I make when cooking for a group.  You have to have access to See’s Candy, which I believe is now in many states in the U.S.  Here is the recipe:

Start with four large yams, slit the top of each and roast in the oven at 400 degrees F until soft.  Cool.  Remove the meat of the yams from the skins and place in a large bowl.  Discard skins.  Add 6 tablespoons butter, salt, pepper (I like white pepper), and one-half cup of dark brown sugar to the yams.  Mix with a large fork until just blended.  Pour mixture into a sprayed baking dish.  Unwrap five Scotch Mallow Kisses that you can obtain from See’s Candy and place one in the middle, and one in each of the four quadrants.  Use a spoon to  cover the candy with some of the yam mixture.  Sprinkle very lightly with dark brown sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees until brown and bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.  Let stand just a few minutes before serving.

Let me know what you think if you try this recipe.  And for those of you who don’t have access to See’s Candy, the Scotch Mallow Kiss is a soft toffee with a marshmallow center, wrapped in paper and larger than most of the pieces of candy made by See’s.