Here we are at the start of summer, and I am bringing you a decidedly fall dish: Glazed Sweet Potatoes. First of all, these potatoes coated in butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup are so sinfully delicious, you wouldn’t want to wait until next season to try them.
Secondly, I have a love-hate relationship with summer right now, so I’m happy to daydream about shorter days, pumpkin pie, and corduroy. My main complaint about summer is the l-o-n-g days. It’s awesome that I can take photos of our dinner with natural light until around 8:30 pm, but that’s about all I like about the summer sun. This morning I heard the kids waking up at 5:40 am, and it was broad daylight at that unreasonable hour. Despite my attempts to make their rooms black holes with dark curtains, the sun still sneaks in somehow and wakes them up.
Bedtime is no better. The Tall One is exhausted from running in high gear at all times, so he goes to sleep right away no matter how bright it is. The Short One, however, has taken to playing in his room and occasionally sneaking out to find me until almost 9:00 pm when the sun has finally set.
Let’s talk about schedules for a moment. There are different kinds of parents in this world. You have your easygoing moms and dads who don’t worry about pesky bedtimes, and then you have more uptight parents whose lives revolve around nap and bedtime. People can fall anywhere in between or fluctuate from one extreme to the other of course, but we are firmly planted on the strict schedule end of the spectrum. FIRMLY. Every night without fail, the kids go to bed by 7:30, maybe 8:00 at the latest for special occasions. I don’t need the sunlight interfering with our neurotic schedule, thank you very much.
I will welcome the appearance of pumpkins on doorsteps in a couple months, not just because of shorter days, but because it will be a sign that Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are all on their way. Until then, I bring you these incredibly delicious candied sweet potatoes that even both my picky kids loved! Adapted from Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes by Martha Stewart.
Glazed Sweet Potatoes
This wonderfully sweet side dish is easy to make and perfect for holiday dinners or busy weeknights!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and diced into 1” cubes
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon natural kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Melt butter in oven-safe skillet (preferably iron) over medium-high heat.
- Add sweet potatoes, and stir to coat.
- Add remaining ingredients, and stir until brown sugar is dissolved.
- Bring to a simmer, then transfer uncovered skillet to preheated oven.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until potatoes are tender.
- Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Side Dish
Danielle Broman says
Thanks for the recipe. I grew up on white potatoes and have been searching for an easy way to make sweet potatoes that my 2 and 4 years old boys will eat! They loved them and as a working mom trying to do healthy easy dinner I loved the minimal ingredients and quickness!
The Weary Chef says
Hi, Danielle! I’m so glad you and your boys liked this recipe! I didn’t grow up eating sweet potatoes either. There was always sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving, but I never wanted to try it. Now I know that I was missing out!
David Hogman says
Have never tried sweet potatoes with sugar and maple syrup. will surely try this soon. Thanks for sharing.
The Weary Chef says
They are so good if I do say so myself! They could qualify as dessert, but you can get away with eating them with your meal since sweet potatoes are a vegetable ;) Thank you for visiting!
Liz says
wowza–there’s a topic that’ll spark “debate.” (bedtimes, not sweet potatoes of course) I’d love to be in your camp, but not disciplined enough around here Also, always a million activities, things to do, etc.
Though I’m with you on dreading summer. Girls have only four more days of school and then they’re home ALL DAY LONG EVERY DAY!!!!! How will I get my work done? What will happen to Friday Happy Hour? (haha, this last one isn’t what I’m really worried about) There are camps, etc on tap so it won’t be 24/7, but I’m starting to panic.
Which is why your wonderfully comforting sweet potato dish is making me very happy right now. Perhaps a grocery trip is in order :-)
The Weary Chef says
I don’t think of it as a debate really, more like people do what works for them. I am so done by 7 pm (or earlier), that I can’t imagine the kids running around all evening. That depends a lot on our family dynamics though. My boys are not kids who will go off and play on their own, especially The Tall One. He looks for constant entertainment and interaction, and I can’t keep that up all night! Since they are early risers regardless of their bedtime, those suckers need to get to bed so we can all get much needed rest!
My kids will be occupied some of the summer, but the whole month of June is a big question mark. I’m sure I’ll come up with something because this mama has recipes to write for Pete’s sake! ;)
Let me know if you make this recipe because I would love to know how you like it. If you like SWEET potatoes, you can’t help but love it!
lisa@cookingwithcurls says
HAHAHA…I am one of the easy going hippie parents that didn’t really make my kids go to bed at a set time! It drove my mother absolutely crazy whenever she came to visit…score points for me :) I love fall, and I love sweet potatoes, but I would also love to have some warm summer months to enjoy before the -35 degree temperatures and snow come back again!!!
The Weary Chef says
Oh wow, I can’t imagine! Bedtime is a sacred thing in our house, and it’s good because we get some adult time every night. I know the kids will stay up later in the not-too-distant future, but I’m savoring the early bedtime while it lasts! If we had super cold winters maybe I would appreciate winter more. Our weather only fluctuates by about 20 degrees all year, but you know that since you are from CA :)
Sue Metzger says
YUM, one of my very favorites:) I’ll be trying this as soon as our heat wave passes!!
As far as the kids….like the tall one says, I wish we lived next door!
The Weary Chef says
Thank you, Mom! You would love these!
Sue Schuster says
I love sweet potatoes too. We eat them all year round. I bake mine sometimes. I do remember the days when my kids were little and the bedtime challenge. Like everything else this shall pass.
The Weary Chef says
Thanks, Sue! It’s true. I was just thinking the other day that in a few years I’ll have to be dragging them out of bed instead of the other way around.