Sweet Potatoes and Apples in Caramel Sauce

I know Thanksgiving was a couple of weeks ago, so everyone is probably all turkey-ed out, but in our house, we decided that there is no better time than, well, now for a Thanksgiving dinner repeat. Okay, it's partly because the grocery store had turkey on really, really good sale this week, and also partly because I'd been marveling recently as to how I have never actually cooked a turkey myself... whatever the reason, we had a pseudo-repeat-Thanksgiving last night, and it was delicious.

Now, if you ask little miss what her favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal is, she will always, always tell you that it is the yams. I'd like to think it is because sweet potatoes are, in and of themselves, so delicious, but in reality, it's because it's the only side dish that allows her to have marshmallows with her dinner. And, seriously, who can blame her...

So in looking for recipes in the run-up to this weeks pseudo-Thanksgiving, I knew candied yams had to be on the menu. Little miss loves the ones we have every year at my in-laws' house, so I almost just asked for that recipe, but did a quick bit of searching to see what other options I had.

And what I found spoke to me so loudly and so clearly, that I knew I'd be giving it a try.

This is a recipe for candied yams that includes apples, and rather than a fruity sauce, it is a caramel sauce. If marshmallows with dinner is good, think how good marshmallows and caramel would be with dinner! Winner.

I started by baking my sweet potatoes. Once they were cooled, I cut them into chunks and scattered them in my casserole dish along with chunks of apple. The recipe called for tart apples, but all I had were Gala, so I used those.

So far, pretty healthy looking, right?

Not for long.

Next? Take brown sugar and whisk it together with some cornstarch.


Add a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt, then pour boiling water over everything.


Transfer this to a pot, and cook the whole mixture until it starts to thicken and the liquid starts turning clear, you know, the way gravies do when they are done.

Pour the syrup over the sweet potatoes and apples, and bake.

I don't have pictures of this whole middle part, because by this time I was also working on stuffing and green beans, so the camera was all but forgotten for a few minutes...

But once the apples are tender, it is time for little miss's favorite part - the marshmallows. The recipe calls for mini-marshmallows to be scattered over the top. I used my homemade marshmallows, which I'd cut to the size of mini marshmallows.

A couple of minutes under the broiler, and voila:


Yummy ooey gooey goodness that we couldn't wait to taste.

And let me just tell you, it did not disappoint. It was so delicious, it was like dessert right next to the turkey and cranberry sauce.

Seriously, I told daddy that I want to turn this into a pie. And I think I may just play around with that idea, to be honest. This was so good, you absolutely have to give it a try. Soon.

Sweet Potatoes and Apples in Caramel Sauce

(from Get Off Your Butt and Bake!)

5 medium yams or sweet potatoes (I used 3 very large ones)

(or you could use 2 cans of canned yams or sweet potatoes, drained well)

3 tart apples (though I used Galas, and it worked beautifully)

2 cups boiling water

1 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 pinch salt

1 tablespoon butter

Cook the yams until they are just about done. Skin them and cut them into chunks. (If using canned, just drain them.) Layer the sweet potatoes with chunks of apple in a 9" x 13" glass dish/casserole.

To prepare the sauce, mix the brown sugar with the cornstarch and blend well. Add 2 cups of boiling water, slowly, along with the salt and the butter. Cook this over medium heat until the sauce has turned clear in color. (It will still be brown, but it will turn shiny and nice, you will know it when you see it.)

Pour the glaze over the yams and apples. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, until the apples have softened.

Sprinkle the top with mini-marshmallows and melt them under the broiler. Watch it very closely, as they brown very quickly and you don't want them to burn.

Make this soon. I bet you'll love it!!

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