Southern Candied Yams (New & Improved) | No added Sugar or Butter

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Step 2

Wash and peel the Sweet Potatoes (yams). Cut into about 1/2 inch pieces. Place the slices into an ungreased casserole dish (9x9). Add 1 cup of water and cover with aluminum foil. Place the covered casserole dish into the preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

Step 3

While the potatoes are baking, zest the orange. Then juice the orange to yield 1/2 cup of juice. Zest the half of lemon. Then juice the lemon to yield 1 Tbsp. Set aside.

Step 4

Pour all of the contents from the can of pears into a blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer the blended pears into a saucepan. Add the orange juice and lemon juice to the saucepan. Add all of the spices to the saucepan. Give a quick stir thru. Bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes on high heat until the liquid reduce to half. (NOTE: if using extract do not add to saucepan until after boil time)

Step 5

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the Date Syrup, lemon, and orange zest to the saucepan. Stir until well combined (Note if using extract, add at this point).

Step 6

After the sweet potatoes have baked for 45 minutes, remove them from the stove and add the syrup mixture. Pour evenly over all of the sweet potatoes. Place the potatoes back into the oven, uncovered. Bake for an additional 35 minutes.

Step 7

Place the chopped pecans in a bowl. Pour 2-3 Tbsp of date syrup over pecans. Stir until all of the pecans are covered. After 35 minutes of bake time, remove the yams from the oven. Gently rotate the yams. Evenly spread the glazed pecans atop the yams. Place them back into the oven, uncovered, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Step 8

Remove the yams from the oven. Allow them to cool for at least 15-20 minutes. The syrup will thicken the longer the yams sit. Serve and Enjoy!