Maple Glazed Yam Stars Recipes

CANDIED YAMS (CANDIED SWEET POTATOES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 3 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Peel sweet potatoes and rinse clean. Slice potatoes to 1/2 inch thick slices. Try to keep them roughly the same thickness so they cook evenly.
• In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, melted butter, maple syrup, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk until smooth. If the mixture is very thick, pop in the microwave for 30 seconds to loosen it up.
• Transfer sliced sweet potatoes to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
• Drizzle the brown sugar mixture over the top of the sweet potatoes and toss to combine. You want each piece of sweet potato coated in the mixture.
• Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and gently stir. Bake for another 15 minutes (no foil) and again, gently stir. Check to see how tender the sweet potatoes are at this point. Bake for another 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your potatoes. Make sure they are tender (but not falling apart) before removing.
• If adding marshmallows, sprinkle marshmallows on top and pop back in the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

MAPLE-GLAZED YAMS WITH PECAN TOPPING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add yams. Cook until water returns to simmer, about 4 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water.
• Arrange yams in prepared dish, overlapping slightly. Season with salt. Pour syrup over yams. Dot with 3 tablespoons butter. Cover and bake until yams are almost tender, about 25 minutes.
• Mix flour and brown sugar in medium bowl. Add remaining 5 tablespoons butter. Rub in with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in pecans.
• Sprinkle pecan mixture atop yams. Bake yams until tender, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cool. Cover and let stand at room temperature. Rewarm, uncovered, in 375°F oven 20 minutes.)

MAPLE STARS

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and maple sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low; add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap; shape into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Divide the dough into thirds. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface until 1/8 inch thick. Cut out stars with a 2-inch cutter; arrange 1 inch apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets and sprinkle with gold sugar. Refrigerate the cutouts 15 minutes.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are set and lightly browned on the bottoms, 13 to 16 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
• Make the filling: Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Let cool. Stir in the butter with a rubber spatula, then stir in the confectioners¿ sugar, maple extract and lemon juice until smooth. Sandwich between the cookies.

MAPLE CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

Steps:

• To cook the sweet potatoes, wash them and prick all over with a fork. Wrap in foil and bake in a 375-degree oven until very tender. This can take anywhere from 50 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending upon the girth of the potato. Thinner ones cook more quickly. Cool. Peel just before using.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a small pot, combine syrup, cider, butter, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until somewhat thickened, about 15 minutes. Pour syrup over sliced sweet potatoes and bake, uncovered, until bubbling and brown, 25 to 40 minutes.

MAPLE-GLAZED YAMS WITH ORANGE AND CRANBERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook yams in large pot of boiling salted water 3 minutes. Drain; transfer to 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Blend syrup, butter and peel in small bowl; pour over yams. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Bake yams uncovered until just tender, stirring and basting occasionally, about 30 minutes. Mix in cranberries. Continue baking until yams are very tender and juices form thick glaze, about 15 minutes longer. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve.