If you are looking for an additional side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I think I have one you might like. We served this at our Thanksgiving this year and I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet and flavorful it was without all the extra calories. I had to pull the recipe out to prove it used agave syrup which I haven’t really cooked with before instead of a lot of brown sugar. I think I could have done without the cayenne pepper in it, but it didn’t ruin the dish for me. I loved the apples in there. As far as the cooking time the sweet potatoes could have gone a little longer so I would maybe cut them thinner then I had mine, but the apples came out perfect. I only use 3 sweet potatoes and 1 apple for an 8×8 baking dish.
If you want to make this in advance I think it would come out even better, because the sauce becomes thicker instead of watery looking when we served it right away.
Whiskey-Glazed Sweet Potatoes
(Adapted from Guy’s Big Bite)
3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 4 large)
1 cup pecans
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for preparing baking dish
3/4 cup agave syrup, preferably amber
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup whiskey
2 cups crisp apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1-inch pieces
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and cook the potatoes whole, do not pierce. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Lightly squeeze the potatoes – if they are soft, they are done. Let cool.
In a small sauté pan over high heat, add the pecans and lightly toast.
Add 4 tablespoons of butter, reduce the heat to medium, add the agave and spices, and allow to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the whiskey and continue to simmer for 5 minutes more.
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch slices.
Butter the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8-inch baking dish. Arrange the sweet potatoes, alternating with the apples.
Pour the whiskey-pecan mixture over the top and place in the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes, basting the top with the whiskey sauce once at 15 minutes.
Remove and serve immediately.
