Bourbon Sweet Potatoes with Candied Pecans

Sweet potatoes are a favorite on Thanksgiving and are a must on a traditional holiday table. To make things a little more interesting, this version won’t include any gooey marshmallows. Instead, I made the following recipe with some Kentucky bourbon whiskey and candied pecans. This dish represents the south of our Regional Thanksgiving this year and as they say, a little alcohol makes a party!

My favorite Kentucky bourbon whisky is Maker’s Mark. This added a really nice flavor that was used for the flavorful and sweet topping. For added texture and crunch, I also made some candied pecans which I chopped up and topped the dish before baking. You can also make this dish a couple days ahead…

2 Days Before:
– Boil or bake your sweet potatoes until soft. Peel and mash until smooth. Season with salt and place in a baking dish, then cover.
– Make a batch of candied pecans. You can use a portion for the dish (chopped up once cooled) and serve up the remaining pecans as an appetizer or snack, or even add to salads.

1 Day Before:
– Combine the two corn syrups, maple syrup, and bourbon whiskey in a small jar or salad dressing bottle to make the sweet bourbon sauce. Store at room temp until ready to use.

Day of:
– Preheat the oven and pour the sweet bourbon over the mashed sweet potatoes in your baking dish.
– Top with your chopped candied pecans and bake in the oven until hot.

6 to 8 large sweet potatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
2 Tbs maple syrup
1/4 cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey (I used Maker’s Mark)
Candied pecans, chopped (store bought or homemade)

Cook sweet potatoes; peel and mash.

Place the mashed sweet potatoes in a buttered casserole pan or dish.

Combine the remaining ingredients except nuts and pour over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbling hot. Garnish with nuts and serve.