Grand Marnier™ Sweet Potatoes

Name: Grand Marnier™ Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (can be roasted or boiled); 1 egg, lightly beaten; 1/4 cup butter, melted; 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup; 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (to taste); 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier™ or Cointreau™; 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice; 1 teaspoon orange zest; 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground; 1/2 cup sugar to sweeten (optional); 1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar; 1/3 cup flour; 1 cup roughly chopped pecans; 1/3 cup butter, melted

Ingredients:14
Servings:8

By Jaymee SireUpdated 12/02/2024

Grand Marnier™ Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:14
Servings:8

Forget marshmallows. These sweet potatoes are "candied" with pecans and Grand Marnier™.

More About This Recipe

This Thanksgiving, add a grown up twist to your sweet potato casserole. So good, it'll become a tradition. When I was a kid, I couldn’t get enough of the candied yams at Thanksgiving. You know, the ones in heavy, sugary syrup and topped with marshmallows. Basically straight sugar. Of course I liked them! Now that I’m a bit older, I still like my sweet potatoes candied, but I prefer a little less sugar and a more refined dish. Don’t get me wrong; you could still eat these for dessert if you wanted to. But for some reason I feel a little less bad about it. I adapted this recipe from a friend of my mom’s. The original one called for rum and a ton of sugar. I have played with this recipe and perfected it over the years, and now my family consistently asks for it at Thanksgiving. My final version uses Grand Marnier™ and maple syrup. A match made in heaven! The Grand Marnier™ is the secret ingredient here. It gives it a slightly citrus, deep flavor that I just love. (I use it in my cranberries at Thanksgiving as well.) Don’t worry; the actual alcohol cooks out of it, leaving behind only deliciousness. I definitely recommend using fresh sweet potatoes (garnet yams), and cooking them with your method of choice. I like to roast them in the oven for about an hour until easily pierced with a fork, but you could also boil them. This can even be done a day or two ahead of time. Another do-ahead step: Prepare sweet potato mixture and spoon into greased casserole. Cover and chill overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking as directed above and sprinkle with topping. Eat it with your turkey, or for dessert, or BOTH! Happy Thanksgiving!