Uses:

butter at room temp or melted (heaping)

Assembling the recipe:

Preheat the oven to 175°C or 375°F

Take the sweet potatoes and rub them lightly with vegetable or olive oil and place them in a roasting pan in the center of the oven. Roast them for 35 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the sweet potatoes.

While the potatoes are in the oven combine in a bowl all the dry ingredients and use your fingers to break up the brown sugar and to mix it all well.

In a small sauce pan big enough to hold all the liquid ingredients heat the butter, orange juice, and apricot jam - do not let it boil.

Add all the dry ingredients to the hot mixture and mix well to dissolve the brown sugar.

When the sweet potatoes are roasted leave them aside to cool down until they are easier to handle. Then with the point of a sharp knife begin to peel them, cut into large chunks as in the picture above and set it aside.

To assemble:

Butter a baking dish large enough to hold all the ingredients. Put all the chunks of sweet potato into the backing dish. Pour the hot sugar mixture over the potatoes being sure to coat all of them.

Bake at 175°C or 375°F for 30 to 35 minutes and serve.

Notes:

This is a good recipe because it tastes great and there are not to many ingredients and the preparation can be done a little at a time.

A tip about roasting sweet potatoes. 1 they really do cook faster than white potatoes. An average size sweet potato can cook in as little as 35 minutes. After they have been roasting for 35 minutes check them by sticking them with the tip of a shape knife. It should penetrate to the center rather easily, just like testing white potatoes. If these are slightly under cooked its no problems as they will be baked again before serving. Oiling the outsides of them lightly also helps to make peeling them much easier.

Roast the potatoes today and make the sauce any time and then just heat it and combine it with the potatoes. Pop in the oven and its done. You can even assemble the entire dish and refrigerate it overnight and then bake it the next day. What ever fits your schedule.

Don't forget you can see my Roasting Turkey for a complete guide to a perfect bird. You can also see my recipe for Cranberry Chutney.