Crock Pot Candied Sweet Potatoes

Honey and butter give these sweet potatoes extra flavor, and they're easy to make in the slow cooker. Sweet potatoes are a traditional dish for holiday feasts, but they also go well with meals throughout the year, especially pork or ham.

Rather than start with canned sweet potatoes, you will peel and cube fresh sweet potatoes. Orange juice and zest provide an acidic note that adds a dimension that can be missing if you just bake them with brown sugar and butter—this recipe goes beyond simple candied sweet potatoes in a crock pot.

Your Frequently Asked Holiday Questions, Answered

Using the slow cooker will free up your stovetop, and allow you to start a dish much earlier in the day. For serving, you can allow your guests to dish up right from the crock as part of a meal buffet. Or transfer the sweet potatoes to a serving dish.

If you are just venturing away from canned yams to fresh sweet potatoes, you'll often find several varieties at your local supermarket. Look for firm tubers that aren't showing any wrinkles or soft spots. You will find varieties that have orange or white flesh. The peels are edible, just as with regular potatoes, although they are usually removed when making candied sweet potatoes.

While Americans often call sweet potatoes "yams," they are two different things. What you find in American markets are sweet potatoes as yams are generally found in African and Asian cuisine, and are less common outside of specialty grocery stores.