Southern Style Candied Yams with Gingersnap Crunch

Yams

• 8 medium yams or sweet potatoes, peeled, halved crosswise and cut into 8 wedges
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Crunch

• 4 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 16 cookies)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

For the yams: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the yams with the oil in a medium bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a simmer and the sugar dissolves which is about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the sauce to the yams and toss to coat. Spread the yams and all the sauce evenly into a 9×13” baking dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and then foil and bake until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

For the crunch: Pulse the gingersnaps in a food processor until they are fine crumbs with a few larger pieces. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the sugar, butter and flour. Form crumbles in several sizes using your hands and chill in the refrigerator. Remove the plastic and foil from the yams and stir to coat with the sauce. Continue baking uncovered until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Top with gingersnap crumbles and bake until the yams are very tender and the topping is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Serve.