Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes

The Layering: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange the sweet potato slices in the dish. You can overlap them slightly, like shingles on a roof.
The Coating: In a medium bowl, whisk together the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.
The “Drying” Trick: Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the potatoes. It will look like a lot of dry sugar, but don’t worry—the potatoes will release their own moisture as they bake to create a syrup.
The Buttering: Place the pats of butter evenly across the top of the sugar-covered potatoes. Drizzle the vanilla extract over everything.
The Bake (Part 1): Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. This steams the potatoes until they are fork-tender.
The Basting (Part 2): Remove the foil. You’ll see a beautiful syrup has formed. Use a spoon to baste the potatoes with that syrup.
The Candy Finish: Bake uncovered for another 20–30 minutes. Every 10 minutes, baste them again. The syrup will thicken, and the edges of the potatoes will start to look glossy and “candied.“
The Rest: Let them sit for 10 minutes before serving. The syrup thickens significantly as it cools.

Don’t Add Water: A common mistake is adding water to the pan. Sweet potatoes are full of moisture; adding water will result in a thin, runny sauce instead of a thick, syrupy glaze.
The “Marshmallow” Debate: If you want a toasted topping, sprinkle 2 cups of mini marshmallows over the top during the last 5 minutes of baking until they are golden brown. (Traditionalists usually skip this, but kids love it!)
Uniform Slices: Try to cut your rounds the same thickness. If some are thin and some are thick, the thin ones will turn to mush before the thick ones are tender.