A ‘finger food’ side dish for Christmas

The holidays often find sweet potatoes in a casserole with toasted marshmallows on top — children love scraping the marshmallow off and the lowly potato sits on their plates. Sweet potatoes are high in fiber, antioxidants, B vitamins and Vitamin C, so it’s worth a try to make them more enticing to children, and still appealing to grownups.

I found this recipe several years ago in a Cooking Light publication and have adapted it several times to my taste, using coconut oil in lieu of butter, and adding several spices, including fresh thyme.

"Brown Sugar-Glazed Sweet Potato Wedges with Yogurt dipping sauce"

This dish can be made up to two days ahead and stored in a covered dish in the refrigerator. Reheat at 350 degrees, for about 10 minutes or until heated through, finish under the broiler to re-crisp the edges of the wedges (unintended rhyme).

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into four or five long wedges each.

• 1/3 c. melted coconut oil (some prefer butter, but the coconut oil performs well, and adds a new twist)

• ¾ c. packed dark brown sugar

• ¼ c. water

• 1tsp. salt

• ½ tsp. ground nutmeg

• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp. ground ginger

• 1tbsp fresh chopped thyme

Directions:

Melt coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, water, salt, spices and bring to a low simmer. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until sugar is melted. Combine sugar mixture and potato wedges in a large bowl, toss well to coat.

Arrange wedges on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray or use parchment paper to line the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until just tender, not soft. If desired, sprinkle with the fresh thyme before serving. Serve warm or store for re-heating.

For the dipping sauce: Mix 1cup plain Greek yogurt with ¼ c. maple syrup; chill until ready to serve.