Instead of mashed, overly sweetened sweet potatoes, I decided to serve roasted sweet potatoes as part of our Thanksgiving Day meal this year. The sweet potatoes are peeled, tossed with olive oil and spices, then roasted in the oven. See the recipe I posted up last week for Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes. For anyone that wants a sweeter tasting side dish, I serve the oven roasted sweet potatoes along with a side of maple pecan butter.

Spice Substitutions

Chinese five spice powder is a combination of star anise, fennel, cloves, white pepper and cinnamon. Here are a few suggestions on other spices that can be used. You can choose from one or more of these spices to add to the flavored butter:

Nutmeg
Allspice
Cloves
Ginger
Cinnamon
Star anise

Ingredients used to make maple pecan butter.

Maple Syrup Substitutions

If you don’t like the taste of maple syrup, or don’t have any on hand, other syrups may be used instead. Here are a few suggestions:

Honey
Blackstrap molasses
Light agave syrup
Dark agave syrup

Sweet Potatoes with Maple Pecan Butter

Lynn Smythe

New way to serve sweet potatoes – add a bit of sweet maple pecan butter to roasted sweet potatoes for a new twist on a classic Thanksgiving dish.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Course Side Dish

Servings 6 people

Equipment

Cutting board
Large knife
Frying pan
Small mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Spatula

Ingredients

1/4 cup pecans chopped and toasted
1/2 cup butter room temperature
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

In a small, dry pan, toast the pecans over medium heat until light brown. Let cool to room temperature before adding to the butter.
Add the softened butter, salt, spices and maple syrup to a small bowl.
Mix all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
Stir in the cooled, toasted nuts.
Place the maple butter in a decorative serving dish, and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.