Candied Coconut Pecan Yams I

Get ready to yam it up. Giant yams were $.39 each.  I got 3, each weighing in at over 2.5 pounds.  With Thanksgiving 'round the corner, it's time to get a jump on various crock pot options for the big holiday. This combination of flavors appeared with two different processing options for the yams.  This first one is a shredded yam.  Praise God for the food processor. It would never have been made if the only option was a hand grater.  It took 5 store runs to find coconut extract.  It used to be on shelves everywhere.  It was finally located at a local Asian market.  The next version of this has the same ingredient list, but the yams are cut into 1/2 inch circles.  To be continued.

Winner, Loser or Meh

This was good, not great.  It tastes better than it looks.  Perhaps  if there was a plate of other delicious side dishes around, I would think this was the best yam recipe ever.  I am used to childhood holiday yams swimming in obnoxious pools of sugary buttered goodness.  There were no buttery sugared pools in this version. Adults will love this.

This version was outstanding: Candied Coconut Pecan Yams II

Recipe

I used a 6 quart crock pot for this, a 3-4 quart would work fine, too.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds yams, peeled, shredded
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (vegans can use margarine)
  
• 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp coconut extract
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• coconut, toasted (optional)

Spray no stick cooking spray in crock. Add potatoes, sugar, butter, coconut, pecans and cinnamon to crock.  Stir to mix all ingredients. Cover.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.  Stir in extracts.  Top with toasted coconut.