Maple Sage Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible! 

Sweet potatoes spend all year waiting for November, and it’s finally their time to shine. Happy Sweet Potato Awareness Month! This starchy vegetable is a staple on Thanksgiving day, most often prepared in a casserole with marshmallows and pecans. But sweet potatoes are already sweet, and the preparation possibilities are endless. So I'm sharing an alternative recipe that is easily customizable and will look even more elegant on your table.

Hasselback sweet potatoes look impressive, but they are surprisingly easy to make.

This method of preparation involves cutting a sweet potato into thin coins, but not all the way through. Leave the bottom 1/4 inch intact so the coins fan out like an accordion. This creates more surface area for flavors and additional texture.

Then make a flavored melted butter, like the sage maple butter I used in this recipe, and brush it all over the potatoes so it gets in all the nooks and crannies. This method yields sweet potatoes with crispy outsides and creamy, buttery insides.

Maple Sage Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

Time: About 90 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 medium-sized orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), scrubbed and dried
• 6 tablespoons Challenge salted butter
• 12 fresh sage leaves, chiffonade
• 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• Fresh ground black pepper and flaky salt to taste
• Optional: Toasted pecan pieces for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and coat 11x7-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Poke sweet potatoes several times with fork and microwave uncovered on high for 5 minutes. 
3. Place wooden skewers or chopsticks on either side of each potato and make crosswise cuts into the potatoes about 1/4-inch apart, stopping at the skewer so as not to cut all the way through.
4. Arrange sweet potatoes in baking dish.
5. Microwave butter with sage leaves or heat in small saucepan until butter is melted. Stir in maple syrup and seasonings.
6. Brush butter over sweet potatoes, making sure to get in all the slices. Sprinkle with black pepper and salt.
7. Bake about 1 hour, or until insides are tender and outsides are crisp. Halfway through baking time, remove from oven and gently separate slices.
8. Remove from oven. Top with pecans if desired.