As we continue to cope with this strange indoor, semi-quarantine reality, we all need a little escape from the hum-drum of every day life. Enter these Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes—they’re guaranteed to make your life a little bit more exciting!!

Now, I’ll never turn down a simple baked sweet potato but I have to admit that my heart went zing when I pulled these babies out of the oven.

And so did my tastebuds!

These have that perfect ying/yang thing going on—the insides are fluffy and smooth while the top layer gets all crunchy and caramelized. Absolutely delish!

And while these do take a bit more effort than just tossing some spuds into the oven to bake, the level of joy and celebration at your dinner table, makes it all worth it!! (yes, it’s sort of pathetic, but guys, these days, we’ve got to make the most of what we’ve got!!)

Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Makes 4-6 servings

Prep Time: About 1 ½ hours (most of this is hands free)

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes (not too big)

• Water

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

The Recipe

1. Make sure rack is in lower third of oven and preheat to 400ºF. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes and place them in a large cast-iron or other heavyweight skillet. Pour in some water so that it just covers the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender. Remove potatoes from the pan and let cool a bit. If necessary, carefully dab the bottom of the skillet to remove any excess water and return the skillet to the oven for 20 minutes.

2. When potatoes are cool enough, slice them in half lengthwise and set aside.

3. When the 20 minutes are up, add the butter to the very hot skillet (be careful) and swirl it around. Arrange the sweet potatoes halves, cut side down on top of the melted butter in the pan and roast for another 20 minutes or so , until the edges are browned and cut sides look caramelized. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine. I simplified the recipes and tinkered with proportions.