Baked Sweet Potato Chips

I love yams and my husband does too, but for some reason our kids take quite a bit of coaxing to eat them. I'm afraid I'll never understand that... After receiving yams in our Bountiful Basket for the second week in a row, I decided I needed to try something different, something that might be a little more appealing to little kids' tastes. I found this recipe on simplyrecipes for baked sweet potato fries and decided to try it, even though I'd made sweet potato fries with yams before (different recipe) and they weren't exuberantly received, even though they were quite good. I thought this time they might go over better sliced round like potato chips--and sliced as thin as I could make them. 

Verdict? Oh. My. Gosh! Sooo good. I suddenly understood what the author of this recipe (see link above) meant about being addicted to them. My oldest daughter and I couldn't stop eating them--even before we sat down to dinner. There definitely weren't enough of them for our whole family (though my picky 4-year-old still wasn't overly impressed, unfortunately). Now I can't wait till we get yams or sweet potatoes again!

Notes: Baking times are approximate. For best browning results bake only one sheet at a time. The addition of the raw sugar helps with caramelization and obviously intensifies the sweetness of the chips, but it can easily be eliminated.

Sweet Potato Chips

Yield: Serves 4-6 (side dish)

2 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, about 3 large ones
1/4 c. olive or canola oil
1-2 Tb. raw sugar
1 Tb. salt
1-2 Tb. spice or spice combination of your choice (optional): chipotle powder, smoked paprika, Chinese five-spice, pumpkin pie spice, garam masala, Cajun seasoning, etc. (I didn't add anything more than the oil, raw sugar, and salt, and found nothing lacking in the taste.)

Preheat oven to 450°F. (For more crispiness, preheat your oven to 500°F, then turn down when put pan in.)

Peel sweet potatoes and cut off ends. Slice potatoes into thin rounds, as uniform in thickness as possible.

Put sweet potatoes into large bowl and add oil. Mix well to combine. 

Sprinkle with salt, sugar, and spices of your choice (optional). Use hands to mix well, so all pieces are coated with oil and spices.

Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on baking sheet.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 450 degrees. After first 15 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven and turn over all chips. Return to oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until chips are well browned. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.