My mother-in-law makes these for every holiday, and they are practically dessert with just 3 ingredients.

My mother-in-law has made these brown sugar sweet potatoes for every holiday since before I joined the family, and they’ve never missed a Thanksgiving or Christmas table yet. It’s an old Amish-style idea: take good sweet potatoes, keep the ingredients simple, and let the oven do most of the work. With just sweet potatoes, brown sugar, and butter, they turn into something that’s practically dessert—caramelized and sticky on the baking sheet, with soft orange centers and a glossy, sugary top. This is the kind of straightforward Midwestern comfort food that feels like home, especially when the house smells like butter and brown sugar baking away.

Serve these sweet potatoes right on the baking sheet or transfer them to a warm platter, spooning any melted brown sugar and butter from the pan over the tops. They’re wonderful alongside roast turkey, ham, or a simple pork loin, and they fit right in with green bean casserole, corn pudding, and a crisp salad. If you want to lean into the “practically dessert” side, offer them with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream at the end of the meal—no one ever complains.

Servings: 6

3 large sweet potatoes (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds total)

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easier cleanup, as the brown sugar and butter will get bubbly and sticky.

Scrub the sweet potatoes well under cool running water to remove any dirt. Pat them dry with a clean towel. Leave the skins on for this recipe; they help the halves hold their shape and keep the insides moist.

Using a sharp knife, carefully cut each sweet potato in half lengthwise. Lay the halves cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet, arranging them so they sit flat and close together but not overlapping.

Score the cut surface of each sweet potato half by making shallow crisscross cuts with the tip of your knife, being careful not to cut all the way through the skin. This gives the butter and brown sugar little paths to melt down into the potato.

Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the cut sides of all the sweet potato halves, dividing it as evenly as you can. Don’t worry if some spills onto the baking sheet; it will melt and help create that caramelized look and flavor.

Dot the tops of the sweet potatoes evenly with the pieces of butter, pressing them gently into the brown sugar so they don’t slide off as everything melts in the oven.

Place the baking sheet on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are very tender when pierced with a fork and the brown sugar and butter have melted into a bubbly, caramel-like sauce around and on top of them.

Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and let the sweet potatoes rest for about 5 minutes. The bubbling sugar will settle and thicken slightly as it cools. Spoon any pooled brown sugar-butter mixture from the baking sheet back over the tops of the sweet potatoes before serving warm.

For a slightly deeper flavor, use dark brown sugar instead of light, or mix the two if that’s what you have in the pantry. If your sweet potatoes are very large, you can cut each half into two lengthwise wedges after baking for easier serving, spooning the syrup from the pan over the cut edges. To keep the recipe close to the original but add a whisper of spice, sprinkle a pinch of ground cinnamon or nutmeg over the brown sugar before baking—this still feels very traditional. If you need to make them ahead, you can bake the sweet potatoes until just tender, cool, cover, and refrigerate, then rewarm in a 350°F oven until hot and bubbly again, adding a touch more brown sugar and butter if they look dry. For smaller gatherings, simply cut the recipe in half; the baking time will stay about the same, but start checking a little earlier. And if you like the skins extra caramelized, slide the pan under the broiler for a minute or two at the end—watching closely—until the tops are glossy and just beginning to brown.