Best Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. sweet potatoes, about 5 large or 4 extra large, such as red garnet, beauregard or jewel, not white or purple varieties
• 8 Tbsp salted butter, diced into 1 Tbsp pieces, plus more for serving if desired
• 1 Tbsp real maple syrup, then more to taste for a sweeter option
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Use a fork to pierce each sweet potato once on both sides, then wrap each one in aluminum foil. Set the wrapped sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.
2. Turn the sweet potatoes over and keep baking until a knife slides through them easily, about 30 – 50 minutes longer.
3. As the sweet potatoes get close to done, put the butter in a medium skillet or saucepan with a light-colored interior. Warm it over medium heat, stirring here and there, until the butter browns; if you are using a saucepan, watch for the brown specks to begin bubbling up into the foam, since they can be harder to spot. Pour the browned butter into a dish right away so it does not keep cooking and burn.
4. When the sweet potatoes are cool enough to touch, or while wearing oven mitts, remove the skins, or scoop the flesh out of the peels and into a large bowl.
5. Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher. The texture will be chunky.
6. Add the browned butter and maple syrup. Blend with an electric hand mixer on low speed until combined, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the mixer up and whip until the sweet potatoes are smoother and creamy.
7. Serve warm, topped with more browned butter if desired.