Maple Brown Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into dice. Transfer them to a large pot and add enough water to cover. Cover the pot, set it over high heat, and bring the water to a boil. Cook until a fork slides through the pieces with almost no resistance, 5-10 minutes depending on how large you cut the sweet potatoes. Drain well, then mash until the potatoes are mostly smooth. Set the mash aside.
2. Cut the butter into even pieces and put it in a light-colored skillet or pot. Warm it over medium-low heat until it melts and starts to foam. Keep cooking, stirring the whole time, until the milk solids start turning brown. As soon as the color begins to shift, stay close; when the butter is deep brown and smells nutty or like caramel, take it off the heat. Pour it right away into another bowl so it stops cooking.
3. Stir the maple syrup into the browned butter. Add the maple butter mixture to the mashed sweet potatoes, holding back 1-2 Tbsp for drizzling on top. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves as well, and stir everything together until combined. Taste, then adjust with more syrup, spices, or salt if needed. Finish with the chopped pecans and the reserved maple brown butter just before serving.