Festive Candied Yams

This is a guilty pleasure, a relic of childhood, and I'm pretty much the only one who eats it at this point (well, Ariel does, but he eats almost anything).

This year I tried a variation with the intention of making the yams a little more grown-up and their sweetness a little more approachable. Here's the result. It worked pretty well - people ate about half of it, though that was with a lot of help from my friend Elana's twin toddlers. Hooray for a new generation of kids + yams!

Ingredients:

1 large can cut yams in syrup
1/2 bag of regular-sized marshmallows (Nothing wrong with the minis if you prefer them. I just like the big ones' tenderness.)
1/2 cup sugar, either the evaporated cane juice kind or packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup cranberries
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
Dash cloves
2 tbsp butter

Pour about 2/3 cup of the yam liquid from the can into a small pot, and discard the rest. Spread the yams into a baking dish in one layer. Warm the yams in the microwave.

Add the sugar to the yam liquid and bring to a boil. Cook down into a syrup that stretches from the (heat safe!) spoon like corn syrup, stirring often. Then turn the heat down and add the cranberries, stirring until they pop and become soft. Stir in the spices ad the butter. Pour the sauce over the yams.

Spread a single layer of marshmallows over the yams and place under the broiler. Broil until the tops are darkened to the degree you prefer.