Donna Barnes of Marion adds cranberries and apples to her candied yams

By Heather Crabtree
Albany Democrat-Herald

Donna Barnes copied the Apple Mallow Yam Yum recipe from a women’s magazine her mother got about 30 years ago.

Barnes, who lives in the Marion area, grew up one of six children. She started taking home economics in the eighth grade and helped her mother cook.

The Yam Yums recipe is still with her today, although with a few “tweaks.”

“I tend to make a recipe the first time and then change it,” she said.

One change she made to the yam yums is to sprinkle a 1/2 cup of frozen cranberries on top of the apples. Another is to reduce the margarine and use more yam juice to cut the fat intake, she said.

The key to the layers seems to be what kind of dish the yams are cooked in.

In her original submission to the Democrat-Herald, Barnes noted that she was never able to get the dish to layer. However, on Monday, she used a round, glass bowl for the first time and it layered perfectly.

Although she enjoys cooking, baking is Barnes’ first love.

“On the cold, cold days, I really like to get in to do something different and the smells are so comforting,” she said.

She pulls many of those “new” recipes from magazines such as Taste of Home or gets them from relatives.

One of her favorite dishes to prepare is lasagna because it’s good for when she and husband Jerry have family visiting.

She also enjoys making fresh soups in the winter. One of her favorite kitchen utensils is the pizza cutter because she uses it to cut the homemade noodles for her soups.

Here’s the original recipe:

Apple mallow yam yums

Ingredients:

2 apples, sliced

2 17-ounce cans yams, drained

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions:

Toss apples and nuts with combined brown sugar and cinnamon. Alternate layers of yams and apples in a 11/2-quart casserole dish. Dot with butter.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows over yams and apples. Broil until lightly browned. Makes six to eight servings.