Spiced & Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Spiced & Baked Sweet Potato Fries - made October 8, 2013 from Baltic Maid

This was the recipe I tried with the second of my three sweet potatoes.  Sweet potato fries are my new guilty pleasure and when I go out to eat, I've taken to ordering a burger just so I could have sweet potato fries with them if they're available.  So I had to make my own with at least one of the sweet potatoes I bought.  The advantage of baking vs deep-frying is these are healthier and have less fat.  The disadvantage is they don't get crisp or as crisp if you bake them.  Despite their french fry appearance which implies crispness, these were actually soft.  I still liked them and the spices gave them a great flavor though.  I think they would've eventually gotten more crisp if I had baked them even longer but I didn't want them to burn.  I wasn't risking not having my sweet potato fries.

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, grated (I didn't have any so I left it out)
about 1 1/2 lbs / 680 g sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cumin (I only used 1/4 teaspoon)
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
a few pinches cayenne

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F/ 230°C. Combine the grated garlic and the olive oil in a bowl. Set aside. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them into 1/3 inch (0.85 cm) thick sticks. Add the sweet potato sticks to the bowl with the oil and toss them until they’re evenly coated.
2. Mix the spices together in a small dish. Sprinkle this spice mix over the sweet potatoes and toss them to coat them evenly.
3. Place the fries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Flip them and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked to preference.