Maple- Chili Sweet Potato Fries

Is there anyone out there that does not like French fries? What is there to dislike about a deep fried potato- crispy, salty, oily, and delicious-no objection here! Except that come summer I naturally  navigate away from very oily foods and try to keep things lean and healthy. These sweet potato fries are the perfect way to get your fry on without all the oil. And let me tell you, they are addictive! Sweet, spicy, and crunchy, easy to throw together and you get the added bonus of some great nutritional content. Now, I used regular old chili powder in these because that is all I had but I was just dreaming of some ancho chili or chipotle chili powder which I think would have added a great flavor profile to these so if you are lucky enough to have any interesting chili powders around, use them here! If your chili powder is super spicy you can leave out the cayenne but I think the maple helps to offset the heat on your tongue. Pile these on a plate next to your grilled steak and enjoy!

4 large sweet potatoes

1/4 cup oil

2 Tbl granulated garlic powder

3 Tbl chili powder 

1/2 Tbl cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/3 cup good quality maple syrup + 2 Tbl

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1/2 inch wide sticks. Place on the baking sheet and drizzle on oil, sprinkle with garlic powder, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper and drizzle the 1/3 cup maple syrup all over. Mix well making sure to distribute all the spices. Arrange in one layer on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for 1/2 hour or until they are fork tender. Raise the oven to 450 and drizzle the remaining 2 Tbl over the fries and bake for another 15-20 minutes until they are brown around the edges.