Maple-Dijon Glazed Carrots

Wowza, these are some awesome carrots! My son Luke and I adore glazed carrots. They're sweet, buttery and each caramelized carrot delivers the perfect tender bite. This time, I added a little zing with Dijon mustard, which compliments the sweet maple syrup 100% perfectly. And that hint of butter... it glazes the carrots and brings our their natural sweetness. I'm so glad this dish is easy, I'll be making it again and again.

What I also love about this recipe is that I don't have to slave over the cooktop to make it. The oven does ALL the work, and helps create that golden brown, sweet crust on every inch of each carrot. I'm telling you, the balance of sweetness and Dijon mustard is spot on. 

About the carrots: I used baby carrots because that's what I had on hand (for school lunches). You can also use peeled chopped carrots - the cooking time and temperature remains the same. 

Maple-Dijon Glazed Carrots 

2 tablespoons butter, preferably unsalted
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 cups baby carrots
Salt and ground black pepper
Fresh parsley leaves for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Melt the butter in an ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. When the butter is bubbly, stir in the maple syrup and Dijon mustard. Remove the pan from the heat, add the carrots and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes, until the carrots are golden brown and tender, stirring once or twice during cooking.
Top with fresh parsley leaves before serving if desired.

Serves 4