Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, sugar, and salt. Cut cold butter and shortening into chunks and add to the bowl. Toss in the flour to ensure the chunks are coated. Using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingertips, pinch the chunks into the flour until pea-sized morsels begin to form. (Those visible pieces of fat are a good thing. They help create a flaky crust.) 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour 1 tsp Cinnamon 3 tbsps White Sugar 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt 6 tbsp Salted Butter 4 tbsp Butter Flavored Shortening
• Note: If the butter begins feeling soft or greasy at any point, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10–15 minutes before continuing.
• Fill a small cup with ice and water and set it aside. You'll measure the water from this cup as you make the dough.
• Make a well in the center of the bowl and begin adding ice cold water a 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Pick up a handful of dough and squeeze it in your hand. If it holds together without crumbling apart, you've added enough water. The dough should look a little shaggy and uneven rather than smooth or wet. 3-5 tbsp Ice Cold Water
• Pour the mixture onto a clean countertop or work surface. Use your hands to gently press the loose crumbs together into a cohesive dough. Do not knead it like bread dough. If you have a few dry crumbs around the edges, simply press them into the dough. Once the dough holds together, form it into a thick disk, about 1 inch thick. You may still see streaks or pieces of butter throughout the dough. That's exactly what you want.
• Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, or up to 2–3 days.

Make the Sweet Potato Pie Filling

• While the pie dough is resting in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse the sweet potatoes, pat them dry and pokes holes in them with a fork. Place onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes, until fork tender. Allow them to cool, then remove the skin and place into a food processor until smooth, about 20 seconds. Be sure to remove any stringy fibers from the sweet potato flesh. 2 3/4 cups Mashed Sweet Potato
• In a skillet, brown the butter and allow it to cool. 1/2 cup Salted Butter
• Add the brown butter, brown sugar, sugar, spices, evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Whisk together until smooth and combined, then add eggs heavy cream, and flour and mix until just smooth, about 20 seconds. 1 cup Brown Sugar 1 tbsp Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg 1/8 tsp Ground Cloves 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt 2 large Eggs 1/4 cup Heavy Cream 1 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
• Roll the pie dough out into a 10-inch circle until it's about a 1/4 inch thick.
• Place pie dough into a pie pan and trim off any excess pieces that don't fit into the pan. If you'd like to crimp the pie crust edges, do so here.
• Polk holes in the bottom of the crust so that air bubbles do not form while baking. Add parchment paper to the pie pan and add pie weights to the unbaked pie crust, ensuring the pie weights fill the pan all the way to the top to prevent the dough from shrinking in the pan while baking. Bake in the preheated oven (425 degrees F) for 15 minutes, until the edges of the crust are golden brown.
• Remove the pie weights from the pie shell and continue to bake for another 5-7, until the bottom of the pie dough is golden brown. Add the sweet potato filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the edges of the pie are slightly puffed but the center of the pie is slightly jiggly. Allow your baked sweet potato pie to cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate for 4 hours, ideally overnight.
• To make the brown sugar meringue topping, add egg whites to a clean bowl and use a hand mixer / electric mixer to whip the egg whites. Start on medium speed then increase to high speed and add the cream of tartar. Continue to mix for another minute then slowly begin to add brown sugar. Whip until glossy, about 3-5 minutes, then add vanilla extract and mix for another 10 seconds until the extract is fully incorporated. (Tip: add the meringue topping only after the pie has cooled completely. If the pie is warm, the meringue will melt) 3 Egg Whites 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar 6 tbsps Brown Sugar 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract Pinch of Kosher Salt
• Add meringue on top of the pie or add to a piping bag and pipe on top of the pie once the pie has cooled completely. Pro tip – use a torch to brown the meringue for those gorgeous browned streaks!