This old-fashioned sweet potato pie recipe is a flaky pie crust, smooth brown butter sweet potato filling that will in your mouth! Just like grandma used to make!
4tbsp(48g)Butter Flavored Shortening, cold, cut into chunks (See notes for replacing with butter)
3-5tbspIce Cold Water
Sweet Potato Filling
2 3/4cups(650g)Mashed Sweet Potato, (about 1 1/2 lbs or 5-6 small sweet potatoes)
1/2cupSalted Butter, , browned (see instructions)
1cup(220g)Brown Sugar
1tbspCinnamon
1/2tspGround Ginger
1/2tspGround Nutmeg
1/8tspGround Cloves
1/2cup(120g)Evaporated Milk
1tbspVanilla Extract
1/2tspKosher Salt
2large(100g)Eggs
1/4cup(60g)Heavy Cream
1tbsp(8g)All-Purpose Flour
Brown Sugar Meringue
3(54g)Egg Whites
1/4tspCream of Tartar, , or lemon juice
6tbspsBrown Sugar
1/2tspVanilla Extract
Pinch of Kosher Salt
Instructions
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 Flour1 tsp Cinnamon 3 tbsps White Sugar1/4 tsp Kosher Salt6 tbsp Salted Butter4 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 Sugar1 tbsp Cinnamon1/2 tsp Ground Ginger1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg1/8 tsp Ground Cloves1/2 cup Evaporated Milk1 tbsp Vanilla Extract1/2 tsp Kosher Salt2 large Eggs1/4 cup Heavy Cream1 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 Whites1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar6 tbsps Brown Sugar1/2 tsp Vanilla ExtractPinch 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!
Notes
To save time, use a store bought pie crust! You'll want to get a 9 inch pie crust so keep that in mind!
Make sure that the roasted sweet potatoes have come to room temperature prior to adding the ingredients to make the sweet potato pie filling. If the potatoes are hot, it'll cook the eggs and the filling will be lumpy. No good.
Optional: To make your sweet potato filling extra smooth, press them through a fine mesh sieve. This takes some time but it's worth it!
Do not overmix your sweet potatoes if adding to a food processor. They'll become gluey from overmixing! When you roast sweet potatoes, the starch in the potatoes swells. When you blend them, they'll release too much starch. You'll end up with a gummy filling as opposed to a smooth and creamy sweet potato pie. Mix until just smooth.
For best results, I recommend using fresh sweet potatoes for this recipe as opposed to canned sweet potato puree. The canned puree tends to have more water in it which prevents filling from thickening up while baking.
Make sure that the pie weights completely fill the pie pan to the top of the pie crust. You can also use uncooked rice or uncooked beans. Just don't use them to cook after.