Recipe Post: Sweet Potato Pie

Remember what I said about it being the pie time of year, and how I hope you don't get sick of them? Can't say I didn't warn you!

Here's a guest chef post from Hubby! He decided to make me a sweet potato pie. I can only take credit for the pictures (and advising how to make the pie crust.).

I admit that I am historically not a sweet potato person, but this pie is delicious and makes me forget that I am eating sweet potatoes. When we were engaged and Hubby first told me that he was going to make me a sweet potato pie, I voiced my reservations and told him that I made no promises that I would like it. Luckily, things turned out like things did for him with my guacamole. Mmm.

P.S., Sweet potatoes are really good for you so that's an added bonus! Although with all the stuff you add to this pie, I am pretty sure this pie is as far from sweet potatoes as french fries are from normal potatoes.

But everyone loves french fries, so that's okay. (Except me, because I'm weird. I'm coming around to them, though.)

Let's get down to it:

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 40-45 minutes

Yields: 2 pies, or 16 slices (If you don't want to make two pies, just cut the amounts of all ingredients in half and skip cutting the pie dough in half.)

Ingredients:

For the crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil

For the filling:
6-8 sweet potatoes
1 cup butter
1-1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs

Directions:

1. Boil the sweet potatoes. This is the longest part of the whole recipe. I wasn't there when he started boiling them, but they took another probably 20 minutes after I got home. My guestimation is about 30-35 minutes.

2. While those are going, make the crust. Start with the flour.

Add the salt.

Mix until combined.

3. Now for the soy milk.

And the oil into the same measuring cup. We went slightly above the line because our apartment floor is actually slightly lopsided, so measurements are never quite right.

As per usual, I always stipulate here that my old family recipe says underlined and bold do not mix these ahead of time. I don't know why this is important but I've never tried it another way. Would anything bad happen? Probably not. Do I want to risk it? Not today. I don't mess with the classics.

Add this all to the flour mixture.

Mix it up!

4. Roll the dough into a ball with your hands. About 3/4 of the way through mixing, the spoon will stop being very helpful anyway so you'll have to finish mixing with your hands.

Cut in half to look vaguely like a geodude (I think I just outed myself as a nerd.).

Roll out one half of the pie dough. (Look! Look! We finally have a legitimate rolling pin!)

We used our handy-dandy pie sleeve, but you can also use wax paper if you want.

Line the bottom of a pie pan with it by gently peeling the dough away from the sleeve or wax paper.

P.S., It's weird to have so many hand photos this time! I kinda like it. Maybe I should always have Hubby cook.

Gently push out any air pockets on the bottom so that the dough lays flush against the pie plate. Pinch and pull (delicately!) the edges if there are any spots missing dough so that no glass shows through.

Rinse & repeat with the second half of the pie dough, and set them aside!

5. Once your sweet potatoes are soft to the touch (test with a fork, these babies are hot), drain into a colander. Remove the skins with a couple forks. Since they are nice and tender, this is pretty easy at this stage.

Mash the heck out of them with a potato masher.

...until there are not very many chunks left.

Add the eggs.

Then the butter, softened.

And finally, the sugar.

Mix it all together until it's nice and smooth.

Pour half of the mixture into one pie crust, and half into the other. (I know, rocket science. You wouldn't have known to do that without me here to tell you.) This is an open-faced pie, so you don't need another pie crust on the outside like my pies normally call for.

Bake in a 375-degree oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is crisping and maybe even getting a little golden.

And you're done!

Unlike most pies, Hubby finally admitted that this pie tastes best fresh out of the oven.

I personally think it tastes good both ways.

If you do serve it cold, think about adding a spoonful of ice cream, too!

Enjoy!

Kitchen Credits:

-The crust recipe is a family recipe.

-The filling recipe is courtesy of Hubby's manager at work.

Kitchen hacks for less time/money:

-Substitute cow's milk for soy milk in pie crust.

or

-Substitute a store-bought pie crust for steps 2-4.

-Peel and cube the sweet potatoes before boiling; they will boil faster and peel a little more cleanly. Please note that you will lose some nutrients doing it this way, hence Hubby boiling them whole.