Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

I was given this pie recipe from a co-worker. He brought it to a potluck and I fell in love with it and proceeded to talk about it to everyone and anyone for the next month. It’s sweet and very rich. Think of it as a blend of 25% Pumpkin Pie meets 75% of Pecan Pie.

I roasted one very large Sweet Potato on 350F for about an hour the day before. The Sweet Potato was so large it looked like it would have filled 4 cups if chopped up fresh, but it shrinks when cooked. 4 cups of raw sweet potato must yield close to two cups when cooked. This was very helpful roasting the Sweet Potato a head of time, as I was able to start the pie immediately when I woke up. Moreover, Sweet Potatoes are super good for you as they are loaded with anti-oxidants: a delicious pie that can battle cancer, yes please! (It may however, put you into diabetic shock just by reading the ingredients…)

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

This combination of two Southern favorites comes courtesy of the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook.

http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/

Ingredients:

Dough for a one crust pie

Filling

· 2 cups cooked, mashed, sweet potatoes, about 1 lb.

· 3/4 cup sugar

· 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

· 1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt

· 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

· 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

· 1/4 tsp ground allspice

· 1/2 tsp vanilla

· 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

Pecan Topping
(I skipped this step and just added plain walnuts, I went to two stores to find pecans and then gave up.)

· 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

· 2 eggs, lightly beaten

· 2 tbsp butter, softened

· 2 tsps vanilla

· 1/2 cup sugar

Sweet Topping

· 1/2 cup sugar

· 1/2 cup dark corn syrup (I used light as that was all I had)

· pinch kosher or sea salt

· 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Pick out a 9 by 1 1/4 inch pie pan. This is a bit deeper than normal to hold everything. Roll out one pie crust, fit it into the pie pan as directed, and chill it in the freezer until you’re ready for it. (I used a deep dish and I still had a lot of overflow, I think next time I make this I would split the fillings into two and make two smaller pies to prevent the waste.)

1. Filling: Grab a big bowl and dump all the ingredients for the filling into it. Mix well and set the mixture aside.

      4. Pecan Topping: Take another bowl and throw all the ingredients for the pecan topping in to    

          it.  Stir together and set aside. (I skipped this step and just added plain walnuts)

      5.  Sweet Topping: Now take another bowl and throw all the ingredients for the sweet topping in  

           to it. Stir together and set aside.

      6.  Pull the pie shell out of the freezer and spoon in the pie filling. Smooth and even the surface.  Then pour the toppings over it. (PLACE THE PIE ON A TIN FOIL LINED COOKIE SHEET!!!  Trust me, you will thank me for it later!!!)     

      7.  Pop the pie in to the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the crust is golden and the filling is set.

Messy, messy, messy...

      8.  Cool the pie on a rack. Serve slices of pie at room temperature with a nice plop of sweetened whipped cream.

DELICIOUS!!!

It was very easy to make and very quick if you roast the Sweet Potato a head of time. This pie is very messy if it overflows so be sure to place the pie plate on a cookie sheet, lined with tin foil, before you cook it!

Caution: Some people are big scaredy cats and flat out refused to try this pie, even thought they like pumpkin pie. This pie ended up being something like a pumpkin pie meets pecan pie, SO GOOD. My parents and I LOVED it; we were the only three to try it, that's fine MORE FOR US!!!