Sweet Potato Pie: The Neglected Cousin of Pumpkin Pie

Sweet potatoes are surging in popularity of late, thanks to sweet potato fries and other sweet potato products becoming more widely available on the food scene. Foodies and average diners alike are always eager to sample something new, especially if it is in-keeping with another popular trend: nutrition. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, adding to their nutrition appeal (click on the links in the text for more nutrient info!).

Many people mistake sweet potatoes for yams, which is unfortunate, because yams are bland, unrelated vegetables that are not interchangeable with the flavorful, bright sweet potato. In my quest to try new things and to deviate from the norm, I found a recipe for sweet potato pie and decided to try it out.

I bought some individually shrink-wrapped sweet potatoes from the local grocery store. They were a better price, and they were much easier, faster, and neater to cook than naked sweet potatoes; I just had to microwave them for seven minutes in their shrink wrap rather than boiling or baking them for two to four times as long. Next, I blended the softened butter with the cooked, peeled sweet potato using an electric mixer. The recipe calls for one cup of white granulated sugar, but I used 2/3 c. brown sugar and 1/3 c. white sugar because I believe that the brown sugar perfectly complements the sweet flavor of the root vegetable and lends color and a richness to the pie. After adding the sugar to the mixture, I put in the eggs, spices, milk, and flavoring, making sure to sufficiently aerate the batter (for a minute or two), since the pie is essentially a custard. If the eggs are not whipped well enough, the pie will be dense and gelatinous with an uneven flavor rather than fluffy and smooth.

When the batter was finished, I poured it into an unbaked pie crust that I had made approximately a month ago and frozen. I rolled it out and it was still in perfect condition! The pie needs to bake for an hour at 350 degrees. This amount of time may seem excessive, but, trust me, the end product is well worth it! The finished pie is light, sweet, and creamy, with a crisp and chewy crust. I would highly recommend this simple, delicious recipe. Bon appetit!