Sweet Potato Pie – Thanks Uncle for the Recipe!
For the Crust:
1/2 cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup cold buttermilk (milk will work also)
For the Filling:
2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes, from 2 medium sweet
potatoes OR (1 Quart Home canned Sweet potatoes)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup (10 ounces) evaporated milk, divided
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
To make the pie crust:
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt.
Add cold, cubed butter and using your fingers work the butter into the flour
mixture. Quickly break the butter since you want to keep it as cold as possible.
The butter will look like peas. In the bowl move the mixture to the side to
form a hole in the center. Pour in the
cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring to dough together. Add a little more
buttermilk if you need to but you don’t want the dough to be wet.
On a lightly floured board or counter put the dough
mixture. Gently knead into a disk trying
again to not work it too much. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate
for 1 hour. This will rechill the butter.
Roll out the pie crust on a well floured surface and make
sure you have about 12 inches in diameter. Place in a pie pan. Trim edges and
crimp. Cover it with
plastic wrap and refrigerate again till the filling is
ready.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees .
To make the filling:
If you don’t have a quart of your own
home canned sweet potatoes you will have to do this first: Peel the sweet potatoes. Dice the
sweet potatoes into large, 3-inch chunks. Place potato pieces in a large pot
and cover with cool water. Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender throughout,
about 20 minutes. Test the doneness of the potatoes using a thin knife, then drain
into a colander.
In the same large pot place cooked potato pieces, brown
sugar, spices, salt, butter, and half
of the evaporated milk. Cook on low, mashing the potatoes as they cook, about 5 minutes. Make sure that the mixture is as smooth as possible. An
immersion blender will work to get a smooth texture. Once mixture is
smooth remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile you will mix
well in a medium bowl, the other half of the evaporated milk, granulated sugar,
eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour the egg
mixture into the sweet potato mixture. (You do this so that you don’t have
scrambled eggs in your sweet potato custard.) Mix till smooth and pour into the
pie crust.
Place the pie plate on a baking sheet (in case it bubbles
over it won’t be all over your stove), and put in the upper half of the oven, and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and cook
until cooked through, about 45 to 50 minutes.
To see if it’s done from Taste of
Home:
The most common doneness test for
custard pies is to insert a table knife about an inch from the center of the
pie. If it comes out clean, the pie is done, Or try the jiggle test. Gently
shake the pie plate. If the center of the pie slightly jiggles, it's done. As
it cools, the residual heat in the filling will finish baking the center.
