Sweet Potato Pie

Recipe by April McGreger, author of “Sweet Potatoes” and Weavers Way member

Ingredients:

  •  2 lbs. red or orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, such as Jewel or Garnet
  • ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
  • ¼ cup (1/2 stick) melted unsalted butter
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp. lemon extract (optional)
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (See note)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into one-inch-thick slices. Steam them in a tightly covered pot on a rack over boiling water until completely tender when pierced with a sharp knife, 15-20 minutes. Measure two cups of mashed sweet potatoes and save any extra for another use.

With a hand mixer, beat the two cups mashed sweet potatoes with the condensed milk, butter, eggs, sugar and spices until smooth. Pour into the pie shell and bake on the lower rack of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until slightly puffed in the center.

Let cool at least one hour before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.

NOTE: For a crispier crust, you can prebake the pie shell before adding and baking the filling. To do so, position a rack in the bottom third of your oven and preheat to 375°. Line the inside of the pie crust with parchment paper or foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice.

Bake until the top rim of the pie crust is beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the parchment or foil and the weights. Continue baking the pie crust until it looks dry and is beginning to turn golden on the bottom, about 10 minutes more. (If the pie crust puffs, pierce the crust with a fork.) Transfer to a wire cake rack and cool completely before adding filling.