sweet potato pie

Aw man. Sweet potato pie. Quintessential autumn treat.

Okay, I'll be honest for a second: I had never eaten a sweet potato until today. Well, I had some sweet potato french fries at Boylan sometime last year, but since that one moment, sweet potato in any form has not touched my lips [plus, Chelsea and Rudhdi told me that the fry incident counts for nil anyway]. So yes. Never have had a sweet potato in my life, until today.

chelsea & roods peeling some scalding hot sweet potatoes

And you know what? It was damn good.

After Farmers Market-ing earlier this morning for sweet potatoes with Rudhdi [not to mention splitting an incredible grilled root vegetable naan sandwich], I picked Chelsea up and brought the two of them to the apartment for a cute little autumn baking date. Roods and I had decided a while back that we wanted to try a sweet potato pie at some point, and this weekend, the weekend before Thanksgiving and midway through fall, was perfect.

Plus, I love baking with friends. Especially two who are as big of foodies as I am. LOVE.

Sweet Potato Pie

For the crust, you'll need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal [almond flour]
• 1/4 cup crushed pecans [I like to use a hammer, myself]
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 3 tbsp cold water

For the pie filling, you'll need:

• 1.5 pounds of sweet potatoes [about 3 medium-sized potatoes]
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• pecan halves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9-inch pie pan.

For crust: in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend wheat flour, almond meal, crushed pecans, and salt on low speed until well mixed. Toss in butter and increase speed to medium. Beat until dough has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add in water slowly, until dough starts to come together. Press dough into the bottom and sides of a greased, 9-inch pie pan. Using a fork, poke holes into the bottom and sides of the crust. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

For filling: boil or microwave potatoes until soft. Peel potatoes and cut into small cubes. In a medium-sized bowl, mash potatoes with a potato masher or fork. Add in sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and continue mashing. Once mashed, add in eggs, condensed milk, and vanilla. Blend well. Finally add in melted butter and blend. Pour filling into pie shell. Lace the sides of the pie with pecan halves. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until filling has set and crust is golden. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

It turned out pretty well.

Or at least the cries of "SOOO GOOOOOOOOOD" coming from Chelsea and Roods when they tried it would suggest so. I liked it a lot myself. Especially the nutty crust. I'm becoming a huge fan of using a combination of wheat flour and almond meal in place of white flour in crust recipes. The pecans in the crust and on top were a fantastic touch, too.

The only thing I would change about this recipe in future is maybe adding a bit more sweetened condensed milk. Though, truthfully, I eye-balled it, so it very well may have been less than the recipe called for. In any case, I was pleased.

Roods took some home for tomorrow, Chelsea took some home for Liz, and I rationed off a slice for Charlie, my wonderful SR from last year, as a peace-offering for stealing Roods away from today's Quidditch tournament. And Noosh and I have got about a quarter of it left. Excellent.

 

In other news, Deathly Hallows Part 1 was amazing. The epicness completely made up for the total lack of sleep Noosh and I got on Friday morning. Seriously. I plan on watching it again. Soon. The pumpkin pasties held up pretty well, too. And there was definitely a lot of emotional eating of the Bonbons during the movie. Glad I planned ahead on that one.

Not to mention this Dark Mark is STILL on my arm [sometimes I forget the magic (pun intended) of henna], for all my dorkiness out in the open for the world to see. Which is okay by me.

I may even retrace it before it fades completely. Maybe.