What Spices Belong In A Black Folks Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
Here are three spices that belong in a delicious soul food sweet potato pie.
- Ground cinnamon is a versatile spice for savory and sweet dishes for an extra burst of flavor while adding more color.
Cinnamon is an excellent addition to everything from an apple pie, pumpkin bread, and even sweet potato pies! Cinnamon helps brighten up even the darkest desserts because it adds lightness to them while giving off its unique taste.
- Ground nutmeg is often found in pumpkin pies, but it goes exceptionally well with sweet potato pie. This spice gives the dish a wonderful flavor and provides some warmth to your palate.
Think about how good your grandmothers Thanksgiving meal tastes every year! Ground nutmeg has that same type of taste without being overwhelming or spicy at all. You need this for sure if you are planning on making this Thanksgiving specialty!
- Ground cloves are that secret ingredient that gives your finished recipes a beautiful aroma, a spicy kick, and the perfect amount of sweetness without going overboard with sugar.
Ground cloves have an aromatic sweet aroma and taste. Youll love how much more flavorful your ciders, toddies, brines, and sweet treats become once cloves are added!
When combined, these spices create an excellent balance. Cloves should definitely be included in any soul food Thanksgiving menu or Christmas dinner.
What Are The Ingredients In A Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Not all sweet potato pies are made the same. Yes, all of them contain the basic ingredients of the old-fashioned sweet potato pie recipe but a few show slight variations , as you can see below:
- Sweet potatoes: Make sure to wash and pat dry the sweet potatoes before pricking them all over with a fork and baking them until tender. This will allow you to mash them in order to prepare the creamy filling. Some prefer to boil them but I dont recommend it. Why? If you boil them they will take on too much water, making the filling soggy.
- Butter: Use melted unsalted butter. Choosing a good-quality butter will make your pie taste much better. It is real butter without water.
- Brown sugar It will give the pie a warm sweet flavor that granulated sugar cant offer.
- Eggs Use whole eggs, at room temperature. Beat them, one at a time, just until combined, but do not overmix them otherwise, your pie may crack.
- Dairy Use evaporated milk. But you can easily replace it with either whole milk or 2% milk, although you will have to increase the amount. For each cup of evaporated milk, use 1 cups of whole milk or 2% milk .
- Flavorings I used freshly ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and also ground ginger plus pure vanilla extract and salt. But there are people that add pumpkin pie spice instead.
- Pie crust I used a store-bought pie crust instead of a homemade pie crust, cutting down the prep time. But you can prepare your own pie crust from scratch. Its all up to you!
How To Make Pie Dough From Scratch
- Combine flour, sugar and salt.
- Toss large chunks of butter in the flour and then smash each chunk with your thumb and index finger.
- Add water and stir to form a dough- while still keeping the butter as chunky as possible.
- Chill for 10 minutes
- Roll dough out into a rectangle, fold the short sides in to the center, then the long sides together to form a book. Cut in half and refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
- Roll one half of the dough into a circle, lay in your pie dish and gently push the dough into the corners, cover and refrigerate for at least 2.5 hrs
- Keep the other half for another pie
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How To Boil Sweet Potatoes
You will need fresh sweet potatoes for this homemade sweet potato pie recipe and you will need to boil them. If you have never boiled sweet potatoes it is super easy!
Just get a large pot to add the sweet potatoes in and then add enough water to cover them completely. Cover the pot with a lid and then place the pot on high heat on the stove.
Bring the water to a boil and once it has started boiling let the sweet potatoes boil for 15 minutes.
Check to see if they are soft by piercing them with a fork or knife. If they are not soft then let them boil for another 5-10 minutes.
Once done boiling use a strainer and drain the water and sweet potatoes, put the sweet potatoes back into the pot, and mash.
Best Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
Have you ever bought a sweet potato pie at the store? Oh honey, we all have. And if you have, youve probably noticed the ingredients have all kinds of additives. When I started noticing stuff like that, thats when I started baking these things from scratch. It only looks hard. This recipe will walk you through it and have you making the best sweet potato pie ever!
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Homemade Or Store Bought Pie Crust
There are a few different pie crusts that work with this amazing homemade sweet potato pie recipe, store bought refrigerated crust, food processor pie crust or homemade pie crust.
If you are using homemade pie crust or a store bought refrigerated crust then this pie recipe will make 1 pie.
If you are wanting a thicker pie crust then I suggest you make the homemade pie crust when making this southern sweet potato pie recipe. If you are using refrigerated pie crust to make it and want a thick pie crust then you will want to double up the pie crust when you put it in the pie plate.
Southern As Sweet Potato Pie
The conversation of sweet potato pie versus pumpkin pie usually brings into focus the regional preferences associated with these dishes, with the typical split presented as the North preferring pumpkin and the South choosing sweet potato.
If we trace the trail of how sweet potato pie came to hold such a prominent place on southern Thanksgiving tables, we find a multilayered story one that includes a sweet vegetable brought to the Americas from Peru, a tradition of dessert imported from Europe, agriculture , and the history of slavery and emancipation in America. Together, these factors give us the pie we enjoy today.
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My Favorite Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
I precisely remember the first time I had a bite of Sweet Potato Pie and falling immediately in love. Its similar to pumpkin pie, but with a softer flavor. Since that first bite, I have been on the hunt for my version of a perfect sweet potato pie and I have finally got it just right.
My sweet potato pie recipe is sweet, creamy and perfectly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of cloves. Its in a basic pie crust and uses baked sweet potatoes to keep it extra moist and easy to make. Brown sugar gives it a slightly caramel flavor that is beyond delicious!
Im excited to share this recipe and all my tips and tricks on how to make the best sweet potato pie!
How To Know When The Sweet Potato Pie Is Done
The best sweet potato pie recipe may take less time on your oven . Check the pie at the 45 minute mark, if the pie jiggles in the middle the Pie is done, and if the pie sloshes put the pie back into the oven to cook longer checking every 10 minutes to make sure you do not over bake the pie. If you see the pie crust getting dark, add tinfoil around the edges of the pie crust to avoid it burning.
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Southern Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
Dessert 2 hrs
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This Southern Sweet Potato Pie is an heirloom recipe loved for generations! A delicious Southern favorite made with simple ingredients and perfect for Thanksgiving!
Sweet Potato Pie has been a well-loved dessert here in the South for generations and is gaining popularity in other regions now, too. I think its wonderful that many more people are trying and loving this classic southern pie!
How Do You Make Sweet Potato Pie From Scratch
Youll first boil your sweet potatoes for about 50 minutes until theyre fork tender. Youll remove the skins after that, then mash them up in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and beat with your electric mixer on medium. Then add the rest of the ingredients until its smooth. Pour it into your unbaked pie crust and smooth. Bake your homemade sweet potato pie 350F for 45 minutes to an hour. Let it cool. Then make the marshmallow topping and put it on top. You can use your kitchen torch to brown it before serving.
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What Makes Sweet Potato Pie Southern
For as long as I can remember this dish has always been Black folks sweet potato pie recipe. Every fall season, people debate. Is it pumpkin.is it sweet potato? Which one holds your heart? I will say, growing up we made far more sweet potato pies than pumpkin.
Just like with candied yams and sweet potatoes, this pie is staple dish among Southerners.
How To Prebake A Pie Crust
- Pierce the bottom and sides of the pie dough with a fork- this keeps bubble from forming while baking
- Place a piece of parchment over the pie dough- large enough so that there is extra hanging over the edge
- Fill the pie dough- pouring onto the parchment paper- with pie weights. You can use store bought pie weights or fill the pie with rice or sugar.
- Bake the pie dough for 11 minutes, then remove the parchment and pie weights (I like to grab all four corners of the parchment and lift all the rice out all at once. The return the pie crust to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes the crust will start to brown.
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What Ingredients Are Needed To Make This Easy Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities.
Baked Sweet Potatoes Make The Best Pie
I highly recommend you bake your sweet potatoes for this sweet potato pie recipe. Why?
- Keeps your sweet potatoes moist: When you boil your sweet potatoes in water on the stove top, once you mash the sweet potatoes, they are actually much drier when compared to a baked sweet potato. By contrast, when you bake a sweet potato, the moisture inside the potato stays inside.
- Less dishes to clean! Another bonus to baking your sweet potatoes you wont dirty a big pot boiling them or have to watch them on the stove top as they boil. You just need foil and a baking sheet to bake the sweet potatoes in the oven! Its easy hands off prep time that you dont have to worry about.
- More flavor: When you bake your sweet potatoes you get a hint of caramel that comes from sugars in the sweet potato cooking in the oven. Its an incredible combination with the brown sugar in this recipe!
Note: If you do decide to boil your sweet potatoes, you may need to add a little extra butter and milk to your pie mixture. Otherwise, the finished pie may turn out very dry.
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Tips For Making Southern Sweet Potato Pie:
- I love to use this Flaky Pie Crust recipe, but a store-bought pie crust or your favorite homemade one is just fine.
- Youll need 1 cup of mashed sweet potato for this recipe. I bake a few medium to large sweet potatoes until they are very soft. Let them cool and then peel the skin off. Hand mash them really well.
- Instead of baking them, you could peel the sweet potatoes, cube them, and boil them in water until soft, but I find they have better flavor if you bake them.
- This pie is done when it jiggles in the center just slightly when you shake it.
- Can be served chilled or at room temperature.
How To Store And Freeze
- To Store. Sweet potato pie should be refrigerated, tightly covered, and can last about 5 days. Let come to room temperature prior to serving.
- To Freeze. Yes, sweet potato pie can be frozen! To freeze, tightly wrap your cooked and cooled pie in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and store in a freezer-safe storage container or ziptop bag for up to 3 months. Let the pie thaw for at least 12 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
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Is Sweet Potato Pie A Dessert Or Side Dish
Sweet potatoes are often thought of as healthy, but when you bake with them, Im sorry to say that sweet potatoes are not that great for you. Sweet potato pie is a dessert because of the amount of sugar that goes into the recipe.
Sweet potatoes do have many health benefits though so heyif you want to eat it as a side dish, go for it!