Description
Grandma’s classic sweet potato pie recipe delivers a heartwarming Southern dessert with rich, creamy filling and buttery crust. Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, this pie offers a delightful finale to holiday meals that will satisfy you completely.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (450 g) mashed sweet potatoes
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) brown sugar, packed
- 1 ¼ cups (155 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
- ½ cup (120 ml) evaporated milk (or heavy cream)
- ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground ginger (optional)
- 34 tbsps ice water
Instructions
- Dough Preparation: Blend flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, ensuring uniform distribution of dry ingredients.
- Butter Integration: Work cold butter into the flour mixture using fingertips or pastry cutter until the texture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Moisture Addition: Gradually introduce ice-cold water, folding gently until the dough forms a cohesive ball without overworking.
- Dough Shaping: Form the dough into a smooth disk, wrap tightly in plastic film, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow gluten relaxation and butter solidification.
- Crust Rolling: Remove chilled dough from refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9-inch pie dish, trimming excess edges and creating decorative crimping around the perimeter.
- Filling Preparation: Mash sweet potatoes until smooth, then blend with eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until thoroughly combined and silky.
- Pie Assembly: Pour sweet potato mixture into prepared pie crust, ensuring even distribution and smooth surface.
- Baking Process: Place pie in a preheated oven at 375°F, baking for 45-50 minutes until the filling is set and the crust turns golden brown.
- Cooling and Serving: Remove pie from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack for at least 2 hours, enabling the filling to set properly before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Chill Butter Thoroughly: Keep butter extremely cold and cut into small cubes before mixing to ensure a flaky, tender pie crust with perfect texture.
- Handle Dough Minimally: Work with pastry dough quickly and gently to prevent gluten development, which can make the crust tough and chewy.
- Rest Dough Completely: Let the wrapped dough sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow ingredients to hydrate and butter to solidify, creating a more manageable and flakier crust.
- Control Moisture Carefully: Add ice water sparingly and just until the dough comes together, preventing a sticky or overly wet pastry that can compromise the final texture.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: Southern American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 312
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 188 mg
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 63 mg