Name: Sweet Potato Bourbon Pecan Pie
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 165 min
Yield: 6-8 Servings
Ingredients: For the Crust; ½ recipe of Mary’s Favorite Pie Crust; 1¼ cups packed mashed sweet potatoes (about 1 large or 2 medium roasted and peeled sweet potatoes); 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; ⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 large egg yolk; 1 tablespoon heavy cream; 2 tablespoon granulated sugar; ¾ cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled; ¾ cup dark corn syrup; ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon; Pinch of salt; 1 teaspoon Mary’s Cognac Barrel-Aged Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract or 1 teaspoon bourbon; 1 cup chopped unsalted pecan halves; 1½ cups chilled heavy cream; 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar; 1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur (optional)

Sweets

Sweet Potato Bourbon Pecan Pie

Author: Mary DiSomma

I can’t lie to you guys: It wasn’t until about 10 years ago that I even tried a sweet potato pie. That means I spent a couple of decades missing out. At my house, it’s usually pumpkin pie or bust. What can I say? It’s a classic! I wouldn’t call myself a total convert, but I am a little bit in love with my Sweet Potato Bourbon Pecan Pie recipe.

I was a podiatrist before pursuing my cooking dreams, and one day at my clinic, a client was boasting about making 10 (yes, 10!) homemade sweet potato pies for family and friends. I had no choice… I had to finagle my way onto her pie list. If she was making 10 pies for people, they had to be good. And it was soooo good—no offense to pumpkin. After I got the recipe, I had to make it my own—that’s where the pecan element came in. When I started experimenting with recipes for my cookbook, My Life in Pies, I absolutely had to perfect this one. Turns out that pecans and sweet potatoes taste incredible together.

I do have to say, I think this recipe is even better than a regular sweet potato pie. It’s almost like a sweet potato and pecan pie merger, and I’m telling you—it’s next level. I got a lot of “Oooh” and “Aaaahhh” at the last Thanksgiving table where this one made an appearance. Crunchy, toasty pecans resting on a fluffy bed of sweet potato filling. You definitely need to make this at home!

Classic Pie Crust

Whatever you like to bake, it’s always handy to have an easy and delicious pie crust recipe in your back pocket. This one is easy to make, versatile for sweet and savory dishes, and easy to store.

Yield: 2 Pie Crusts
Prep Time: 1 hour 1 hr
Cook Time: 0 minutes0 min
Total Time: 1 hour 1 hr

Ingredients

For the Crust

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (for sweet pies only)
12 tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons (about ½ cup) ice water

For the Blind Bake

9 inch pie pan
Parchment paper
Ceramic pie weights, raw dried beans (pinto or kidney), or raw rice

Instructions

For the Crust

Place the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. If you’re making a sweet pie, add the sugar now. Pulse a few times to combine. With the food processor on, add the butter through the feed tube, a few pieces at a time. Once the butter is incorporated, add the shortening, a little at a time. Pulse 8 to 10 times until the mixture forms pea-sized pieces.
With the food processor running, slowly add ice water through the feed tube, pulsing, until the dough begins to form a ball. Be careful not to get any actual ice into the mixture.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Form two balls, then slightly flatten each ball with the palm of your hand. This will make rolling out the dough easier once it is chilled. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This dough can be refrigerated overnight.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out as needed for the pie you are preparing.

For Blind Baking

To blind bake a crust, chill your pastry-lined pie pan in the refrigerator to freezer for 30 minutes. Raw pastry that is cold will be less likely to shrink when it hits the heat of the oven.
preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove the pan from the freezer or refrigerator. Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper. Evenly place ceramic pie weights, raw dried beans like pinto or kidney or raw rice in on the parchment paper. If you don’t have any of these items, you can even use sugar! Just make sure if you use dried beans or rice, you don’t use them for any other purpose. Just let them cool at room temperature and place them in a zip-lock bag to be used in a future blind bake. You can use them over and over!
For a fully blind baked pie shell, bake until the edges of the crust start to brown, about 15-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper (with the weights) out of the pie pan. Using a fork, make 6 light pricks in the bottom of the crust, being careful not to go all the way thru. Return pie crust to the oven and bake for 8 minutes or until the bottom of the crust is light brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes before filling.

Ingredient Tips

As a general rule, sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie are similar in taste and texture, but there certainly are some distinct differences. Pumpkin pies are creamy, dense, and on the less sweet side. Sweet potato pies are sweeter and lighter with more texture. I’m all about the sweet.

One large sweet potato will measure at approximately 1 cup once pureed, but if you want to be extra sure you have enough, bake an extra. If you have leftovers, add a little butter and maple syrup and enjoy it as a snack or side dish!

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. After washing and drying the sweet potatoes, place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sweet potatoes sometimes ooze a little bit of sticky liquid as they roast, so the foil helps protect your pan. Why scrub later if you don’t have to?
Roast the Potatoes in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until they can be easily pierced with a paring knife. Timing will vary depending on the size of the potato. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Once they are cooled, the skin can be easily removed using a paring knife. For a super smooth puree, I like to put the baked sweet potato in a food processor or blender. A few quick pulses and voila—silky-smooth sweet potato puree.

Preparation + Preservation Tips

You’ll need to chill the crust for 15 minutes before baking it. The key to a flaky crust is keeping the dough nice and cold. Chilling the dough stops the butter from melting too fast once it’s in the oven. The end result is a buttery and flavorful melt-in-your-mouth crust.

For this recipe, you’ll also be blind baking (AKA parbaking) the crust. That means the crust gets a little baking time before you add the filling. The reason we do this is so the crust cooks all the way through, including on the bottom. If you’ve made pies before and noticed that the middle of the crust comes out under-done sometimes, parbaking prevents that.