With only 10 days until T-Day, we're continuing with Thanksgiving foods around these parts. Last week, I shared how easy it is to make a caramel apple pie and today we're getting into another classic: sweet potato pie. Southern-style bourbon sweet potato pie, to be exact! This is the pie for sweet potato purists. For those who look forward to Thanksgiving all year, who love all things sweet potato, and probably scoffed at my sweet potato pecan pie hybrid from last fall. š This one is for y'all. I referred to the soulful baking prowess of my dear grandmother and the infamous Patti LaBelle when developing the recipe for this one and I think I did them proud. Let me know what you think when you try it out. Because you will try it out, won't you?
When planning a Thanksgiving menu, sweet potato pie is always a given. But creating a sweet potato pie from scratch can seem like a daunting task because most of us think about the shoes we fill when doing so--my grandma and Patti LaBelle in this case. (Here's Ms. Patti's recipe, in case you're interested. Not sharing my granny's recipe--sorry!) Anyways, let's break the process down a bit. Making this bourbon sweet potato pie is basically a four-part process. Roast the sweet potatoes. Make the crust. Whip up the filling. Bake the pie. That's it. And some of these things can be done ahead of time. My Thanksgiving dinner prep process usually involves making pies and cakes the day before and sometimes two days before in order to free up oven space for turkey, dressing, etc. on the big day. Knowing that the desserts are out of the way is a big relief come Turkey Day.
See the little flecks in the slice above? Those are spices--cinnamon and nutmeg, specifically. And it's my opinion that you can't make a good sweet potato pie without them. I also recommend using a quality bourbon for this bourbon sweet potato pie. My current favorites are Hudson Baby Bourbon (as seen in this cocktail recipe) and Fistful (as seen in this mule recipe). I also recently tried Not Your Father's Bourbon at a party and found it to be delicious so that one is worth a try, too. And I'm sure you'll want to top it with whipped cream. š
What do y'all think of this bourbon sweet potato pie? Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving stuff throughout the week, including tips for hosting your first Turkey Day dinner and another recipe. If you have any questions at all, just let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email. As always, thanks for reading!
P.S. More bourbon and sweet potato things:
- Bourbon Caramel Apple Cider
- Bourbon Carrot Cake
- Bourbon Gingerbread
- Bourbon Vanilla Birthday Cake
- Healthy Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Salted Caramel Sweet Potato Blondies
- Sweet Potato Cheesecake
- Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Sweet Potato Praline Bread Pudding
- Whiskey-Lover's Gift Guide
Sweet potato pie just like your southern grandma would make with a healthy dose of bourbon.
- 2 large sweet potatoes roasted and skinned
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons bourbon whiskey
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cups cold butter cut into cubes
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Start the crust by incorporating sea salt, flour, and butter until a coarse meal forms. This can be done in a bowl with your hands or in a food processor. Add cold water and continue working until a dough forms. Shape into a disc (like a hockey puck), wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile beat roasted sweet potatoes with an electric mixer or in a food processor until smooth. Add remaining sweet potato filling ingredients and mix or pulse until uniform, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out chilled pie crust and place in a 9-inch pie pan. Remove excess dough from around sides of pan and crimp or style edges as desired. Prick bottom of dough with a fork a few times then par bake for about 15 minutes then remove and decrease oven heat to 350 degrees. See note about par baking below.
Spread filling into pie crust. Return to oven and bake for about one hour and 10 minutes or until top of filling is firm to touch. Cool completely before slicing.
To prevent the dough from shrinking and falling during par baking, place a clean sheet of parchment paper over top then add pie weights, uncooked rice, uncooked beans or something similar over top of parchment paper. This will help the crust keep its shape. I've only had to do this once when making this type of pie but better safe than sorry!
jenna | the urben life says
I love those plates and your pie looks absolutely delicious! For as much as I love sweet potato, it's hard to believe I've never tried a sweet tater pie... Gotta change that this year.
Jazz says
Thank, Jenna! I found the plates at Marshall's.
Tanvi Rastogi says
That sounds and looks absolutely decadent. Will have to try it.
ā„ tanvii.com
jessica says
I don't think I've ever tried sweet potato pie! This sounds divine š
Annette Dattilo says
Yum! The best of both worlds. I can totally see this being a pleaser for the upcoming holidays. Thanks for sharing.
Shane Prather says
Oh my! I love pumpkin pie and all but this looks out of this world!
Christa says
Wow, this looks amazing! Iām so excited for Thanksgiving baking and Thanksgiving eating. Iām adding this to my recipe list!
Tisha Salkey says
Whew! I love a great sweet potato pie. I ran to Walmart when when that Patti review came out? bourbon is always a great idea. Def going to try!
Calysta says
You had me at bourbon! This recipe looks delicious and make it I hope I don't 'accidentally' add too much bourbon!
Shanika says
Oh my, oh my! This Sweet Potato Pie looks and sounds amazing! I've never tried it with Bourbon, but this is tempting!
Katrina Adams says
Wow!! I love this remix to sweet potato pie! I will be trying this next week! Thank you for sharing!
Jazz says
I hope you love it!
Aline Shaw says
OMG! Bourbon!!! This sounds amazing - I have to try this ASAP!! Thanks for the recipe š
Diana Thrift says
This is the best recipe for bourbon Sweet Potato Pie I've made or eaten! Got lots of kudos. "Best pie I've ever had," said my son-in-law. My Polish husband could never warm up to pumpkin pie, but asked if we could always have this instead. The amount of bourbon is perfect, not overwhelming, like another recipe I'd tried. I used a high quality bourbon from Cedar Ridge, IA, and coconut sugar instead of white. I also used a gluten-free graham cracker crust which went very well.
Fabulous Pie--this recipe is a keeper! Thanks, Jazz (and to your Granny and Patti LaBelle!)
Jazz says
I'm so glad you enjoyed, Diana!