March 14 (3/14) is celebrated annually as Pi Day because the date resembles the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter — 3.14 for short. But here at Workman, we can’t resist the urge to share a delicious pie recipe. Follow the instructions below to make Petsi Pies’ Sweet Potato Pie from Teeny’s Tour of Pie!
This was one of my favorite pies to make while I was at Petsi Pies because it meant roasting tray after tray of sweet potatoes in the large commercial ovens. The tubers’ sweet, earthy smell filled the small space as they baked, and they were especially fun to peel and plop into large plastic containers, where they sat before being mashed and combined with different spices and poured into the waiting pie shells.
The crust recipe below makes enough dough for three 9-inch pies, so you can use one dough disk right now and refrigerate or freeze the other two for later. The dough will last up to two days in the refrigerator and up to two weeks in the freezer.
Prep Time: 30 minutes – Bake Time: 1 hour – Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes – Makes: One 9-inch single crust pie (6 to 8 slices)
Ingredients for the Crust:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus up to 3 tablespoons extra for rolling out the crust
- ¾ cup cold shortening
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 5 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for the Filling:
- 2 cups peeled, mashed cooked sweet potatoes (from about 2 large potatoes; see note)
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups evaporated milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
1. Make the crust: Place the 3 cups of flour, shortening, and butter in a large bowl and gradually work it together with a pastry cutter until it resembles a coarse meal, 3 to 4 minutes
2. Beat the eggs with a fork in a small bowl. Pour it into the flour mixture. Add the cold water, vinegar, and salt and stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
3. Separate the dough into 3 equal balls and place each into a large plastic bag or wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Flatten the balls into disks about ½ inch thick. Seal the bags or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or longer—see headnote). (If you will be using the dough immediately, you can put it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to chill, instead.)
4. Meanwhile, preheat the over to 375°F with a rack in the middle position.
5. Make the filling: In the bowl of a food processor or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sweet potatoes, eggs, evaporated milk, sugars, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, and butter and blend on medium speed until smooth. Set aside while you roll out the crust.
6. Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator or freezer and allow it to thaw until it’s cold but malleable. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over the top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking, use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan and ⅛ inch thick.
7. With the plastic scraper or spatula, life the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough into the pie pan and crimp the edges. Set the lined pie pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
8. Give the sweet potato filling one final stir and pour it into the unbaked pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes at 375°F, then reduce the heat to 300°F and bake until the filling is firm and a knife inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean, 50 minutes more. Let cool for 10 to 12 minutes, until the pie firms up a bit and won’t be hot to the touch, before serving.
Note: To bake the sweet potatoes, scrub them, prick the skins all over with the tines of a fork, and place them in a 375°F oven until they are soft when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour.
Teeny’s Tour of Pie is available wherever books are sold including the following online retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Powell’s | Workman
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