Brandied Sweet Potato Pie

Nothing reminds me of Thanksgiving more than pie. One of may favorite parts of Thanksgiving is after dinner and everyone is in a Turkey comatose state, I love sneaking off downstairs to the game room with a piece of pie; and watch t.v. of course.

I was reading in a magazine earlier this week that stated “northern states prefer Pumpkin Pie over Sweet Potato Pie. Whereas Southern States prefer Sweet Potato Pie over Pumpkin Pie.” That got me thinking because every Thanksgiving we never have Sweet Potato Pie only Pumpkin Pie.

So I thought I would switch things up a bit this year and make Sweet Potato Pie..and boy was I glad I made it.

This recipe came from Food Network Magazine “Time for Turkey,” edition. And let me just say I am a sucker for those food magazines by the check out lines at the grocery store.

For the Crust

1 3/4 C. All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting

2 TBSP. Granulated Sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick of Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes

5 to 6 TBSP of ice water, sanding sugar for sprinkling

For the Filling

2 Medium Sweet Potatoes (About 1 pound)

1 Cup Half-and-Half

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten

3 TBSP. of Brandy or Cognac

1 tsp. Pure Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Pinch of Salt

Directions:

I typically would write down the directions here, but they are a little bit involved. Here is the link to make the Brandied Sweet Potato Pie.

**Please proceed below to some photographs and my observations and tips.**

My Process:

My Observations & Tips:

1. I decided to peel & cut up my Sweet Potatoes prior to cooking them on the stove. The recipe in the magazine wanted you to boil the Sweet Potato whole with the skins left on. It would take about 45 to 60 minutes to cook the Sweet Potato whole. Then peel the skins off the Sweet Potato. I figured they would cook faster peeled & cut up, I believe they were on the stove for about 25 minutes total. Make sure to drain your Sweet Potatoes.
2. You can prepare your dough a day in advance. Make up your pie filling a couple hours before baking it off. It will save you time. I love preparing ingredients in advance.
3. If you don’t want to make the homemade crust, you can always use Pillsbury Pie Crust(buy 2 pie crusts). It will definitely cut your time in half. The longest part about making this pie is preparing the crust.
4. When you are rolling out your dough make sure you put enough flour down. If your dough sticks to your table, on your rolling pin add more flour. It won’t hurt. You should be able to move your dough on a flour surfaced easily without it sticking.
5. When rolling your dough out never put an intense amount of pressure on the ends. That is how you end up with really flat, thin ends and a thicker center. What you do is apply more intense pressure from the center. As you move the rolling pin out decrease the pressure. I hope this helps, if you want a how-to demonstration I can always do a blog post on how to properly rolling out pin crust.
6. You may have noticed that my pie has a couple cracks. The reasoning behind that is I over baked it. To keep this from happening, do not over bake your pie. It will not change the taste. I promise! It just gives the pie a little more character.

I really loved this pie! I thought is might be the runner up to Pumpkin Pie. To me nothing beats Pumpkin Pie!

What is your favorite pie? Or what is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?