Sweet Potato Pie and Baked Sweet Potatoes

Here are two sweet potato recipes for your holiday cooking pleasure.

Most people think of pumpkin pie for their Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years Day dinners. Have you ever thought about making a sweet potato pie instead? A sweet potato pie is every bit as creamy and flavorful as a pumpkin pie and just as easy to make. Give it a try, you might just like sweet potato pie as much or better than pumpkin pie.

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:

3 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 cup milk or cream

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons butter or margarine(melted)

1 deep dish pie shell

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and wash the sweet potatoes. Cut the sweet potatoes into small pieces. Place them into a large pan, with enough water to cover the sweet potatoes completely. Boil over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Drain off all of the liquid from your sweet potatoes and place into a large bowl.

Mash the sweet potatoes either with a potato masher or fork, until smooth. Be careful not to leave any lumps. Using a hand mixer, blend in the 1/2 cup milk or cream, mix thoroughly. Mix in the 1 cup dark brown sugar, the melted butter, the 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the 1 tablespoon flour. Blend in the eggs one at a time, and mix until nice and creamy. Pour into your, uncooked, deep dish pie shell.

Place the sweet potato pie on a cookie sheet and place into the preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the sweet potato pie, comes out clean. Remove from oven.

If you wish to garnish your sweet potato pie, here are two options. Serve each slice with a generous dollop of whipped cream on top, Or serve it up the way my Mother always has.

When your pie is cooked, remove it from the oven. Spread a generous layer of either miniature, or regular marshmallows on top. Put the sweet potato pie back into the oven and cook until the marshmallows are a beautiful golden brown. Serve warm. I really love this variation of sweet potato pie better than any other.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Use as many sweet potatoes as needed, usually one small sweet potato per person.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly wash each sweet potato and pat dry. Rub cooking oil over each sweet potato (cover all exposed skin) and place on a cookie sheet. Place sweet potatoes into the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the sweet potato shrinks from the skin and the sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, slit down the middle (like a regular baked potato), and spread lavishly with butter, sprinkle with a little brown sugar and cinnamon. Enjoy while still hot.