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Grandma Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

Among many popular restaurants, diners, and fast food joints out there, absolutely nothing compares to Grandma’s home cooking.

Using only the best ingredients, a recipe that has been refined over generations, and a degree of love and care that no restaurant worker will ever put into your meal.

Grandma’s cooking is as good as it gets.

So today we are sharing with you the perfect recipe for Grandma’s good old-fashioned sweet potato pie.

grandma old fashioned sweet potato pie recipe

Filling, warming, and exceptionally tasty, this recipe is a must-try for anyone who likes home cooking.

How to make Grandma Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

As is often the case with classic home-cooked meals, all the ingredients required are pretty simple and can be found at any local grocery store.

The recipe also includes creating the pie dough yourself, just like grandma would have done! No store-bought crusts here!

There’s also a little bit of bourbon in here to make it extra hearty and warming.

Ingredients:

(10 servings)

For the pie dough:

  • 1 1/4 cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp of table salt
  • 1 tbsp of granulated sugar
  • 4 tbsp of unsalted butter (chilled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces)
  • 3 tbsp of vegetable shortening (chilled)
  • 4-5 tbsp of ice water

For the Sweet Potato filling:

  • 2 pounds of sweet potato (if you don’t want to weigh it, 5 small to medium-sized potatoes ought to do)
  • 2 tbsp of unsalted butter (softened)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 2 – 3 tbsp of bourbon
  • 1 tbsp of molasses
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cups of whole milk
  • 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar

sweet potatoes in a basket for pie

Instructions:

If you’re not used to making pie crusts by hand, don’t worry!

We’ll take you through each step, it’s not as hard as it seems.

Do pay close attention to which butter needs to be chilled and which is softened as it will make a substantial difference to the texture of the final product.

Step 1:

Place the flour, salt, and sugar into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine them together.

Step 2:

Next, we add the shortening and continue pulsing them, the flour should change to a yellow color and begin to bind together, creating large crumbs about the size of peas.

Step 3:

Transfer these shortened flour crumbs to a bowl and pour over 4-5 tablespoons of ice water (the temperature is important) then knead everything together until it can be formed into a ball.

Step 4:

Cover this ball in plastic wrap and throw it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to proof (you can leave it for as long as two days).

Step 5:

Once it’s ready, take it out of the fridge and allow it to return to room temperature.

Step 6:

Lightly flour your countertop and place the dough ball on it.

Roll it out into a rough 12-inch circle, it shouldn’t be any thicker than 1/4 of an inch.

Step 7:

Take a pie plate, and very carefully lift the dough and place it into it.

Mold the dough to the shape of the plate and trim any excess that’s protruding over 1/2 an inch beyond the edge of the pan.

Bonus tip: If you have time at this stage, refrigerate this uncooked pie shell for 40 minutes, and then put it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

This will help reduce how much the crust shrinks during the baking process resulting in a nice, completely sealed pie at the end.

Step 8:

It’s now ready to bake! Start by pre-heating the oven to 375°F.

Step 9:

Take some nice, heavy-duty foil (or double up some regular foil) and line the inside of the pie with it, ensuring it folds completely over the edges of the pie crust.

This will ensure it doesn’t burn during baking.

Step 10:

This foil should be weighted down in some way, a small bowl with a little water in, placed in the middle of the crust should work nicely!

Step 11:

Bake for 18-20 minutes, then remove the water bowl and foil, then bake for 8-10 minutes more until it’s a beautiful, golden brown color.

Step 12:

Now we’re onto the potatoes! Start by piercing them all over with a fork.

Step 13:

Place them on a paper towel and microwave for 5 minutes, then flip each potato over and cook for another 5 minutes.

They should be tender but not mushy.

Step 14:

Cut the potatoes in half and scrape out all of the innards, add the butter from the potato section of the ingredient list and mash them together with either a potato masher or fork until they are mostly smooth.

Step 15:

Next, we take a medium-sized bowl and add the eggs, yolks, sugar, nutmeg, and salt.

Then combine everything together with a whisk.

Then add the bourbon, molasses, vanilla, and milk.

Step 16:

Slowly add this to your potato/butter mixture and keep whisking until everything is adequately combined.

Step 17:

Sprinkle some brown sugar onto the bottom of the pie crust, you can put a pretty generous amount, just try to ensure it’s evenly distributed.

Step 18:

Pour your sweet potato mixture into the pie crust and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.

And that’s it! Allow it to cool for a good 2 hours after it’s finished baking and it’s now ready to slice up and serve!

Ingredients substitutions

Of course, everyone’s Grandma has her own spin on this classic recipe, so here are a few suggestions for alternative ingredients.

cinnamon powder and sticks in a bowl

1. Cinnamon

If you’re not interested in the nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon powder in its stead makes a fantastic alternative flavor.

2. Toasted nuts

Need a little more texture in it? Try throwing a few toasted pecans, walnuts, or almonds into the sweet potato mixture before baking. It’s delicious!

What to serve with Grandma Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

This sweet potato pie is very much a complete dessert all by itself, but if you’re really looking to take it to the max, here are a few suggestions for some delicious additions you can top it off with.

bowl of marshmallow whipped toping and whisk

Marshmallow whipped cream

A healthy-sized dollop of melted marshmallow whipped cream is just the thing to top off a delicious sweet potato pie.

Not too overpowering and adds that extra sweet creaminess to the pie.

Shredded almonds

There’s something about the look of a sweet potato pie that’s had some very thinly sliced/shredded almonds sprinkled over it.

It’s almost like it’s calling to be eaten!

How to store Grandma Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

There are a few things to consider when storing Sweet Potato Pie, primarily that the moisture in the cold air can make the crust go soggy, and it’s also possible for the sweet potato to become runny if it wasn’t cooked adequately before storing.

Here’s the correct way to go about storing your sweet potato pie.

Store in the fridge

Wrap the pie in plastic wrap, or alternatively place it in an air-tight container to stop the cold air from reaching the crust.

It will last up to about 5 days in the refrigerator, but we recommend eating it within 48 hours if you want it to be as fresh as possible.

Store in the freezer

Slice the pie if it hasn’t been already and wrap each slice individually in plastic wrap.

Then either wrap it in a layer of thick tin foil or place it inside a ziplock freezer bag.

The double layer will help protect the crust from extreme cold.

It will last for up to 3 months in the freezer.

grandma old fashioned sweet potato pie recipe

Grandma Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

Nothing quite compares to the meals Grandma will make at home. So today we are sharing with you an incredible, tried and true recipe for Sweet Potato Pie that will allow you to make it just like Grandma does. No restaurant served Sweet Potato Pie is as delicious as this one!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10 people
Calories 401 kcal
Equipment
  • pie tray
  • food blender
  • Oven
  • whisk
Ingredients
  
For the pie dough:
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp table salt
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter (chilled and diced into 1/4  inch pieces)
  • 3 tbsp vegetable shortening (chilled)
  • 4-5 tbsp ice water
For the Sweet Potato filling:
  • 2 pounds sweet potato (5 small to medium-sized potatoes)
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter (softened)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2-3 tbsp bourbon
  • 1 tbsp molasses
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cups whole milk
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
Instructions
 
  • Place the flour, salt, and sugar into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine them together.
  • Next, we add the shortening and continue pulsing them, the flour should change to a yellow color and begin to bind together, creating large crumbs about the size of peas.
  • Transfer these shortened flour crumbs to a bowl and pour over 4-5 tablespoons of ice water (the temperature is important) then knead everything together until it can be formed into a ball.
  • Cover this ball in plastic wrap and throw it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to proof (you can leave it for as long as two days).
  • Once it’s ready, take it out of the fridge and allow it to return to room temperature.
  • Lightly flour your countertop and place the dough ball on it. Roll it out into a rough 12-inch circle, it shouldn’t be any thicker than 1/4 of an inch.
  • Take a pie plate, and very carefully lift the dough and place it into it. Mold the dough to the shape of the plate and trim any excess that’s protruding over 1/2 an inch beyond the edge of the pan.
    Bonus tip: If you have time at this stage, refrigerate this uncooked pie shell for 40 minutes, and then put it in the freezer for 20 minutes. This will help reduce how much the crust shrinks during the baking process resulting in a nice, completely sealed pie at the end.
  • It’s now ready to bake! Start by pre-heating the oven to 375°F.
  • Take some nice, heavy-duty foil (or double up some regular foil) and line the inside of the pie with it, ensuring it folds completely over the edges of the pie crust. This will ensure it doesn’t burn during baking.
  • This foil should be weighted down in some way, a small bowl with a little water in, placed in the middle of the crust should work nicely!
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes, then remove the water bowl and foil, then bake for 8-10 minutes more until it’s a beautiful, golden brown color.
  • Now we’re onto the potatoes! Start by piercing them all over with a fork.
  • Place them on a paper towel and microwave for 5 minutes, then flip each potato over and cook for another 5 minutes. They should be tender but not mushy.
  • Cut the potatoes in half and scrape out all of the innards, add the butter from the potato section of the ingredient list and mash them together with either a potato masher or fork until they are mostly smooth.
  • Next, we take a medium-sized bowl and add the eggs, yolks, sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Then combine everything together with a whisk. Then add the bourbon, molasses, vanilla, and milk.
  • Slowly add this to your potato/butter mixture and keep whisking until everything is adequately combined.
  • Sprinkle some brown sugar onto the bottom of the pie crust, you can put a pretty generous amount, just try to ensure it’s evenly distributed.
  • Pour your sweet potato mixture into the pie crust and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
    And that’s it! Allow it to cool for a good 2 hours after it’s finished baking and it’s now ready to slice up and serve!
Nutrition
Calories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 112mgSodium: 259mgFiber: 3g

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Passionate chef, in love with everything related to food and cooking it to perfection!
Michael Cook
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