Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie!

*Separate recipe for pie crust.

My first thanksgiving in the U.S in 2008 had me anxiously waiting to try the wide variety of American delicacies and comfort food. As a child, I was mostly interested in the desserts, especially the pies. I was told the quintessential Thanksgiving pie is pumpkin pie, so I went in with very high expectations, and took the biggest spoon-full I could fit in my mouth. Unfortunately, I wasn't informed that pumpkin pie is a bit of an acquired taste, so I had to gulp it down, and spent Thanksgivings after that avoiding the dessert portion. Fortunately, I made some friends from the South, who informed me that their quintessential Thanksgiving pie is a sweet potato pie. Though similar in color and texture, I find sweetness of the potatoes balances out the spices and blends well with them. Browning the butter gives the pie caramel undertones, and the addition of heavy cream makes it fluffy. This pie will be a little darker because of the brown butter and brown sugar. Top with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or toasted marshmallows of you're feeling whimsical. This is also a very kid friendly alternative to pumpkin pie. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb (about 2 each) Sweet Potato

1/2 Cups Unsalted Butter

1/2 Cups Brown Sugar

*1/4 Cups White Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

2 ea Eggs

1/2 Cups Evaporated Milk

2 tbs Heavy/Double Cream

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Cloves

*adjust sugar to taste. Sweet potatoes can vary in sweetness, so I would taste the sugar as I'm mixing. The potatoes I used for a pie I made a couple of months ago were not as sweet as the ones I used recently, so I had to use more sugar.

Prep time: 1 hr 30 mins Servings: 1 pie, 8 individual slices

Cook time: 1 hr

Instructions

For the brown butter

* On medium heat, melt butter in a saucepan, and leave it on the heat until it turns a toasty brown. If you're using a dark pan, leave it until the foam on top is a dark golden brown, and has a nutty aroma.

For the pie filling

1. Boil the potatoes in a covered saucepan on medium heat until they are soft and you can put a toothpick completely in without trouble. This takes about 45 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ 176 Celsius.

3. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, peel the skin off. If you are heat sensitive, you can put them in ice water, then remove the peels with your hand. This process called "blanching and shocking" should also help release the peel from the rest of the potato.

4. Roughly Chop up the pieces into a bowl, then with a hand mixer, break apart the sweet potato until it is completely smooth.

5. Mix in the brown butter completely, then add in the eggs and mix.Add sugar, salt, and spices in the mixture, and mix until completely incorporated and dissolved. It should be smooth and silky. Pour the mixture into a pie crust, and bake for 55-60 minutes.

6. Once the pie is cooked, a toothpick should come out almost clean, and the pie should be jiggly.Let it rest and cool before cutting, and serve with serving of your choice,and enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!!