Sweet Potato Pie with Meringue Topping

“Song, song of the South. Sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth.” The lyrics from “Song of the South” from the musical group Alabama stay stuck in my head for days after I make a Sweet Potato Pie. Writing up this recipe will probably make those words stay stuck in my head for the next month…or more. Plus, I could really go for a slice of Sweet Potatoe Pie right now. I don’t recall my grandmother ever baking pumpkins pies. She made Sweet Potato instead. And, for that, I am eternally grateful. Mind you, I dearly love pumpkin pies. Ok, I’ll come clean. I’ve never met a pie I didn’t love. But I loved Sweet Potato Pies even when I didn’t consider baked sweet potatoes to be palatable. There’s a story that goes along with my love/hate/love relationship with sweet potatoes. It will be in an upcoming blog post. Ordinarily, I would wait to post this recipe until the blog post is published but I wanted to get this one up in time for Easter. They say sweet potatoes and ham go good together. 🙂

Using my grandmother’s recipe as inspiration, I made modifications that included substituting honey for sugar. I prefer Tupelo honey. Oh, I need to tell you, also, that I don’t make homemade pie crust. Mrs. Smith knows how to do that very well and she told me she doesn’t intend to stop anytime soon. I believe her.

1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust.

2 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup milk

4 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

1/2 to 3/4 cup Tupelo honey (1 cup white sugar may be substituted)

3 eggs plus 3 whites

1/4 cup sugar

Mix sweet potatoes, milk, butter, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add honey starting with 1/2 cup and taste. The amount of additional honey will depend on the sweetness of your sweet potatoes and the size of your sweet tooth. I have an enormous sweet tooth so I usually add 3/4 cup. Separate three eggs, beat yolks and add to sweet potato mixture. Beat three egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into potato mixture. Pour into pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For meringue topping:

Whip remaining three egg whites. After they are stiff, add sugar a tablespoon at the time. Spoon topping onto cooled pie. Form peaks with a knife or spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until peaks are browned.