Family Friendly Holiday Sweet Potato Pie

I love sweet potato pie and have always loved it. It's not a recipe that my mom or anyone in my family ever made.  It's just something that I found out about when visiting my ex-husband's family in North Carolina.   Well, actually, it was my brother in-law's grandmother who made awesome sweet potato  pie.  She was a true southern cook.  It was an amazing adventure to visit that part of the family.  They were the epitome of the black family from the South who had little in the way of financial riches and worked hard to support the family in the best way they could.

Interestingly, it didn't have to be Thanksgiving or Christmas. It could just be an occasion of family or friends visiting for a weekend.  Every stop was pulled out.  It was amazing.  Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, potato salad, collard greens, kale, homemade rolls, sweet potato pie; and this was not a holiday! This was just a regular Sunday dinner! Welcoming anyone who came by.  I was a young bride and new to North Carolina cooking.  But it was there in Raleigh that I fell in love with North Carolina Barbecue and real sweet potato pie.

Here is my take on Sweet Potato Pie.  I'm pretty sure I've added some ingredients like rum extract and coriander that they did not use in the North Carolina . This year, I used white and yellow sweet potatoes for the first time. I got them from a local farmer where I buy my eggs.

This recipe made enough for two hearty pies. Since I don't do pie crusts very well, I got two ready made frozen pie crusts to pour the filling into.  That didn't take away from the taste. I also could not find my hand mixer so I had to mix the filling by hand.  This meant I couldn't mix everything at one time. Had to add the ingredients a few at a time.  It took a little extra time to blend.  Still, the pies turned out well.  And, they were actually better on the second day when the flavors had a chance to meld.

Ingredients

4-4 1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (I used about 4 lbs of sweet potatoes)
4 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1 cup almond milk 
2 Tbs molasses
6 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1  1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp lemon extract
2 tsp rum extract
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F

Mix all ingredients together until well-blended with a hand mixer or food processor.  Bake for one hour or until a sharp knife inserted into center of pies comes out clean. Serve plain or with whipped cream.