Preparing the crust

• 1 cup of flour, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and a generous 1/4 teaspoon of salt should be whisked together in a medium-sized mixing basin. Using a pastry blender, chop the butter into the mixture until only small pea-size clumps of butter remain.
• Adding 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time, toss the mixture until it is just moistened and forms larger clumps. On a floured surface, roll the ingredients into a ball and mold it into a smooth circle (about 6-inches round). Cover the dough and chill it for about 60 minutes, or until it has firmed up.
• Remove the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured board into a 12-inch circle. Wrap the dough around a rolling pin, then transfer it to a 9-inch standard pie pan and unwrap. Fit the dough to the plate and, if you like, flute the edges.
• Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or freeze it for 15 minutes until it gets completely cooled. Heat up your oven to 400 degrees in the meantime.
• Cover the sides of the crust using a parchment paper or a piece of foil, then fill the crust to the top with dry beans, rice, sugar, or pie weights. Afterward, leave the pie crust to bake for 15 minutes in the oven.
• Remove the beans by holding all four sides of the foil. Prick the bottom of the pie crust 10 times. Put it back into the oven and bake for an extra 8 to 12 minutes, or until it begins to dry out. Take the crust out and place it on a wire rack to cool.

Baking the sweet potatoes

• poke the sweet potatoes once on each of the sides with a fork (you can do this while the pie crust is cooling). Wrap a sheet of foil around each potato individually. Place the potatoes on a baking pan.
• Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees until they’re poked with a knife or skewer and found to be extremely soft all the way throughout (this should take about 50 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes). Allow 30 minutes for the potatoes to cool until they’re just warm.

Browning the butter

• In a light-colored medium-sized skillet, brown the butter while the sweet potatoes are cooling. Do this by melting the butter in a skillet over medium heat, stirring it regularly, until the butter develops a nutty aroma and light brown specks. Make sure you don’t burn it. To prevent the butter from continuing to heat and burn, place it on a dish to cool.

Making the sweet potato pie filling

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The sweet potatoes should be halved and the flesh scooped out. Transfer them to a large bowl and puree them until they’re nearly smooth (use a potato masher). At the end of this process, you should have about 2 cups of pureed sweet potatoes.
• Brown butter, brown sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla and salt should be combined in a mixing bowl. Blend these ingredients properly until they’re smooth; use an electric hand mixer for the best results.
• Pour the mixture into the pie crust that has been prepared. Place the pie on a baking sheet and cover with foil at the borders. Bake the sweet potato pie for 40 to 50 minutes in a preheated oven, or until the middle only wiggles slightly.
• Allow the baked pie to cool for 2 hours on a wire rack. Refrigerate the pie until you’re ready to serve. If desired, serve with a dollop of homemade marshmallow fluff or sweetened whipped cream.

The process of making a sweet potato pie at home may seem rather long, but as long as you follow the proper cooking instructions, you can be sure that you’ll arrive at desirable results.

If you’d like to see some more recipe ideas for sweet potato pie recipes, check out this video recipe.