In some parts of the American South, sweet potato pie is the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert. In others, pecan pie is de rigueur. This recipe mashes the two together with a custardy spiced sweet potato filling and glossy pecan topping. (Beat that, pumpkin pie.)
The key is to purée the sweet potatoes just enough so that they retain a bit of texture—we’re not looking for baby food here. For ease we mix the pie filling in a food processor, but if you don’t have one, you can easily achieve the result using a potato masher—just mash the cooked sweet potatoes in a separate mixing bowl before stirring in the remaining wet ingredients.
We call for a frozen pie crust, but you can swap in our buttery Actually Perfect Pie Crust if you’re feeling super DIY and have a deep-dish pie pan. Either way, you’ll need to blind-bake it (read more in our guide to blind-baking; and make sure you pick up our favorite pie weights).
If lining pecans into concentric circles gives you agita, or you happen to have a bag of chopped pecans or pecan pieces in the cupboard, feel free to skip the design and make the swap—you’ll need about 113 grams of pecans total. Top with slightly sweetened softly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to gild the lily.
For the full story behind this recipe, read this essay by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.