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bourbon sweet potato pie with toasted meringue topping

Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallow Topping

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 20 reviews
  • Author: Sally
  • Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes (includes pie dough chilling)
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 7 hours (includes cooling)
  • Yield: 1 9-inch pie
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Southern

Description

This sweet potato pie features hints of bourbon and vanilla, lots of cinnamon and spice, and tastes phenomenal paired with creamy marshmallow meringue on top. My advice is to make the pie dough ahead of time so it’s ready to go.


Ingredients

Crust

Filling

  • 1.5 lbs sweet potatoes (2 medium/large)
  • 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, super soft (see note)
  • 2/3 cup (135g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I recommend dark)
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) bourbon*
  • 1 large egg + 2 large egg yolks* (see note)
  • 1 Tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Marshmallow Meringue

  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Pie crust: I like to make sure my pie dough is prepared before I begin making this pie. Make pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out (step 3).
  2. As the pie dough chills, start the sweet potatoes: Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan. Cover them with water, then bring to a boil on the stovetop. Boil for 45-50 minutes, or until super soft. During this time, begin step 3.
  3. Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the disks of chilled dough (use the 2nd pie crust for another recipe or freeze). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is completely smooth. To make a lovely thick edge, I do not trim excess dough around the edges. Instead, fold the excess dough back over the edge and use your hands to mold the edge into a nice thick rim around the pie. Crimp the edges with a fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. (Review my how to crimp and flute pie crust tutorial if you need extra help with this step.) Brush edges with egg wash. Chill the dough in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 15 minutes as you work on the filling—this helps prevent the crust from shrinking.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
  5. Drain the boiling water and run the potatoes under very cold water. The skin should peel off easily at this point. Cool for a few minutes until easy to handle. Slice the potatoes into a couple large chunks, then place into a mixing bowl.
  6. For the filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment (or you can use a blender for this), beat/blend the potatoes on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the remaining filling ingredients and beat/blend on high speed until smooth and combined. Spread filling into prepared pie crust.
  7. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the center of the pie is only slightly jiggly. A toothpick inserted into the center of the pie should come out *mostly* clean. During bake time, if you find the edges of the pie crust are browning too quickly, apply a pie crust shield or a ring of aluminum foil to protect it.
  8. Remove finished pie from the oven. Place on a wire rack to cool completely or for at least 2 hours. The pie filling will sink and set as it cools.
  9. For the marshmallow meringue: Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan filled with two inches of simmering water. Do not let it touch the water. (You can use a double boiler if you have one.) Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thinned out, about 4 minutes. The mixture’s temperature taken with an instant read thermometer should be 160°F (71°C). If it’s not, keep cooking and whisking until thinned out and temperature is warm enough. Remove from heat. Add the vanilla extract, then using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat on high speed for 5 minutes until stiff glossy peaks form. You can read more about and watch me make this in my separate marshmallow meringue frosting post.
  10. Spread marshmallow cream on top of cooled pie. Serve immediately or store at room temperature or in the refrigerator uncovered up to 8 hours before serving. If desired, toast the marshmallow topping with a kitchen torch just before serving. If you want to use the oven to toast instead, see detailed recipe Note.
  11. Cover and store leftovers at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

  1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: This a great pie to make 1 day in advance (without the meringue topping) because the flavors are even better on day 2—cover tightly and store at room temperature. Add meringue topping within a few hours before serving. The pie dough can also be prepared ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also boil, drain, and puree the potatoes up to 2 days ahead of time. Bring to room temperature before continuing with the recipe. Baked pie freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Prepared filling can be frozen up to 3 months, thaw at room temperature before using.
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Rolling Pin | 9-inch Pie Dish | Pastry Brush | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Pie Crust Shield | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (optional) | Whisk | Instant Read Thermometer | Kitchen Torch
  3. Crust: Both linked pie crust recipes make 2 crusts. You only need 1 crust for this pie, so freeze the 2nd half for another use. For the pictured pie, I actually used half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour (1 and 1/4 cups each). I kept everything else in the pie crust recipe and instructions the same. It had a wonderful nutty flavor. We loved it, especially with this pie.
  4. Butter: You need 6 Tablespoons of softened unsalted butter in the filling. To help it blend with the liquid ingredients in the filling, make sure it’s super soft. (Even softer than room temperature butter.) Cut it into pieces and microwave it for 15-20 seconds to help it soften.
  5. Bourbon: I’m not much of a bourbon connoisseur. Since the bourbon is being used in a recipe and you only need 1/4 cup, no need to purchase the fancy expensive stuff. I used Jim Beam. If you want to skip the alcohol, try my brown sugar sweet potato pie instead. You can top that with this marshmallow topping if desired.
  6. Eggs: You need 1 large egg + an additional 2 large egg yolks in the filling. Conveniently, you can use the 2 whites for the meringue topping. You also need 1 egg for the egg wash, which is brushed on the crust before baking. This means you need 4 large eggs total.
  7. Toasting topping in the oven: Instead of a torch, you can use your oven. Preheat to 450°F (232°C), and bake until the meringue begins to brown, usually about 2–3 minutes—keep a close eye on it. You could also use the broiler, but I find this method quickly burns the exposed crust, so I generally don’t recommend it unless you cover just the crust with some aluminum foil.