Pecan-Topped Sweet Potato Pie

How can something that sounds that good, possibly be bad?

It can't.

And it wasn't, LOL!

I wanted a sweet potato pie recipe for a Southern book series I'm part of. "Savannah Secrets" is a new Guideposts mystery series that debuts this May, and I wanted to create a great pie to feature in my second book that will come out next March...

And this one has all the feels, folks!

First, I used the basics of the most popular recipe out there, on Allrecipes.com. When a recipe has hundreds or thousands of thumbs up, votes or reviews, you know it's wonderful.

But then I read the comments, what people tweaked and it made sense to me. I like things a little more robust, so using brown sugar instead of all white made sense... Using evaporated milk instead of regular milk. Adding a dash of cloves like you do with pumpkin pie... And baking the sweet potatoes instead of boiling to keep them dryer, but then running them through my food processor with the "S" blade to puree them. (That was clutch, there were no strings and the texture of the pie is hearty but smooth, smooth, smooth!!!!)

And then my own pecan topping. (Recipe below)

I had a frozen pie crust, so I thawed that and rolled it out.

I baked sweet potatoes the day before.  You only need two or three for a pie, I used two cups of the pureed sweet potatoes per pie.

SWEET POTATO PIE 

2 cups pureed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened (well, mine wasn't soft enough so I softened it in microwave to blend it)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Blend butter and sugars with sweet potato. Warm in microwave if needed to blend the butter in properly. Add eggs, milk and flavorings. Mix well on low to medium/low speed. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 for fifteen minutes, then reduce heat to 350 for about 45 minutes, depending on your oven. You'll know pie is done because the center will puff up when cooked and will have a dry-to-touch feel.

Cool on counter.  Top with pecan topping. Refrigerate once fully cool.

Brown Sugar Pecan Topping

1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk, cream or evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans

Melt butter in 2 quart saucepan for stirring room. Add sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring the caramel mixture. Add milk. Stir in until smooth and velvety. Add pecans. Spread on pie and allow to cool.

I had a couple of folks who wanted straight pie, so I went halfsies... and both sides were marvelous!

Also, there's this little announcement....  SQUEE!!!!!!!!

 LINK TO FINDING PEACE IN WISHING BRIDGE ON AMAZON

THE PAPERBACK RELEASED THIS WEEK!!!!!

And the Kindle edition releases in four days.

I am so excited to be releasing this beautiful story, the third Wishing Bridge story with (wait for it....)

A bonus chapter for a 4th WISHING BRIDGE story to be released in early 2021....

Oh be still my heart.

Okay, that's it until next week as we tackle some new territories here and welcome March with all of her capricious ways... she and I get along quite well. :)

There could be a reason for that, LOL!

USA Today Bestselling Author Ruth Logan Herne is holed up like a rabbit in winter, working on stories while the winds howl and a persistent wintry mix of rain/snow/sleet/ice seems to be the recipe for this year's precipitation, meaning there is a lot of mud and standing water on the farm... therefore her task is to avoid the mud at all costs! Stop by Ruthy's website ruthloganherne.com, friend her on facebook, follow her on Twitter or email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com She'd love to hear from you!