Sweet Potato Pie w/Vanilla Bourbon Caramel Sauce

 

Sweet potato pie was always a holiday staple during my childhood. Every family has their holiday traditions, and ours was sweet potato pie for breakfast on Christmas morning. It was the one time that our relatively healthy(ish) household would have something so sweet before dinner. 

There are a plethora of amazing sweet potato pie recipes that already exist in my family (one of my uncles even owns a popular sweet potato pie company in his city), but I wanted something that was outside of the  norm. This recipe starts with adding  brown butter for a nuttier flavor. I also swapped out some of the milk for some vanilla bourbon, because why not? The homemade bourbon and whipped cream take a standard dessert to the next level. This recipe is perfect for holidays and family get-togethers. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Pie w/Vanilla Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Sweet Potato Pie

• 1 deep dish pie crust

• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes

• ½ cup unsalted butter

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk

• ¼ cup vanilla bourbon

• 2 eggs

• ½ tsp cinnamon

• ½ tsp nutmeg

• ¼ tsp cloves

Vanilla Bourbon Caramel Sauce

• ⅓ cup vanilla bourbon

• 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

Homemade Whipped Cream (Optional)

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 cup marshmallow fluff

• 2 tsp vanilla bourbon (optional)

Preparation

1. Brown the butter in a saucepan on medium high heat until the butter has turned a golden brown color and has a slightly nutty aroma. Remove from heat and cool. Allow to chill in the refrigerator just until set but still soft to the touch.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. In a large bowl, mash the browned butter together with the mashed sweet potatoes

4. Add the brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk and mix. 

5. Add the remaining ingredients (eggs, bourbon, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves) and mix on medium speed until well combined. 

6. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the filling jiggles only slightly in the center.

7. For the caramel sauce, combine the bourbon, heavy cream, and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and simmer until the sauce has slightly thickened. It will still be a little runny but will set when it cools.

8. For the whipped cream, beat the heavy cream on high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Add the marshmallow fluff and beat on low speed until combined. Fold in the vanilla bourbon. Use immediately.

Tips

The brown butter in this recipe is optional. To save time, use softened unsalted butter instead. If you decide to stick with the brown butter, be sure to stir the butter continuously.

I don't recommend blind baking the pie crust. The packaging for the crust that I used suggested that, but the hour bake time in this recipe would cause it to burn.