My mother was the best cook and baker. Unfortunately, she didn’t write down her recipes.
She made everything from memory and taste. I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to identify and replicate some of food-memories that made my taste buds sing. Now that I’m focused on removing sugar from my diet, replicating my Mom’s dishes flavor for flavor is even further out of reach.
About fifteen years ago, I asked my paternal Grandma to share her Sweet Potato Pie recipe. She also cooked by taste and feel. So what she rambled off to me on the phone was basically a round about suggestion on how she begins to get down with her pies. Over the years I’ve made some pie batches that really stood out. The recipe card I wrote my Grandma’s suggested pie recipe on has been duly updated. The latest update happened this month after I baked my first sugar-freeish sweet potato pie batch. Though there’s no added sugar, sweet potatoes can have a glycemic index high enough to put them on the level of cake, doughnuts and candy depending on how they are prepared. For this reason, I can’t claim the pie is sugar-free, however, it may be guilt-free – for me at least!
For the last ten years, I’ve baked my pies with a combination of brown and white sugar as well as evaporated milk. This time, I used a sugar replacement and coconut milk. I’ve long mixed in an uncooked diced Red Delicious apple for an extra lil ummph. This time, I baked a Gala apple and Bosch pear and blended them into the mix. The blended apple and pear didn’t stand out in the final product. However, the diced apple usually raised brows and brought smiles.
If you try this recipe, please come back and let me know how you like it!
For those celebrating, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Sugar-freeish Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
Ingredients
4-5 large sweet potatoes/yams
4-5 eggs (one per potato)
1 can coconut milk
1 cup Swerve brown sugar replacement (or choice of replacement)
1 stick butter
1 skinned and cored pear
1 skinned and cored apple
1-2 tablespoon of cinnamon (or to taste)
1 teaspoon ginger (or to taste)
1 teaspoon nutmeg (or to taste)
1 teaspoon allspice (or to taste)
Sprinkle salt (or to taste)
Light twinkling of pepper
Makes 2 deep dish and 2 regular pies or two loaves.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Crust
Egg wash on crust to limit sogginess. Pre-bake for 10-15 minutes.
Can cook without a crust to cut down carb count. Line loaf or pie pan with parchment or wax paper.
Pre bake or boil sweet potato until they slide off a fork. Allow to cool. I usually do this the night before pie prep. Baking allows for a fuller, sweeter flavor and has a higher glycemic index. Boiling will reduce glycemic index and may water-log potatoes. I cook them both ways depending on preference at the time.
Prebake halved apple and pear or dice raw to add to sweet potatoes
Beat or blend potatoes/yams to smoothness or preferred consistency.
Mix/blend in apple and pear.
Mix/blend in coconut milk, softened butter, eggs, seasonings
More info about sweet potatoes
Glycemic index of sweet potatoes: https://www.healthline.com/health/sweet-potato-glycemic-index
Benefits of sweet potatoes: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sweet-potato-benefits
