Sweet Potato Pie

Mom’s Apple Pie Company 
Leesburg, Occoquan, and Sterling, VA
Co-owner Steven Cox uses sweet potatoes from the family farm for this flavorful pie. Ask your vendor whether your sweet potatoes have been “cured”—allowed to rest in a warm, dry place for 10 days or so after digging. This adds to their sweet, mellow flavor and improves storage ability. Co-owner Avis Renshaw, Cox’s wife and the “mom” of Mom’s Apple Pie Company, suggests topping the pie with whipped cream flavored with a little maple syrup. Their daughter Petra Cox demonstrates how to make the pie crust (and other recipes) at monkeysee.com.

Preparation time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Makes two regular 9-inch pies or one deep-dish 9-inch pie
Download the recipe

For the pie crust

• 2½ cups unbleached pastry flour
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces and frozen for an hour before mixing
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Up to 5 tablespoons ice water

1. Add the flour, butter, sugar, and salt to a food processor. Using pulse option, mix ingredients together.
2. Add ice water to the dough one tablespoon at a time, until the dough barely comes together. When finished, transfer the dough to a bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. Flour the working surface well. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before you start working with it. Cut the dough roughly into two pieces and roll into balls.
4. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Three quick, firm passes with the pin should give you the size you need for the 9-inch pie pan. Repeat for second pie crust.
5. Lay the dough in the bottom of the pie pan. Roll the top edge and pinch with fingers or press with a fork to desired height and thickness.

For the filling

• 2 cups cooked, peeled, and mashed sweet potato
• 2⁄3 cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 3 or 4 tablespoons molasses
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3–4 eggs

1. Mix first eight ingredients gently. Mix in eggs until filling is smooth.
2. Baking and serving
3. Preheat oven to 375 F.
4. Pour into prepared pie shells and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
5. Cool on wire rack. Serve immediately or refrigerate.