Move Over Pumpkin, This Sweet Potato-Praline Pie Wins Thanksgiving

This pie comes from Justice of the Pies, a Chicago-based bakery owned by Maya-Camille Broussard. Broussard named the bakery in honor of her late father, Steve, an attorney with a lifelong love of social justice, and sweet pies.

"This pie is a nod to my paternal family’s Louisiana roots," says Broussard. "Pralines, typically made from evaporated milk, sugar, butter, and pecans, are a fudge-like confection with a creamy consistency that were originally brought to Louisiana by French settlers."

The pie keeps well in the refrigerator up to one week, or you can freeze for up to two months and defrost in the fridge.

Yields: 8-10 servings

Prep Time: 2 hours 10 mins

Total Time: 4 hours 30 mins

Ingredients

For Broussard Praline Sauce:

• 2 tbsp.

  unsalted butter

• 1/4 c.

  granulated sugar

• 1 1/4 c.

  heavy cream

For All-Butter Pie Dough:

• 1/2 c.

  (1 stick) unsalted butter, preferably European-style, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 1 1/2 c.

  all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

• 1 tbsp.

  plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

• 1/2 tbsp.

  kosher salt

• 1/4 c.

  ice water

For Sweet-Potato Praline Pie:

• 2

  large sweet potatoes (2 to 21⁄2 pounds total)

• All-purpose flour, for work surface

• All-Butter Pie Dough (recipe following)

• 1 1/2 c.

  packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 c.

  (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 2

  large eggs

• 1/2 c.

  evaporated milk

• 2 tsp.

  pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp.

  ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp.

  ground nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp.

  kosher salt

• 1/3 c.

  Broussard Praline Sauce, recipe following

• 1/2 c.

  chopped pecans

• Vanilla Bean Chantilly Cream, optional, recipe following

For Vanilla Bean Chantilly Cream:

• 1

  vanilla bean

• 1 c.

  heavy cream

• 2 tbsp.

  confectioners’ sugar

• 1/2 tsp.

  pure vanilla extract

Directions

Make Broussard Praline Sauce:

1. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sugar and stir until fully coated in butter. Cook, stirring every 1 to 2 minutes, until it reaches deep amber brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in heavy cream. (The browned sugar will get hard once the cold cream hits it—just trust and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves.)

2. Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking until the mixture is an amber color, 30 to 45 minutes. (The sauce along the sides of the pot will start to form a thicker film. Keep whisking and scraping along the sides of the pot, whisking the thick parts back into the center of the filling.) Cool 20 minutes, then transfer to a glass jar with a lid. Store in the refrigerator up to 1 month.

Make All-Butter Pie Dough:

1. Freeze butter 15 minutes. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add chilled butter and use a pastry cutter, fork, food processor, or electric mixer to cut in butter until it is the size of peas. Sprinkle 1⁄4 cup ice water over flour mixture. Using your hands, gently work in the water until the dough comes together. If the dough is still very crumbly and dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together.

2. On a lightly floured work surface, knead dough into a ball. Press dough into a 1 1⁄2-inch-thick disc; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. (If refrigerating for more than 1 hour, let the dough sit on the countertop 20 to 30 minutes before rolling. You can also freeze the dough up to 6 months; if freezing, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.)

Make Sweet Potato-Praline Pie:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with the rack in the middle position. Wrap sweet potatoes in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake until extremely soft and a knife inserted into their thickest part meets no resistance, 1 to 1 1⁄2 hours. Cool for 20 minutes.

2. Halve sweet potatoes lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a bowl; discard skins. Mash sweet potatoes until they are creamy and smooth. (Remove and discard any visible fibrous strings.) Refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, on a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough to a 12-inch circle. Fit in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Turn edges under and crimp. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

4. Reduce oven to 350°F. Beat together brown sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at time, beating until well combined after each addition. Slowly beat in evaporated milk. Beat in vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Measure out 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes (reserve any extra). Beat in sweet potato until the texture of the filling shows small white specks, about 1 minute.

5. Place the pie shell on a baking sheet. Transfer sweet potato mixture to pie shell. Bake until the top is slightly browned and has a caramelized shine, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour. (Make Chantilly Cream, below, while pie is cooling.) Spread Broussard Praline Sauce on pie, using a silicone or offset spatula. Sprinkle with pecans and add a dollop of Vanilla Bean Chantilly Cream, if desired. You can also chill the pie before topping if you prefer a firmer, colder pie.

Make Vanilla Bean Chantilly Cream:

1. Freeze a bowl for whipping the cream for 15 to 20 minutes. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise down the center of the pod with a sharp paring knife. Gently scrape the seeds from each half of the pod into a measuring cup; discard pod.

2. Whisk cream and vanilla seeds in frozen bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add confectioners’ sugar and whisk until soft peaks form, 2 to 4 minutes. Fold in vanilla extract. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use. (You may need to give it a quick whisk before using.) Use within one day.

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