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Praline Sweet Potato Pie

March 22, 2022 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Every Thanksgiving, I make too many desserts. I am a big believer in, “Swing by the house and have dessert if you have room” on holidays. Until the whole pandemic thing happened. However, as the world has slowly emerged and people are doing bigger family gatherings, I look forward to that being an option again.

My one Aunt is the type of cook that had an open door and a serving station where all of the menu items were kept warm and you ate when you got there. One of my favorite memories of the holidays was knowing Aunty Johanne would make a “to go” plate for me when I was working…and specifically didn’t add turnips. I love them now, but then, not so much.

I love the idea of a beautiful sit down dinner. But lately, I am more in love with the idea that people who have busy lives and other family members to see can think one less person is putting pressure on them to be somewhere. I like being able to say, “If it works and you want pie, we have a LOT.” It’s not a horrible situation to find oneself in, if ever.

I also love the idea that if you make different pies, there are more options, and a person could say, sample several pies and it really equals one or two slices. I also like the idea that a person could technically cut into the pies pre-Thanksgiving dinner, as in for breakfast that day. Because, life is short. Eat pie for breakfast if it makes your heart happy.

One thing I do every holiday is print out a menu for myself and a timeline. I like lists. Like REALLY LIKE LISTS. I always refer to what worked, didn’t work, and have a folder of recipes for what I want to try next time. Desserts have more room for flexibility here, because as long as I have the basics covered: Pumpkin, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan, Tollhouse Cookie, and my Aunty Cathy’s Cheesecake…I can add any crazy pie I want. This was the new endeavor this year.

Sweet Potato pie has always intrigued me. As in, how is it different than pumpkin or squash pie (I never really got the difference between squash and pumpkin). And what does a praline topping really mean? When I make a sweet potato casserole it is the Ruth Chris recipe- with a pecan streusel topping…but baby marshmallows? This was new to me, but I will not shy away from a dessert with a praline topping.

I don’t have the benefit of southern relatives to share this specialty with me. I wish I did. I’m still trying to work my way into my best friend’s fiance’s family from the south. I need to learn everything they want to teach me. (Because, when you visit family up north you want to spend your whole time teaching a stranger all the family cooking secrets…but I digress).

I chose the trusty recipe from Joanna Gaines and Magnolia because they are from Texas, and if she says this is what she makes for her family, it is good enough for me.

This recipe requires pre-blind baking the crust, making a sweet potato filling (not unlike pumpkin pie), and baking. Then topping with a mixture of butter and brown sugar and marshmallows. Had I stopped there, this pie would be amazing. However, I put it back in the oven and toast/melt the topping all together. It is rich and decadent. For me, maybe not a pretty pie before you cut into it…but it’s delicious.

Here’s my take: Sweet potato filling is similar to pumpkin and yet it isn’t. The flavor is bright, there is a nice mix of sweet but not too sweet (which is hard to believe considering there is a gooey marshmallow topping), and I like it in the wildcard pie position at my table. It incorporates a typical Thanksgiving menu item in a new way. I would maybe, moving forward, make some sort of marshmallow meringue and use that as a topping…making the topping lighter and prettier…but I’m saving that for next year’s wild card pie. I made a note in the folder on the list. 🙂

The recipe is simple and precise, and I did not change one word. It is a Magnolia recipe as printed.

In life, I wish for you a dessert table and life table filled with the basics and the spontanteous choices. The ones we know we need and the ones we want to try. Like I mentioned earlier…Life is short. Have a slice of pie for breakfast.

Sending love and light to you. I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table.

Love,

Chrissy

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Praline Sweet Potato Pie

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This recipe is originally from the Magnolia Journal. A single crust sweet potato pie with a marshmallow brown sugar and pecan topping. This pie was a welcome addition to our Thanksgiving table, and will be made again!

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

Pastry for a single-crust pie
1 2/3 Cup Cooked, mashed Sweet Potatoes or one 17.2 ounce can of Whole Sweet Potatoes, drained and mashed
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1 Teaspoon finely chopped Crystallized Ginger or 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg or 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/4 Teaspoon Allspice
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
3 Eggs, slightly beaten
1 Cup Buttermilk or Sour Milk

Praline Topping

2 Tablespoons Butter
@ Tablespoons Packed Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon Milk
1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 Cup tiny Marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450* Prepare pastry for single crust pie.
Place Pie Crust into pie plate and prick bottom of pie crust with a fork. Line pastry with a double layer of foil and bake for 8 minutes covered. Remove foil and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes or until golden. (You can use an alternate blind baking option that works for you)
Cool on wire rack.
Reduce oven to 375*
For the filling, stir in mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt.
Add eggs, beat lightly with a fork until just combined.
Gently stir in buttermilk/sour milk until thoroughly combined.
Place pastry shell on a foil lined baking sheet.
Carefully fill pie shell, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
In a small saucepan combine butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, and the milk. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil.
With pie on oven rack, carefully sprinkle pecans and mini marshmallows over the surface of the pie.
Carefully pour hot brown sugar mixture over top.
Bake 15-20 minutes or more or until center of the pie appears to be set when jiggled.
Cool on a wire rack at least 1 hour.
Cover and chill two hours before serving.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

December 6, 2017 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Having grown up in a non-pecan pie eating house, the mystery that is pecan pie is a love affair that began when I was older, and was able to embrace the beauty of that sweet nutty flavor with a splash of bourbon. Fall fast and hard, I did.

I was always afraid of pecan pie because, as I mention A LOT, I am a north east lady and this pie is distinctively southern. I imagine pecan groves and roadside stands, very Gone with the Wind, very warm climate beautiful plantation sort of pie.

Turns out, pecan pie is preeeettty simple. And northeastern, if the gal who makes it is from the northeast. In a time where we can access southern pecans and southern made bourbon and whisk it into a pie crust, it doesn’t matter where you live or what your accent is, this pie is for you.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

The trickiest part of pecan pie is that special moment when the corn syrup mixture (and I use dark corn syrup, just a personal preference) meets the egg and bourbon mixture. Even though you do cool the corn syrup mixture, you have to be careful not to turn your eggs into a scrambled mess. It’s not as scary as it sounds, you just go slow and whisk fast.

In all of my pecan pie making, I have yet to make scrambled bourbon pecan eggs and yet every time I make this pie, this is my one worry. Again, it has yet to happen. Let the mixture cool enough, drizzle slowly, and whisk the whole time as you go.

Now, for the pecans. Halves? Pieces? up to you. I like to do a blend for visual appeal, and it is important, but, I have also made it with just halves, and just pieces, and no one has complained. Literally, no one complains that the nuts in a pecan pie are already smaller and therefore, easier to chew. SO, you do it the way it works for you.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

This pie cooks up and browns beautifully. I bake this pie until there is no jiggle in the middle (wish I could say that about my own middle) and the pecans have a roasted nutty flavor. I watch the edges of the crust so that they don’t brown too much and find that perfect balance of pecan pie doneness. It’s like the force, and you, young Skywalker, must harness it. Or, stick close to your oven and watch, give it a shake every five minutes or so near the end of cooking time.

I’m sad I didn’t get a slice shot of this beauty, but the caramel colored center serves as a perfect base for the pecan top layer.

The best part about growing up and learning about new flavors is finding something you really love. Like this pie. Don’t rule it out if you haven’t ever had a slice. Pecan pie could be your new great love. Then, you can mix it up, add chocolate chunks, and step up to Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie. Just saying.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy,

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Bourbon Pecan Pie

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Delicious Pecan Pie with a Bourbon kick!

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 unbaked pie shell
1 Cup Dark Corn Syrup
1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
4 Eggs, beaten
1/4 Cup Bourbon
1 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 – 1 1/2 Cups Pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325*
In a saucepan, combine corn syrup, butter, sugar, and cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until butter melts and sugar is dissolved.
Cool mixture slightly.
In an additional bowl, whisk eggs, bourbon, vanilla, salt and mix well.
Slowly pour egg mixture into corn syrup mixture, whisking continuously until thoroughly combined.
Add pecans and mix to coat.
Pour mixture into prepared pie shell.
Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, until pie is set in the middle.

Cranberry Pecan Streusel Crunch Pie

December 4, 2017 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Cranberry Pecan Streusel Crunch Pie

I am a New England girl. I am more specifically a Massachusetts girl. Give me my glorious western mass mountains, rotaries, the turnpike, the cape, the fact that I can be in Vermont in an hour, and all the glory that goes with the Patriots, the Celtics, the Bruins, and the Red Sox. Ok, so I am not a big sports fans, but I can name key players and read a twitter feed to follow games, so who is any wiser? (Oh wait, just shared that on my blog…)

Cranberries!

Something that every New Englander can hopefully know is the harvesting of a cranberry bog. These little power houses of antioxidants are amazing in their chambered, floating figures of bright red goodness. It is a fall tradition, to flood the bogs, set those babies free, and corral them into their futures as cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, Craisins, and of course, to be sold as is in the stores.

Cranberries, Orange Zest and Sugar

If you are not from New England, in the world of YouTube and other internet wonders, you too can witness a cranberry harvest, but there is nothing like actually being there. It’s cooler weather, the leaves are starting to turn, cider and cider donuts are happening, typically there is a festival one weekend, and you think to yourself, “Hey, we are known for this! This is a very cool New England thing.”

Does everybody love the cranberry? No. Some people like it with their booze (Hello Cape Codder), some people like it for health reasons. I’m just a fan. Thus, this pie for the holidays.

Look at how pretty they are. All nestled in sugar and with orange peel.

Cranberries Pie Filling

This pie is so beautiful color wise, and it is paired with a pecan oat streusel that is just sweet enough and just crunchy enough to balance the tart of the cranberries. The original recipe is found on the www.smittenkitchen.com website.

The filling is partially cooked on the stovetop, and the combination of the pectin in the cranberries with the cornstarch make for a tight filling that packs a punch flavor wise. It is not cranberry sauce in a pie crust at all.

The streusel crust combines oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and is pulverized to make a crumbly but consistent texture. I processed mine quickly so the little bits of pecan and oats were identifiable without being dominant. This may, in fact, be my new favorite streusel topping. I may just try this on top of muffins or crisps in the near future.

Cranberry Pie

After the cranberry filling is partially cooked and the streusel is prepped, it is as easy as assembling the layers and popping it in the oven.

You know when you have to wait for something special and you wait and wait and wait? I got these pie crust punch cutters in my Christmas stocking last year and have waited all this time to use them.

I made an extra pie crust just for the decorative edges on this year’s pies and was I ever happy. I rolled the pie crust into the pie plate, and instead of pinching the edges, I cut and attached the pretty leaves on the outside rim.

Cranberry Pecan Streusel Crunch Pie

Of all the pies this past holiday held, this was the one I chose for dessert. Just enough tart and sweet, crunch and chew, and balance between the flaky pie crust, crumble of the streusel, and consistency of the cranberries. Topped with a dollop of fresh homemade whipped cream, I was a happy girl.

There seems to be a common thread in my life these days of balance, between the sweet and the not so sweet, the blessings and the sorrow, and the fine line to keep solid between the two.

In this daily journey, I am thankful for the sweeter side of things, for the smell of cinnamon and the beautiful colors around me. I am thankful to live in a part of the world where every fall the mountains burst with colors, and the cranberry bogs fill with tiny chambered floating fruit, bobbing along their flooded homes to make their way into this special dessert for my family.

Every day is a gift.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Cranberry Pecan Streusel Crunch Pie

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This pie combines the jewel like color and tart flavor of cranberries, orange zest with a pecan oat streusel topping. It is a perfect balance of tart and sweet, crunchy and chewy and flaky!

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 Unbaked Pie Crust

Cranberry Filling:

4 1/2 Cups of Fresh Cranberries (original recipe said you can use frozen- I did not).
1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
Orange Zest from one Orange OR 2 Clementines (I like the taste of orange and cranberry so I add more)
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch

Streusel Topping:

2/3 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup White Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon salt
3/4 Cup Pecan Pieces
6 Tablespoons Butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

For Cranberry Filling

Combine cranberries, orange zest, sugar, cornstarch, salt in a saucepan over medium heat and begin to cook. Some of the cranberries will pop or leak juices, which is perfect. Continue to stir and cook for approximately 5-7 minutes. Allow filling to cool slightly. (I waited about 10-12 minutes).
Pour cooled filling into pie shell.

For Streusel Topping:

Using a food processor, grind oats and pecans for a coarse grind, add additional ingredients except butter. Pulse processor to combine all streusel ingredients.
Combine Streusel ingredients with melted and cooled butter until crumbled in texture.
Sprinkle topping over cranberry filling.

Bake pie for 50 minutes or more or until the cranberry filling is bubbling up through the streusel topping. If pie crust begins to brown too much while filling is cooking, cover edges of pie with foil to protect from burning.

Notes

While cooking this pie, I erred on the side of longer, waiting for the cranberry filling to really bubble up through the streusel topping. It did mean my cooking time was longer, but the result was worth the wait. The cranberries cooked down but retained their consistency, the crumble topping browned nicely, and it was all over a beautiful pie to cut into!

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

December 2, 2017 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Prepare to wow and amaze your guests, be the star of the dessert table, and enter into a sugar coma that compares to no other. May I present to you, the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie.

This is a staple in my dessert arsenal, it is also the pie that never seems to have a remaining slice left in the pie plate. It’s the top pick of my daughter and I think, mine as well.

This pie comes out twice a year: Thanksgiving and Christmas. So maybe that is why it is so special. Or, it could be that pecan pie meets chocolate chunks and it melts into a flaky pie crust to make the gooey, sticky, wonder that is pecan pie meets chocolate.

I can’t expound on it’s perfection.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Now, if you aren’t a pecan pie lover, and I know you are out there. I understand. It isn’t for everyone.

But for a girl who didn’t try pecan pie until I was an adult, the wonder is still there for me.

This recipe is all over the internet, my original copy was from 2012 and printed from all recipes.com. I have since seen it on several blogs, and the variations are minimal.

Essentially, you combine sugars and corn syrup, butter until melty and beautiful. Combine eggs and bourbon and vanilla in another bowl, and you marry the two. Then add your pecans and chocolate and pour into the pie shell.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

What I love about this pie is how beautifully it sets up. I let my pecan pie bake until there is almost no jiggle in the middle. It actually almost puffs up and then settles down as it cools. I have also experimented with chocolate chips and chocolate chunks, and both seem to have the same consistency when it comes to melting into the under-the-pecan layer.

The smell in your kitchen as this bakes is somewhere between pie crust and toasted pecans and brown sugar. Which, in my opinion, is quite lovely.

I am thankful this pie only appears a few times a year, even though my daughter continues to ask when the next pie is being made (she had to share this one with the family), I am reticent to make it only because it is a serious temptation. As in, let the dog out in the middle of the night and grab your fork temptation.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

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A delicious combination of melted chocolate and pecan pie come together in this dessert! Perfect with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 Unbaked Pie Shell
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Dark Corn Syrup
1/2 Cup Butter
4 Eggs, beaten
1/4 Cup Bourbon
1 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
6–8 Ounces Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325*
In a saucepan, combine corn syrup, sugar, butter, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and ingredients are combined.
Cool mixture slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla extract, bourbon, and salt.
Slowly pour melted sugar and corn syrup mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly.
When combined, add pecans and chocolate chips.
Pour into pie shell and bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on your oven. You want to check- give the pie a little jiggle and see if the inner part of the pie has set.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Squares

November 7, 2017 by chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Bars

I know, I placed a teaser picture on my Facebook page and then made everybody wait because I was too busy being a mom and a daughter and a teacher and a multitasking human who didn’t actually get anything right last week. Cue the tears. Ok, maybe no tears. I think I put myself in time out last week maybe three times. People, one minute for every year adds up to a nice little segment of time to decompress. Or put away clean laundry. You decide.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Bars

Anyway… This is an absolute frankendessert of goodness. Oh. My. Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Bars. As in…make a chocolate chip brownie like bottom and then top it with the pecan pie filling and bake.

On the edges, the pecan pie absorbs into the cookie layer. on the inside, it remains that gooey, Karo

Chocolate Chip Layer

syrupy nutty amazing ness that is all things pecan pie.

You don’t like pecan pie? We need to talk. Unless you have an allergy, it could be a deal breaker in our friendship. Like country music, or not returning one of my books (you know who you are).

This recipe is actually pretty easy to prepare, you mix your cookie dough in the mixer, and then as it bakes, you mix your pecan pie topping.

It bakes in two sessions, and the ingredients are a little higher end (I know, pecans are expensive) but if you want to impress a crowd, this is your dessert.

Chocolate Chip Layer

This is also a large dessert. This recipe fills a 9×13 pan, to the top. I lined my pan with parchment, making it easier to lift out after baking, easier to cut into bars, and saving me a lot of time with pecan stickiness on the pan after baking.

This dessert is so beautiful.

This was one of two desserts I made for the last of the pumpkin carving parties. Nothing says hello Halloween like a fire, friends, food, and more food.

Pecan Pie Layer

We have been lucky enough to be invited for several years, and it is hard to believe our kids are seniors this year. Sigh. We have transitioned to it being all about the pumpkins, to all about the hanging out. Party food needs to also be portable, so these bars work nicely. They don’t need a fork like pecan pie does. You will, however, need a napkin.

I did mention that these bars had to go to school the next day?

I can’t be trusted with anything this lovely. My school peeps are so worthy of great love, and desserts.

The original recipe is from www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com. I did alter the recipe, par for the course, changing the brown sugar, the vanilla extract, and the amount of chocolate chips.

One thing I would mention is- really watch towards the end of the baking time. I actually cooked these a little longer because I wanted to make sure the topping set. In doing so, I think the color of the base layer was more brown and caramelish than intended.

Once the bars have baked, allow them to cool completely. Remove from pan, and slice into squares.

Because this is a richer dessert, the squares don’t need to be large, but I like a hearty portion, so this made enough squares for the party, to share at school, and still manage a portion to live on my countertop calling out to me.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Bars

In this season of thankfulness and abundance, this dessert just seems perfection to me. It’s a Thanksgiving treat, and my heart is always looking for another reason to be thankful.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

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Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Squares

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Chocolate Chip and Pecan Pie come together to make delicious bar dessert. Original recipe is from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen (Amazing Food Blog!) I changed a few of the measurements and the amounts of sugars.

Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

Cookie Layer:

1 Cup Softened Margarine
1/2 Cup White Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
2 1/4 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 12 Ounce Package of Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate Chips

Pecan Layer:

4 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Corn Syrup (I used light)
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup White Granulated Sugar
3 Tablespoons Melted Margarine, slightly cooled
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2–3 Cups Pecan pieces (I used a blend of pieces and halves- the halves add to the visual)

Instructions

Line a 9 x 13 Baking Pan with Parchment Paper and spray with cooking spray.
preheat oven to 350*
For cookie layer: In a mixer, combine margarine and sugars until creamed and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla, mix until combined.
Slowly add flour and baking soda to the mix.
Fold in chocolate chips of choice.
Press batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Your outer edges will appear more cooked (golden brown) than the inner portion.

Pean Layer:

While cookie portion is baking, combine eggs, sugars, corn syrup, vanilla, melted margarine and whisk until thoroughly combined.
Stir in pecans, combining and coating the pecans in mixture.
Carefully pour pecan layer over cookie layer and return to the oven.
Bake for an additional 25-35 minutes until the pecan layer is set (only a little jiggle) and golden brown. Your kitchen will smell amazing at this point!!!
Remove for oven and cool on countertop. Place in refrigerator to cool before slicing.
Remove liner and slice into squares.