Mini Sweet Potato Pie Treats!

When I saw these mini sweet potato pies, courtesy of http://www.bakerella.com/, I knew I had to experiment, but I also knew I had to switch it up a little.  Bakerella uses pumpkin filling for her pies and since I'm no fan of pumpkin pies and a HUGE fan of sweet potato pies, I deided to use sweet potato filling instead and Viola!  Even though it would seem like these pies would be best suited for the holiday season, these tasty mini treats can be enjoyed all year-round!  Read on for the recipe and instructions and I hope you enjoy them as much I do!

Pie Crust

~ 4 cups all purpose flour

~ 1 3/4 cups butter flavored Crisco shortening

~ 3 Tbsp granulated sugar

~ 2 tsp kosher salt

~ 1 egg

~ 1/2 cup ice water

1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2) In a bowl add the flour and cut in the Crisco, until it resembles bread crumbs.

3) Stir in the sugar & the salt.

4) Mix the egg up inside the ice cold water. Pour into the crust mixture and stir until combined.

5) Turn the crust mixture out onto a flour surface and gather it into a large ball. You may need to kneed it lightly just to get all of the dry crumbs to incorporate into a ball.

6) Divide the ball into  two pieces. (Store the other ball in the refrigerator and use it for another yummy  pie in the future!)

7) Roll the dough out about 1/4 inch thick and using a flower cookie cutter, cut shapes from each pie crust.  Be sure to roll out dough a little thin  (view link here to see an example of the flower cookie cutter)http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM5233581401P 

8) Press dough shapes into a 24-cup mini muffin tray.  Apply egg whites (brush on) to the tops of the crust to get a shiny crust look.

9) Refrigerate until ready to use.

* In place of homemade crust and as a time saver, try refrigerated ready-to-roll pie crusts (Pillsbury Dough)

Pie filling 

~ 2 cups sweet potatoes (2 medium sweet potatoes usually does it. I always have a bit extra left)
~ 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
~ 1/2 cup white sugar
~ 1/2 cup brown sugar
~ 1/2 cup evaporated milk
~ 2 eggs
~ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
~ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
~ 1/4 teaspoons ginger
~ 1 Tablespoon flour
~ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1) Place sweet potatoes in a large pot and fill with water just until it covers them. Bring to a boil and boil for 45 -50 minutes or until they are  fork tender.

2) When done, let cool and then remove the skin. It should peel off very easily.

3) Place peeled sweet potatoes in bowl and break it up with a fork.

4) Use a mixer to mix the sweet potatoes until smooth and creamy.

5) Add in butter and mix to combine.

6) Add in sugars, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla and flour. Beat until mixture is smooth. It may be a lil speckled, don’t worry it won’t be that way when it’s done.
7) Pour into prepared pie crust and back for 40-45 minutes. (don’t be alarmed if the pie puffs up while cooking. It will sink down)  Let cool on the counter for about 30 minutes and then let chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to fully set.

The recipe used will yield approx. 96 mini sweet potato pies...A LOT!  To reduce the number of pies by half, halve the dough and pie filling ingredients.  If you use the refrigerated crust, you will only need one box. Enjoy!

* Recipe adapted from www.divascancook.com