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Simplest Sweet Potato Pie Try this traditional holiday pie from the South. Ingredients

• 1 pound red sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean


• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened


• 1 tablespoon white sugar


• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar


• 2 large eggs


• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla


• 1 tablespoon maple syrup


• 1/2 cup evaporated milk


• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick potatoes a few times with a sharp knife. Bake until soft all the through, about one hour or longer, depending on the shape of your potatoes. Lower temperature to 375.


2. While potatoes are still hot, cut in half and scoop out the insides. (Using a flexible oven mitt to hold the potato while cutting and scooping works well.). Transfer sweet potato flesh to a medium mixing bowl, and discard skins.


3. Mash potatoes with a rubber spatula, blending in soft butter until mixture is fairly smooth, like thin mashed potatoes. Add sugars, and blend thoroughly. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Add vanilla and maple syrup. Pour evaporated milk in all at once, stirring gently until fully incorporated. Pour custard into the pie crust.


4. Bake on middle rack of oven, until center is set, the edges of the custard are slightly risen, and the crust is golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Edible's All-Butter Crust
Makes one 9-inch crust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted farmstead butter, chilled, cut into 1" dice, and chilled again


• 4-5 tablespoons water, chilled in fridge

1. Blend flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl.


2. Sprinkle chilled butter cubes into the flour and press into the dry ingredients with your fingertips, blending together until the mixture looks like fresh breadcrumbs or damp sand. Ideally, no lumps of butter any bigger than a pea will remain, nor will you have any dry flour lurking in the bottom of the bowl.


3. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time, blending gently with a large fork, until the dough forms into a ball. Roll crust out to about 1/8" thick and gently pat down into a 9" pie pan, trimming the edge with a sharp knife or scissors so the dough hangs over the edgy by 1/2".


4. Fold and crimp the dough's edges. Line with plastic wrap and freeze for a minimum of 30 minutes, or as long as overnight.


5. Remove from freezer when your filling's ready and the oven is pre-heated—whatever sort of pie you're baking, you want the crust fully frozen when it goes into the oven.

Serve pie chilled or at room temperature.

Prep Time 35 minutes, including crust