Sweet Potato Apple Pie with BACON!
WHAT???? Bacon, you say????...Yep, Bacon! Now, I have to admit that this is the first sweet potato pie I've ever made (or eaten) and I didn't look at any recipes, so I honestly don't know if the filling is like a traditional sweet potato pie or not.
What I do know is this pie isn't dense like a traditional pumpkin pie; the sweet potato apple filling is soft and airy kind of like a pudding. The apples on top with bits of caramelized brown sugar add a great flavor and texture (the crunch from the caramelized brown sugar alone is worth making this pie!).
It would be a great (now, one of my favs) pie without the bacon, but add a bit of bacon and a some whipped cream on top and this Sweet Potato Apple Pie becomes a slice of heaven!
Not only is this pie delicious, but it's pretty easy to make and looks beautiful too!
What You'll Need for Sweet Potato Apple Pie
- Sweet Potatoes
- Granny Smith Apples
- Applewood Smoked Bacon (Thick cut)
- Lemon
- White and Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, Ground Cloves
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
- Pie Crust
- Evaporated Milk ( I always forget something in the ingredient pictures!)
Step One:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill a large pot with water about ½ to ⅔rds full and bring water to a boil on medium heat. While the water is coming to a boil, peel and cut sweet potatoes into chunks. Peel and slice (large slices) one granny smith apple. Place sweet potatoes and apple into pot of boiling water. Boil until sweet potatoes are soft, about 20-30 minutes. When you pierce a chunk of sweet potato with a fork it should split.
Step Two:
While the sweet potatoes are boiling, fry the bacon until crispy. Remove from frying pan and drain on paper towels.
Step Three:
When the sweet potatoes are soft, drain potatoes and apples into a colander. In a medium bowl, add eggs and white sugar. Beat with a hand mixer until the eggs become a pale yellow (about 3 minutes).
Step Four:
Put the Sweet Potatoes and cooked apples into a large mixing bowl or pot (I used the same pot I cooked them in), add in egg/sugar mixture, spices, salt and vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined and sweet potatoes are mashed. Add evaporated milk and mix, starting on low speed until milk is incorporated. Then beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and well blended (about 3-4 minutes).
Step Five:
Place your pie crust into a deep dish (If you don't have a deep dish pie plate, this recipe will make two smaller pies, but you will need another pie crust, 3 additional slices of bacon and 2 extra apples for topping) and fold over the edges to make a thicker edge. Using a fork, go around pie edges and press down to make design. Pour your pie filling into pie crust to just below the pie edge, don't overfill! You can see in my picture that I did overfill mine and while it turned out fine, next time I would be okay not using ALL the filling. This unwillingness to discard any of the filling led to the apples being higher on the pie causing the juice and brown sugar to drip (a lot) onto my cookie sheet (which I also did not cover in foil) and created quite a sticky mess for me to clean...so learn from me, line your cooking sheet with foil and be okay with discarding a wee bit of the filling if necessary! Place Pie into preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Step Six:
While pie is baking, peel and slice remaining two apples and toss in lemon juice. After 30 minutes in the oven, remove pie and arrange sliced apples on top of pie by fanning them starting at the outer edge and placing the apple slices around the outside, then repeat moving inward until the entire pie is covered. Sprinkle apples with brown sugar. Place pie on baking sheet covered with aluminum foil (this makes for easy clean up), so any juices or brown sugar that drips off of the pie doesn't end up on the bottom of your oven! Place pie back into oven for 20-25 minutes (the apples should be soft and the brown sugar caramelized).
Step Seven:
Crumble bacon on top and cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve. Cut into slices and top with whipped cream. Enjoy!
Sweet Potato Apple Pie
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 Medium Sweet Potatoes about 6 cups when cut into chunks
- 1 Granny Smith Apple
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ Cup White Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Ginger
- ¼ Teaspoon Cloves
- ¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Can 12oz Evaporated Milk
- 1 Refrigerated Pie Crust
Topping
- 3 Slices Applewood Thick Cut Bacon
- 2 Granny Smith Apples
- ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Lemon Juice to coat apples
Instructions
Filling
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Fill a large pot with water about ⅔rds full and bring to a boil
- Peel and chop sweet potatoes into cubes
- Peel and chop one apple
- Place sweet potatoes and apple into boiling water and cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are very soft. Drain and return to pot or large mixing bowl.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until eggs become pale yellow (about 3 minutes).
- Add egg mixture, salt, spices and vanilla to sweet potatoes and mix on low until blended.
- Add evaporated milk and mix on low until milk is incorporated, then beat on medium until mixture is smooth (about 3 minutes)
- Place pie crust into deep dish pie plate (see notes) and fold under pie crust along the edges to build up the edge of the crust. Using a fork, make indentations around the edges of the pie for decoration.
- Fill Pie crust with filling, careful not to overfill. You may have a little extra filling.
- Place in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Topping
- Fry Bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels
- Peel and slice apples and toss in lemon juice
- Remove pie from oven after 30 minutes of cooking and place apples slices on pie by fanning them, starting on the outside of the pie and working inward
- Sprinkle apples with brown sugar and place pie on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil (for easy clean up). Place in oven and cook at 350 degrees for an additional 20-25 minutes or until apples are soft and brown sugar is caramelized.
- Crumble bacon on top and cook an additional 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool and refrigerate
- When serving, cut into slices and top with whipped cream
- Enjoy!
Notes
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