Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

My dad gave me some sweet potatoes from where he works. They are pretty much pureed. There were a few small lumps I had to mash out but not many. Every since he gave them to me I have wanted to make a pie. I just kept putting it off. Yes, sometimes I have a procrastination problem. I decided to just do it. So I made the pies. I have always sort of used sweet potatoes and pumpkin puree interchangeably. Many times I have made a sweet potato pie and passed it off as a pumpkin pie to my nephew. Not so sure how he would react to sweet potato, but pumpkin he likes. I have always used the recipe from Libby's, the pumpkin puree makers. But this time I decided to see if I could find something a little different.

I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com, it comes from Paula Deen. She tops it with a meringue. I'm more of a whipped cream person. I like meringue on lemon pie, not sweet potato. So I left it off. After reading some of the reviews I cut the amount of sugar in half. Next time, I'm going back to the Libby's recipe. I did not care for this one at all. I guess when I saw that several of the reviewers had made alterations I should have just stuck with the recipe that I know I like. Oh well, lesson learned.

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

2 cups peeled, cooked sweet potatoes
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup milk
9-inch unbaked pie crust
3 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the filling, using an electric hand mixer, combine the potatoes, 1 cup of the sugar, the butter, eggs, vanilla, salt, and spices. Mix thoroughly. Add the milk and continue to mix. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pie on a rack and cool to room temperature before covering with meringue.

For the meringue, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is glossy and stiff, but not dry. With a rubber spatula, spoon the meringue onto the pie, forming peaks. Make sure the meringue touches the crust all around. Sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until delicately browned. Cool and serve.

**UPDATE...Even though I thought the flavor was off, Corey loved it. He said it was great. Of course he wanted whip cream, and I didn't have any at the time he ate his.