Sweet potato pie is a classic on the multi-course dinner table — perfect for the holidays, but just right for an easy dessert any time of the year. To prep your sweet potatoes, the oven is always best to allow the natural sugars to really shine. You could add eggnog to your sweet potato pie for extra creaminess and flavor. The booze, spices, and fat from the heavy cream and milk combine beautifully with the sweet potato’s natural flavor to make something that hits the sweet spot, but gets some of the other taste centers — salty, bitter, even umami. Part of the beauty of the sweet potato pie is the caramelization, and another boozy friend can help in that regard. Try some bourbon in your next sweet potato pie for some extra nutty, caramel, and oaky flavor.
Sweet potato and bourbon could be considered “autumnal flavors,” but make no mistake, they’re delicious all year ’round. And don’t fret, the booze will cook off, so it won’t be a tipsy pie. You’ll just be left with more flavor and added texture: light and creamy with a bit of, not quite chewiness, but a touch of stoutness as the whiskey bakes down with the sugar and dairy.
How to add the bourbon to your sweet potato pie
Adding bourbon to your regular sweet potato pie recipe won’t change much ingredient-wise. Just use slightly less milk or milk substitute. You can go from a couple tablespoons to ¼ cup, depending on how much whiskey flavor you’re looking for. There are some rules you should follow when buying bourbon, but some of them don’t apply to cooking. The longer the bourbon is aged, the more oaky flavor you’ll get, but it might not be entirely perceptible in a bake. You don’t necessarily need to go top-shelf for your sweet potato pie, but a nice aged bourbon will add more caramel undertones.
Using bourbon in your sweet potato pie lends itself to other caramel flavors, like maple syrup and marshmallow topping, too. The pungent boozy flavor can help cut the sweetness, so why not go all in? And it’s perfect with all manner of baking spices — cinnamon, allspice, clove, you name it. For the full infusion, you can even add bourbon to whipped cream topping for your pie. And, sure, bourbon works with almost any pumpkin pie recipe. But if you want to keep it strictly Southern, go with the sweet potato.
