Sweet Potato Pie Slice (Lunch Pail)

Not just a holiday dessert — sweet potato pie was everyday food in the Appalachian South, made throughout the fall and winter when sweet potatoes were plentiful and eggs and milk provided protein. Denser and less sweet than pumpkin pie, with a distinctive earthiness that made it satisfying rather than just sweet. A thick slice wrapped in wax paper was legitimate lunch.

Ingredients

• Pie shell: 1¼ cups flour, ½ tsp salt, 5 tbsp cold lard, 3–4 tbsp cold water
• Filling: 2 cups sweet potato purée (baked or boiled), ¾ cup sugar, ½ cup evaporated milk or cream, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp butter melted, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp cloves, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt

Directions

1. Make pastry: mix flour and salt. Cut in cold lard. Add water 1 tbsp at a time until dough holds together. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll out and fit into a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp edges.
2. Bake sweet potatoes: pierce and bake at 400°F until very soft, about 1 hour. Or boil peeled, cubed potatoes until tender. Drain thoroughly.
3. Mash or process sweet potato until completely smooth. Measure 2 cups.
4. Beat together sweet potato, sugar, evaporated milk, eggs, melted butter, all spices, vanilla, and salt.

Pour into unbaked pie shell.

1. Bake at 350°F for 50–60 minutes until filling is set with just a slight jiggle in the center.
2. Cool completely before slicing. Cut thick slices and wrap in wax paper for the lunch pail.

Notes

Sweet potato pie is distinctly Southern and Appalachian — pumpkin pie is for people who don’t have root cellars full of sweet potatoes. The filling is denser and more complex than pumpkin. Evaporated milk (canned) was used because fresh milk was not always available, and evaporated milk had a richer, more concentrated flavor.