It's Not the Right Time. No One Has Sweet Potato Pie At This Time.

There are many foods that seem seasonal. Sweet potatoes fall into this unfortunate category, along with pumpkins, turkey, cranberries, eggnog, and watermelon.

One of my favorite desserts is sweet potato pie. I usually make it on Thanksgiving itself, peeling the roasted sweet potatoes, burning my fingers in the process, and when I'm in my Martha Stewart mode, cutting-in and rolling a scratch crust. I buy fresh jars of spices and mix in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. But I wanted to see if I could come up with an easy sweet potato pie recipe that still comes close to homemade.

I cut out the step of working with raw sweet potatoes by using canned yams, and skipped dealing with pie dough by using a graham cracker crust. I substituted pumpkin pie spice for the individual seasonings. The idea of using canned yams in a pie is not original, but this is the recipe I came up with.

After the pie cooled, we refrigerated it for a couple of hours before we sliced it. The result was nothing short of fabulous. The pie was as rich and satisfying as any sweet potato pie I've ever had, but it was light and refreshing (which is not a word generally associated with sweet potato pie).

All the ingredients were perfectly balanced, and there are not enough "o"s in smoooooooth to describe the sweet potato custard. Sometimes people add too much spice to sweet potato pie and it tastes like pumpkin pie, but in this recipe, the sweet potato flavor was front and center. Plus the graham cracker crust paired beautifully with the filling. I'd be proud to serve this pie at my Thanksgiving table.

Or I may just have it again next Tuesday.

Steve's Anytime Sweet Potato Pie

Serves six

Keebler Extra-Serving Graham Cracker Crust

40 oz. canned yams in light syrup, drained

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Canned whipped cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, mash drained yams with potato masher. Continuing with potato masher, mix in sugar. Mix in eggs. Mix in pumpkin pie spice. Mix in whipping cream. With rubber spatula give a quick stir incorporating sides and bottom of bowl. Pour custard into crust, scraping down sides. This recipe fills the extra-serving size crust perfectly.

Place in center of oven for 45 minutes. Test for doneness with butter knife inserted into center of pie. Knife should come out clean, but do not overcook. Pie will continue to set as it rests. Cool on wire rack. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Top with canned whipped cream.