Healthier southern sweet potato pie

With cooler weather and Thanksgiving around the corner, ‘tis the season for making pies. It is also the season for sweet potatoes which we enjoy in many different forms; baked, mashed, and as fries or chips. A nutritional superhero, sweet potatoes are one of the best vegetables you can eat. The starchy, tuberous root vegetable is loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

We frequently have leftover mashed sweet potatoes, but you can also bake 2-3 sweet potatoes, allow to cool, and then place them in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand or stand mixer until smooth.

Add yogurt, 3/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, yolks, and salt to the sweet potatoes and beat until well combined. Pour this batter into the prepared pie shell and then place onto an aluminum foil-lined sheet pan in the event any filling overflows the crust.

Toast the pecans by placing them in the pre-heating oven for 10-15 minutes. When cool to the touch, break into small pieces. Mix chopped pecans with 1/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over the top of the pie filling, then drizzle maple syrup over the pecan topping.

Bake the pie for 50 to 55 minutes or until the custard reaches 165°F degrees. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Because the filling contains eggs it is best to keep the pie refrigerated after cooling. Top with fresh whipped cream for an authentic Southern dessert.