Sweet Potato Pie with Toasted Marshmallow Meringue

Charisse's Arkansas trip worked out really well for the holiday season because she came back with this idea for a sweet potato pie. Sweet potato? In a pie? Eric was skeptical, especially when it the bag of marshmallows came out for the topping. Eric was wrong to be skeptical, very wrong. As it turned out, in addition to all the yummy fried food and other interesting dishes they have in Arkansas (we'll have to do Arkansas Sloppy Joes one  day...) they also have pie. Wonderful glorious pie. Charisse thinks they should change their slogan from "The Natural State" to "The Pie State". She had pie of every kind imaginable; apple pie, pumpkin pie, Frito pie. Frito pie? Yup. Pie made with all natural organic Fritos. Okay, so maybe we're exaggerating, Fritos are not organic nor are they all natural but hey, close enough for government work. Anyways, Charisse put this pie together based on her experiences there, and it really blew our minds. It looks like pumpkin pie, it even smells like it. Its got the same consistency and color, but the taste is wildly different. Its a surprise in your mouth... the good kind! But what REALLY made this stand out was the Meringue. It is like eating the marshmallows out of a fresh smore and has become the new must have for our fall pies. 

Sweet Potato Pie with Toasted Marshmallow Meringue
What You Will Need



4 ounces butter, softened
2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
2 cups granulated sugar
1 small can (5 ounces, about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 batch of your favorite pie crust ( I used a recipe from smitten kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/pie-crust-102-all-butter-really-flaky-pie-dough/ ) 
1 cup marshmallows
1 Tbs milk

3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 450*

Roast sweet potatoes until tender and skins slip off easily, let cool

Lower oven temperature to 350*

In a large mixing bowl combine the butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon and mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shell and bake  for about 1 hour or until the center is set. Let cool completely before topping with meringue.

For the meringue, melt the marshmallows and milk over medium heat until smooth and combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites slowly adding the sugar until stiff peaks form, mix in the salt and vanilla as well. Gently fold in the marshmallows until combined. Top pie and using a creme brulee torch, brown the meringue until golden brown.