Mini Sweet Potato Meringue Pies Recipe

Begin by preparing the sweet potato puree. Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a knife, and place in the microwave. Bake the sweet potatoes for about 8 to 10 minutes until they are cooked through and soft.

Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, split them down the middle and scoop out the flesh, and add it to a food processor. Process until smooth purée forms.

Set aside 1½ cups of the purée for the pie filling, and reserve any remaining puree for another use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pie crust into a 12-inch circle.

Using a 3½-inch round cutter, cut out rounds of dough; gather the scraps and re-roll the dough to the same thickness to get all 12 circles.

Gently place each circle into the well of a lightly greased cupcake tin. (It’s okay if you need to overlap the dough onto itself.)

In a bowl, combine the 1½ cups of sweet potato puree, mashed banana, egg, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Use a hand mixer to mix the ingredients together until they are smooth and well combined.

Divide the pie filling equally among the prepared mini pie shells, and smooth the tops with an offset spatula.

Bake the mini pies for about 32 minutes, until the pie crust is a light golden brown and the filling is set and puffed slightly. Allow the pies to cool to room temperature.

Just before serving the pies, prepare the meringue. In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water, and heat, without stirring, until it becomes syrupy and reaches 234 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

While the syrup is heating, whip the two egg whites until soft peaks form. Once the sugar has reached the correct temperature, drizzle the syrup into the egg whites, all while mixing and turning the speed up to medium-high. Beat until stiff peaks form then beat in the salt.

Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. Remove the mini pies from the cupcake tin, and place them on a baking tray.

Pipe a swirl of meringue onto each cupcake.

Place the tray with the mini pies underneath the broiler set to High for a few minutes. Keep an eye on them as you don’t want them to burn. Remove the mini pies from the oven once the meringue is a light golden brown color.