I love sweet potato pie!  I hate to say this, but it is my favorite food.  Sweet potato pie reminds me of Thanksgiving, spending time with my family and friends back home on the East Coast and good ol’ home cooking.

Hold on a minute though, I do not eat sweet potato pie only on Thanksgiving Day—oh no, sweet potato pie is eaten throughout the year.  You know how some people only eat the typical Thanksgiving food on Thanksgiving? Or eat birthday cake only when it is someone’s birthday? Well, not over here. I eat sweet potato pie whenever I get the urge.

That urge happens at least once a month, which means I am either baking a pie or someone is baking one for me.  I love sweet potato pie so much that people express their love for me by baking me sweet potato pies.

For instance, I have a close friend named Aaquila who lives in Motown—Detroit, the Motor City, baby, and every time I visit her and her family, her mother Mrs. Buffington, bakes me two sweet potato pies.

Listen people, when I say that Mrs. Buffington’s sweet potato pie is the best sweet potato pie I have ever had, believe me.  Sometimes I wish I lived in Detroit, just so I could have the best sweet potato pie at my fingertips. If only she would give me her recipe —but then again, if she did, I would probably end up looking like a sweet potato pie.  I don’t want that, but what I do want is for you to try to make my recipe.

Begin by boiling two pounds of sweet potatoes in a large pot for about 30 minutes. When they are done boiling, let them cool and then peel off their skin.  Place potatoes into a mixer and then go back to the stove and place one and a half cups of butter into a small pot and bring it to a simmer.  Next add one cup of white sugar and one cup of brown sugar, teaspoon of cinnamon and teaspoon of nutmeg, then stir.

Go back to the mixer and start mixing your potatoes, as you are mixing your potatoes, add the butter, half-and-half, sugar concoction, the two eggs and the vanilla extract. Make sure the potatoes are mixed well with few or no clumps.

Pour the mixture into the pie crust, which you can buy at any grocery store, then preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the pie for 60 minutes or until  it gets a golden glaze appearance on top. Then remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for about 60–90 minutes.  Once the pie has cooled, go ahead and enjoy like it is Thanksgiving.  I enjoy mine cold, but some people prefer to eat it hot.  Whatever floats your boat. Enjoy!