By Genevieve Ko
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus cooling and chilling
- Rating
- 4(188)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Coconut milk gives the spiced sweet potato filling in these small pies a delicate custard texture, and coconut flakes on top deliver a toasted nuttiness. This recipe calls for pressing two dozen tiny crusts into a mini-muffin tin, which may seem tedious, but is easy with the help of a wine or champagne cork, which is the ideal size for tamping down the graham cracker crumbs. These two-bite (OK, one-bite) pies need to be chilled, so they’re ideal for making ahead and can be refrigerated for up to three days.
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Ingredients
Yield:2 dozen mini pies
- 1medium sweet potato (10 ounces/285 grams), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½cup/120 milliliters unsweetened full-fat coconut milk, well shaken
- 1teaspoon dark rum or vanilla extract
- 1large egg, at room temperature
- ½cup/45 grams unsweetened coconut flakes
- 5whole graham crackers, finely ground (⅔ cup/80 grams)
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Filling
For the Crust
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
82 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 73 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Start the filling: Prepare a steamer. Steam the sweet potato over medium-high heat until falling-apart tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the sweet potato to a food processor and purée until smooth. Alternatively, smash and stir with a heavy whisk until smooth.
Step
2
Meanwhile, make the crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cups of a mini-muffin tin with paper liners. Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the butter, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl until evenly combined.
Step
3
Divide mixture evenly among the mini-muffin liners (about 1 packed teaspoon per cup). Using a wine cork or your fingertips, firmly press the crumbs into an even layer. Bake until brown at the edges, 6 to 8 minutes.
Step
4
While the crust bakes, finish the filling: Smash the sugar, butter, pumpkin pie spice and salt until well combined, then stir in ¾ cup sweet potato, the coconut milk and the rum until smooth. Stir in the egg until just incorporated.
Step
5
When the crusts are done, divide the filling among the hot crusts (about 1 tablespoon per cup). Sprinkle with the coconut flakes. Return to the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees.
Step
6
Bake until the coconut is golden brown and the pies are set, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pans on a wire rack until room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours.
Ratings
4
out of 5
188
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Cooking Notes
Cheryl
Could you substitute pumpkin for the sweet potato?
Geraldine
Can you substitute evaporated milk for coconut?
Sasquatch
I remember a similar recipe that used ginger snaps as a crust-they apparently fit right into the bottom of the mini muffin pan.
Rainbow
In my experience you can always substitute pumpkin for sweet potato, and vice versa... most types of squash too.
Atp
I'd expect step one could be done very easily in a pressure cooker as well.
Terry
I plan to use canned pumpkin. For crust, I plan to add some lime zest and toasted walnuts, chopped. For years I have used this graham cracker crust, which once appeared in NYT recipe for Kabocha Squash Pie.
Joanna
I don't have a mini muffin tin, so I just used a regular muffin tin and cooked it for 35 minutes. Delicious!
bigger sweet potato
Def need a bigger sweet potato I would say. Mine were scantly filled which isn’t bad but think they would be better with more filling. I also roasted the sweet potato which I think gave it a little more depth
kafilah
I made this with buttermilk instead of coconut milk. I would like to try oat milk next.I used Trader Joe’s pie crusts to make the pie tart in a muffin pan pressed in with olive oil.Instead of unsalted butter and salt I used 2 tablespoons of salted butter and I roasted the sweet potatoes with a ton of cinnamon before mashing everything up.A bit of a different recipes but came out good.
bigger sweet potato
Def need a bigger sweet potato I would say. Mine were scantly filled which isn’t bad but think they would be better with more filling. I also roasted the sweet potato which I think gave it a little more depth
Joanna
I don't have a mini muffin tin, so I just used a regular muffin tin and cooked it for 35 minutes. Delicious!
Molly
pretty disappointingthe recipe needs to be doubled for there to be a substantial crust and pie in each cup. As is, the crust and filling were just flat. Not much substance at all.
Tate
Delicious! Easily made vegan by subbing Earth Balance and 1 egg's worth of Just Egg. I didn't have graham crackers on hand, so subbed the oat-almond flour crust from the Minimalist Baker's pumpkin pie bars, which is a great option for those who are gluten-free. Came together quickly with a delicious pay off.
amqbee
Made according to the recipe in mini muffin tins. Meh. Needs more spice, but preliminary results not compelling enough to repeat. On to other adventures.
Meera
Delicious recipe and very fun presentation as minis and the coconut flakes on top. I had extra Graham crust though upon following the recipe. Also substituted coconut sugar for half of the sugar.
Emily
Can these be frozen?
Amanda S
This was so, so good and a lot of fun to make! I don’t know if it’s different than the pumpkin pie spice blend from McCormick, but I made my own pumpkin pie spice blend using this recipe: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/wp-json/mv-create/v1/creations/146/printThanks for a great Thanksgiving dessert!
Mimi
I made these and increased the crust by half as others noted. Used combo of cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, ground ginger for the pumpkin pie spice and the dark rum, could have used a bit more. I roasted some pecan halves with a little butter and will put on before serving with a flake or 2 of maldon sea salt instead of coconut. The great thing about these is that you can do a 'quality control' before you serve unlike pies. They passed! Will make again.
Julie
I made the recipe exactly as written, and it worked out very well! They’re a touch sweet, but the spicing was bang on. Perfect small desserts for sharing with a group.
Danelle
Double (or maybe even triple) the crust recipe. It only partially filled 16 mini cups, so I have a ton of filling left over. Unless you're just supposed to fill the bottom of the cups, but that didn't seem right to me.Wine cork worked except graham mix kept sticking to it, so will try spraying it with Pam or something first, next time. Coconut flakes started to brown at 15 minutes, so will add part way through or leave off completely next time and top with whipped cream instead.
Breanna
Could you make these as bars rather than in a muffin tin?
Elaine
These are adorable, delicious, and a lot of fun to make. My only suggestion to any cook would be to read the recipe through because it will save time to treat all the butter at once. What a treat to have these all ready for Thursday!
DKS
I used pumpkin instead of sweet potato so maybe that is why the crust was mushy. Pumpkin pie filling had a nice flavor though.
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