Time is running out to perfect my Thanksgiving dessert recipes. Right now, I have only accomplished two successful sweet treats. My goal is to share three confections with my family in 17 days.

I was planning to tackle a new delight this week, when I got a text from the source of the Texas Sweet Potato Pie recipe (aka my bestie, Stacy). While she agreed I’d followed the instructions appropriately, the ingredients could have been better.

So I took her advice to try again.

I don’t get it

I truly cannot say this enough: I don’t get cooking. I burned chicken recently because the breast was a little wet, and there wasn’t enough oil in the pan. I didn’t think it would make a difference. Fast forward four minutes and there is a plume of smoke rising over my stove.

So, when Stacy laid out small tweaks to the sweet potato pie plan, I didn’t understand how there was a difference.

Changes:

• Baking the sweet potatoes instead of boiling to retain the flavor in the spud.
• Use heavy cream instead of evaporated milk.
• Add nutmeg, because… nutmeg.

I once again made my own crust (which has now become a point of pride), but added a little more water than usual to make it more doughy.

There is a difference

The first thing I noticed when blending the updated mixture together was the consistency. The heavy cream made the batter thicker.

And unlike the previous experience, the blend didn’t smell like dirt this time. The familiar scent of baked sweet potatoes wafted through my apartment. And again – nutmeg.

After the hour-long bake, I pulled the prize out of the oven and a smile flew across my face. This looked like a real pie. The whipped peaks of potato had a slight touch of browning that gave the pie face actual texture.

After another hour of cooling, I dug in. Those tiny tweaks made a big difference. While the previous recipe melted in my mouth, the reaction to this newest treat was something I can’t quite describe other than to say: I had to stop myself from eating thirds and fourths.

Sweet potatoe pie = success.
T – 17 days. On the hunt for my final recipe for turkey day!