Mini Sweet Potato Meringue Pies

Ingredients

• 1 9- inch Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust*
• 1 1/2 cup sweet potato puree (from 4 [1.8lbs] sweet potatoes or canned)
• 1 medium banana (ripe, mashed)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Begin by preparing the sweet potato puree.
2. Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a knife, and place in the microwave. Bake the sweet potatoes until they are cooked through and soft, about 8 -10 minutes.
3. 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 a smooth puree forms.
4. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the puree for the pie filling, and reserve any remaining puree for another use.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pie crust into a 12-inch circle.
6. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out rounds of dough (you will need to gather the scraps and re-roll the dough to the same thickness to get all 12 circles).
7. Gently place each circle into the well of a lightly greased cupcake tin.  (It's ok if you need to overlap the dough onto itself.)
8. In a bowl, combine the 1 1/2 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.
9. Divide the pie filling equally among the prepared mini pie shells, and smooth the tops with an offset spatula.
10. 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.
11. Just before serving the pies, prepare the meringue.
12. In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water, and heat, without stirring, until it becomes syrupy and reaches 234° degrees on a candy thermometer.
13. 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.  Beat in the salt.
14. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. Remove the mini pies from the cupcake tin, and place on a baking tray.
15. Pipe a swirl of meringue onto each cupcake (you may not use all of the meringue).
16. 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.