I WILL ignore you, pie...

Hey everyone!  Hope you guys had a great ThanksgivingJ  I'm currently typing this blog post and trying to pretend there's NOT 1/2 a leftover pie screaming my name from the fridge  ("EAT DESSERT FIRST!  YOU CAN WORK IT OFF ALL DAY!!") 

So in an effort to distract myself, I'll give you the recap of our turkey day...which, of course, started off with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Me thinks Penny really got into it this yearJ

HeheheheheheJ 

And while we watched, it was FINALLY time to dive into the Squash Cinnamon Rolls that have been patiently waiting in the wings since Wednesday... 

I baked them up for 35 minutes before drizzling them with the maple/brown sugar glaze... 

...and then we sunk into ooey-gooey bliss!  

The thing that was nice about these was while they seem like they would be OVER THE TOP sweet from the filling & the glaze, the dough was SOO subtle from the squash & warm spices that it all seemed to balance out nicely...delicious! 

After the parade, we scurried around to get ready to head over to my in-laws, where we delved into all of your usual Thanksgiving goodies (I was PARTICULARLY thankful for mashed potatoes this year!)  And to round out dinner, I brought over my 'secret dessert' that I prepped on Wednesday: 

Sweet Potato Coconut Pie with Marshmallow Meringue

I was happy I had a little extra time on my hands to get this one done...it seemed like a lot of steps by the end!  And I even took a short cut using a Trader Joe's crust! 

I DID lighten up the pie a bit, making substitutes where I could:

• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1/4 cup light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

And then it was time to whirl up the meringue.  Again, I used the "all egg whites" carton...and even though I used the recommended 3/4 cup, I think it equaled WAY more than 4 ACTUAL egg whites, so I had to double up on the cream of tarter in order to get the egg whites to form into the stiff peaks.

Then it was time to add in the special ingredient...the marshmallow fluff! 

You have to SLOWLY fold this in since the marshmallow is SOO sticky & dense while the egg whites are SUPER light & delicate. 

After the marshmallow & meringue are combined, you have to mound it up over the hot pie (it seals the meringue to the crust), top with mini marshmallows and bake for another 15 minutes... 

I had a cookie sheet underneath the pie plate & kept my eye on this nearly the entire time because not only did I not want the top to burn...but I was soooooo afraid the meringue was just going to melt & spill all over my oven!  THANKFULLY everything stayed in place BUT the pie DID poof up to epic proportions! 

I quickly topped it with a little toasted coconut and let it cool.  I was happy it had enough time in the fridge to REALLY 'cement' the meringue and the topping didn't sink into a mess of marshmallows!

In fact, the meringue actually made a really good, discernible layer! hhahahahahahaha... 

I loved the subtle coconut kick of the sweet potato layer & the sweeett dreamy marshmallow flavor in the meringue.  Have no doubt though:  This will cure ANY sweet tooth!  Unlike my "subtly sweet" Squash Cinnamon Rolls...this was sweet THROUGH & THROUGH!!!!

Well, that about wraps up my day!  Today will be spent NOT fighting off the sale shoppers, but cleaning my house from top to bottom in order to HAUL OUT THE HOLLY later todayJ  Hope you guys have a great day!

Alright, I think I cured my sweet tooth just by TALKING about all those sweets!  I'm off to get OATMEAL. 

THERE, I SAID ITJ