Sweet Potato Sonker makes an excellent choice when you crave a classic sweet potato dessert reminiscent of cobbler! With its luscious sweet potato filling and a crisp top crust, this dessert shines when paired with a delectable milk dip sauce that brings all the delightful flavors together.
What is a Sonker?
Sonkers often spark debate–are they just another name for pie or cobbler? While some may argue that they are, sonkers possess unique characteristics that set them apart from traditional pies.
Origins of Sonker
Although cooks often disagree on how to make sonkers, they all agree that the dessert originates from Surry County in western North Carolina. The people in this region are renowned for their sonkers and traditionally pass down recipes orally to new generations, with some also appearing in family and community cookbooks. Surry County even hosts a Sonker Festival, where visitors enjoy tastings of various sonkers along a designated trail.
Fruit and Sweet Potatoes Sonkers
Cooks create sonkers using various fruit fillings, but they often consider sweet potatoes the classic choice. They boil the sweet potatoes whole until fork-tender, then slice them and place them into a crust, adding some reserved boiling water to create a sweet sauce.
Use a Deep Pan for Sweet Potato Sonkers
Cooks usually make Sweet Potato Sonkers in a deep square or rectangular pan. Since sonkers are known for being juicy, the pan needs to be deep enough to hold all the juice!
Sweet Potato Sonkers Have a Top Crust
Many times, lattice crusts top a sonker. For a different twist, try cutting out pie pastry with a cookie cutter to top the sonker. Some people use a pour-on crust for sonkers, which consists of equal parts self-rising flour, melted butter, and sugar. Regardless of which crust you use, sonkers are always covered with a crust.
Sweet Potato Sonkers are Juicy
Sonkers have a reputation for being juicy pies, and cooks use a sauce to enhance their moistness. People commonly refer to this sauce as milk dip.
What is Sweet Potato Sonker Milk Dip?
Cooks usually prepare milk dip as a white sauce made from milk or cream, sugar, a thickener, and vanilla. They heat it on the stove while the sonker bakes. Just before the sonker finishes baking, they remove it from the oven and pour half of the milk dip over the pie. Then, they place the pie back into the oven to complete the baking process.
How to Assemble a Sweet Potato Sonker
Follow these steps to make a sweet potato sonker.
Other Recipes You Might Enjoy
Click on each name or photo to link to the recipe.
Serving Sweet Potato Sonker
Serve this sonker warm out of the oven and pour leftover milk dip over the servings. Or place a little into a small bowl and dip right into the warm dip, hence the name — milk dip.
Sweet Potato Sonker
Equipment
- 8 x 8-inch pie dish
Ingredients
Pie
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 4)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 pie crusts
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup potato water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- cooking spray
Milk Topping
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Pie
- Peel the sweet potatoes and place them into a medium-sized pan. Cover them with cold water, add the salt, and boil for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Scoop the potatoes from the water and place them onto a platter to cool. Save ¾ cup of the cooking water.
- When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Roll one pie crust large enough to fit into an 8 x 8-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cut off any overhanging dough.
- Place the sliced potatoes into the pie crust, evenly spreading them.
- In a medium bowl, place the sugars, flour, and cinnamon. Whisk to blend and break up any lumps. Add the potato water, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir. Pour this mixture over the potatoes in the pie crust.
- Use the other crust to make a top for the pie. Cut out shapes like leaves or make a traditional lattice crust top. Bake the pie for 40 minutes.
- Remove the pie from the oven and pour about half the milk dip over it. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Pour the rest of the dip over individual servings.
Milk Topping
- While the pie bakes, stir until smooth 1 tablespoon of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour this cornstarch mixture into the rest of the milk and stir.
- Add the milk, cornstarch mixture, sugar, and cinnamon to a medium-sized saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil to slightly thicken the mixture. Stir constantly.
- Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons butter. Stir to melt the butter.