Are you looking for a unique Thanksgiving dessert? Try this Purple Sweet Potato Pie in a Jar! The beautiful purple color of the purple sweet potato looks great in the jar, plus it is delicious with the gingersnap crust and the spiced marshmallow buttercream frosting on top! You can even use them as place settings, just tie a little tag around the neck of the jar! Or send them home with guests as a little dessert favor to enjoy later with leftovers!

Purple Sweet Potato Pie in a Jar Recipe

Thanksgiving is next week! Can you believe it!?! September, October, November and December are my absolute favorite months of the year, but they always go by way too fast! My goal for this year? Try to slow down time and really appreciate the holidays.

A few weeks ago, I made a Purple Sweet Potato Pie, but I wasn’t happy that you couldn’t see the beautiful purple color because of the whipped cream on top, so I thought that putting it in a jar would be a much better idea – it shows off the purple color AND makes for an excellent gift to give to guests. Just snap on a lid and send them home with dessert!

This Purple Sweet Potato Pie in a Jar is made with purple sweet potatoes, has a gingersnap crust, and is topped with a Spiced Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting! The full printable recipe is below, but here are the needed ingredients from the bottom of the pie up to the top!

Gingersnap Crust:

Gingersnap cookies
Butter

Purple Sweet Potato Pie Filling:

Purple Sweet Potato
Evaporated Milk
Maple Syrup
Eggs
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Nutmeg
Salt
Butter

Spiced Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting:

Powdered Sugar
Salted Butter
Marshmallow Cream
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Cloves
Ground Ginger

I don’t have a food processor, so I just used my Ninja Blender to turn my gingersnap cookies into crumbs and to mix together the sweet potato pie filling with the evaporated milk, maple syrup, eggs, butter, and spices.

If you’re looking to purchase a new blender, I definitely recommend this one. My only tip is that even though the pitcher says it’s dishwasher safe, be sure to hand wash it. Our first one cracked in the dishwasher, but our replacement pitcher has been going strong for 2-3 years now.

Just as a tip, when I make this Purple Sweet Potato Pie in a Jar again in the future, I plan to use shorter jars so that you get a full spoonful of each of the difference elements – the crust, pie filling, and marshmallow frosting – in one bite!

I used these Weck Mini Tulip Jelly Jars, but in the future, I would use these smaller Weck jars.

I put this tip in the recipe notes below, but I wanted to reiterate so you don’t end up with shattered glass in your oven: Do not preheat the oven when baking these pies directly in the jars or else the glass may shatter in the oven. Instead, place the jars inside the cold oven and allow it to come up to temperature with the oven heat.

If you plan to use them as place settings or want to send them home with guests as a favor, just tie a cute little tag around the neck!

Purple Sweet Potato Pie in a Jar

Yield: 8-10 jars

Purple Sweet Potato Pie in a jar with a Gingersnap Crust and a Spiced Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

Crust:
3 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs (about 24-26 2" cookies)
6 Tb butter, melted
Pie:
1 large purple sweet potato
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
Frosting:
2 cups salted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 jar marshmallow cream

Instructions

Prep your gingersnap crust by using a food processor or blender to break the gingersnap cookies into crumbs. Set aside 2-3 spoonfuls of crumbs to use as garnish on top of pies when finished.
In a bowl, mix the gingersnap crumbs with 6 Tb melted butter and spoon into the bottoms of each jar. Pack down with the back of a spoon.
Bake the crust in the jars for 7-9 minutes at 350 degrees F, but do NOT preheat the oven. Stick the jars into the cold oven so the glass doesn't shatter. Set the jars aside when done.
While the crust blind bakes, wash and wrap your purple sweet potato in foil, then roast for 90 minutes until soft.
Next, whip up your frosting by creaming the butter with sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand beater. Then add your spices. Once fully incorporated, use a spoon to carefully stir in the marshmallow cream. Chill in the fridge until ready to frost.
When your sweet potato is done roasting, remove the skin and chop into large cubes. Then use a blender or food processor to mix together the peeled and cubed sweet potato, evaporated milk, maple syrup, eggs, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Spoon/pour your sweet potato mix on top of the gingersnap crust and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.
When done, allow pies to cool, then top with the spiced marshmallow buttercream frosting and sprinkle with a few gingersnap crumbs.

Enjoy!

Notes

*If you have a double oven, you can begin by roasting your purple sweet potato in one oven while blind baking the crust in the other. However, if you only have one oven, I recommend starting with the crust, blind baking it, then begin prep on the sweet potato filling OR roast the sweet potato the night before.

*Do not preheat the oven when baking the pies directly in the jars or else the glass may shatter in the oven. Instead, place the jars inside the cold oven and allow it to come up to temperature with the oven heat.