To Make the Brown Butter:

1. Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. 
2. Allow the butter to melt fully, then begin gently stirring. Continue stirring constantly. 
3. The butter will go through stages. At first, it will simply look like melted butter. Continue stirring.
4. The next step of browned butter is the foamy step. This is the longest part of the browned butter process. Continue stirring.
5. The foamy brown butter will lessen (but not eliminate entirely), and you’ll start to notice browned bits on the bottom of your saucepan. These are browned milk solids, and this is the objective!
6. Once you see the browned bits on the bottom of your saucepan, remove the brown butter to a heat-proof bowl to cool completely. If you allow the brown butter to remain in the saucepan, it will burn.
7. Once the brown butter has come to room temperature, allow it to come to room temperature before using it in your sweet potato pie filling. It will have the texture of an emulsion or a slurry and this is what we want.

To Make the Filling:

1. Heat your oven to 400°F. Poke holes in each of the sweet potatoes and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
2. Roast the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes, or until a knife goes through without resistance. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool.
3. Once cooled, scoop the insides from each sweet potato. Using either a handheld blender or food processor, process the sweet potatoes until smooth.
4. Place the smooth sweet potatoes into a large bowl. Add eggs and evaporated milk and mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer on low speed until combined.
5. Place the brown butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine with a fork to ensure even distribution.
6. Add the brown sugar mixture to the sweet potato mixture. Combine with a mixer until smooth. 
7. Add the pure vanilla extract and bourbon (if using) and combine until smooth. 
8. Set aside until the pie shell completes blind baking, then add the filling to the pie shell.

To Make the Pie:

1. Add the 264 g all-purpose flour and fine sea salt to a large mixing bowl.  Stir with a fork to combine.
2. Add the butter to the flour mixture.  Stir gently to cover the butter with the flour.  Then use a pastry cutter (also known as a pastry blender) to break the butter into smaller pieces. The butter pieces should be between the size of a pea and the size of a walnut.  The pieces will not be uniform and this is ideal!
3. Pour the 94 g of water evenly over the flour/butter mixture and stir very gently to combine with a fork.  The mixture should be shaggy but combined. If necessary, add water a tablespoon at a time until you get the correct consistency.  You should not need more than 2 additional tablespoons!
4. Shape the pie dough into a single fat disc and cover each disc with plastic wrap. Place in a refrigerator for at least two hours before rolling out.
5. After the initial chill, place flour on a pastry mat.  Place the dough disc atop the well-floured pastry mat.  Flour the top of the dough disc and also your rolling pin. Test to see if the dough is ready by gently tapping your rolling pin on top of the disc; if the rolling pin makes small indentations, you’re ready to roll. Gently roll to 1/4” thickness. If the dough breaks when rolling, allow the dough to sit for 2-3 minutes and then try again. Dough often breaks when the butter is still too cold from the refrigerator.
6. Once you’ve reached 1/4” thickness, fold the dough in half two times (for a photo tutorial, check out my Easy All-Butter Pie Crust post). Add flour as necessary and turn over the pie dough occasionally; don’t worry about over-flouring at this point. 
7. After folding the dough, roll the dough again to 1/4” thickness.  Repeat this step one more time, for a total of three times.
8. Brush excess flour from the top of the pie dough. Use your rolling pin to gently place the dough into a 9” pie plate. Trim the pie crust to 1” outside of the pie plate, and fold over the crust to seal. If desired, crimp or flute the crust. Place the pie plate in the refrigerator.
9. Place the completed pie in the refrigerator while you warm your oven to a true 375°F, and place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Allow your oven a significant amount of time to reach the proper temperature. I allow my oven at least 60 minutes to come to the right temperature. 
10. Once the oven has fully preheated, remove the pie shell from the refrigerator. Crumple a piece of parchment paper and then carefully re-open the parchment. Place the piece of parchment on top of the entire pie crust. 
11. Place pie weights or dried beans on top of the parchment paper and then place the pie crust in the 375°F oven for 20 minutes.
12. Remove the pie crust from the oven and carefully remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Use a fork to poke holes into the bottom and sides of the pie crust (this is called “docking”). Place back into the 375°F oven for another ten minutes.
13. Place remaining egg and 1 tsp of water into a small bowl. Scramble thoroughly. Set aside.
14. Remove the pie crust from the oven and brush the egg wash over the entire pie crust.
15. Add the filling to the pie crust and bake at 375°F for fifteen minutes. Check the pie crust to make sure that it’s not cooking too quickly. If so, remove the pie from the oven and cover the pie crust with either a pie shield or aluminum foil. Place the pie back into the oven and bake for another 40-50 minutes, or until there is just a little jiggle in the center.
16. Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely at room temperature. For best results, chill overnight in the refrigerator.

To Make the Meringue:

1. Bring 2” of water to a low boil in a large (3 qt.) saucepan.  
2. Carefully separate eggs, placing them In a clean metal bowl (either a stand mixer or a large stainless steel bowl).  Add sugar and stir to combine.
3. Place a metal bowl over the top of the saucepan while the water is still boiling.  Whisk the egg white mixture over the saucepan until all of the sugar is completely dissolved.  
4. Remove the metal bowl from the stove. Add cinnamon, cream of tartar, and pure vanilla extract to the bowl.
5. Using the whisk attachment on either your hand mixer or your stand mixer, whisk the mixture on the lowest speed until it is nearly opaque.  
6. Increase the mixer to medium speed until the mixture begins to look light and fluffy.
7. Increase the mixer to the highest speed until the meringue is done.  To check the meringue, remove the whisk attachment from the mixture and invert it.  If the meringue slowly folds down over the whisk attachment, it’s complete.
8. Using an offset spatula, quickly spread the meringue over the cooled pie.  If desired, use a butane torch to toast the meringue.