Rachelle Long mashes sweet potatoes for the pies she sells through Chellie’s Sugar Shack. (Photo: Beth Howard/Pieowa) By Wini Moranville The holidays call for treasured family desserts, and Rachelle Long’s sweet potato pie is an heirloom recipe in every sense. Her version hails straight from a recipe card box brimming with family favorites she began collecting in high school. Like many handed-down recipes, her mother’s sweet potato pie recipe is charmingly inexact, calling for “just a pinch” of this or that. Fortunately, you won’t have to puzzle it out. You can order Long’s handcrafted sweet potato pies through her micro-bakery, Chellie’s Sugar Shack. And if you think sweet potato pie is just a root-veggie version of pumpkin pie, think again. While both are custard pies, and both share warm notes of spice, their similarities end there. Pumpkin pie, ubiquitous and predictable, struggles to stand out as a signature dessert; in my experience, it rarely deviates much from one cook to another. Long’s sweet potato pie, however, is a revelation, with a deeply caramel-like richness of flavor balanced by an unexpected lightness of texture — a feat reportedly achieved by “just a pinch” of baking powder. The result is indulgent yet graceful, a wonderful option after a holiday feast. While Long has baked pies for family and fundraisers over the years, she began baking professionally in April 2011, when she retired after 34 years at the phone company. As she wondered what her next act would be, her kids nudged her to start selling her signature sugar cookies. By that time, these treats had become legendary among her extended family members. “They always told me, ‘Don’t ever buy me a gift again! Just give me a tray of your cookies!’” Long said. When her children helped her start the business via Facebook, it took off. Now, she has a website, where you can order cupcakes, cakes, cookies and cobblers. Her top seller is her grandmother’s recipe for southern caramel cake, another heirloom dessert, followed by that sweet potato pie. But don’t sleep on her sugar cookies: Last year, I picked up a holiday tray, which included 18 of the crisp, buttery gems, plus chocolate-peanut clusters and pretzel rods — a homespun tray of goodies if there ever was one. Order from Chellie’s Sugar Shack online, then pick up the goods from her Valley Junction location (address given after ordering). She says the best time to start placing holiday orders is ASAP, as she’s taking preorders now. This is the third in a trio of profiles about local pie bakers. Check out dsmdish.com to read about Deb Cazavilan of Wooden Spoons Homemade Pies and Lana Shope of Pies & Pastries.