Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Heavenly Pecan Pie


In honor of Thanksgiving, this post is devoted to pecans, that delicacy that ranks right up there next to turkeys on most southern tables.

Our family will have pecan pie, sweet potatoes topped with pecans and brown sugar, congealed salad with pecans and perhaps even orange pecan pralines if I don’t spend too much time on this computer! Now, while catfish isn’t considered a Thanksgiving staple around here, I found a recipe for Pecan-crusted Catfish with Ginger Orange Dressed Salad in case you’re interested!

We are lucky to be able to “harvest” our own pecans; rather, we are lucky that my father-in-law picks up the nuts from beneath his tree and sends them to us to get cracked!

At our home in Greensboro, we had several pecan trees…from slender seedlings to fat Stuarts. We picked them up for our own use as well as to sell to pecan merchants. I spent many an afternoon after school raking through leaves to be sure no pecan got left behind! Some were packed to ship to relatives who lived where pecans didn’t grow.

Pecans make great gifts either in the shell or toasted, glazed or salted. Put them in pretty tins or make a pecan brittle or pie. Now, I don’t do pecan brittle, but I do make a pretty good pecan pie, and its “secret ingredient” doesn’t seem to be included on any of the Thanksgiving websites I’ve searched. Not even Dear Abby’s Famous Pecan Pie recipe includes it!

The secret to a heavenly, delicious pecan pie is flour and the kind of corn syrup you use.

Forget the dark syrup and opt for the light syrup. Follow the pecan pie recipe on the syrup bottle, and add a heaping tablespoon of plain flour to the filling. The flour helps cut the overly sweet, syrupy taste. It also gives the filling a nice, custard-like texture that is easy to cut and eat. No more sticky pecan pie!

Heavenly Pecan Pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. plain flour
1 ½ cups pecan pieces, broken
1 9-inch unbaked, deep-dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir first six ingredients well, then stir in pecans. Pour into pie crust. Bake on center oven rack 50 to 55 minutes. Cool. Makes 8 servings

9 comments:

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

I make a mean pee-can pie! I have never tried the flour in the filling trick. But I will!
I have decided that it depends if you are making it for company or for family~ when I make it for company I can count on runny pie!

JANET said...

Hi Sandi,
This recipe came from my mother-in-law whose hobby was cooking and who kept improving her recipes as long as she lived. Hope you and yours have a great Thanksgiving!

Beemoosie said...

That looks just grand!!! Have a lovely Thanksgiving!

Cris said...

Hi Janet... just stopping by to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! xxox

JANET said...

Hello Beemoosie and Cris. Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes. We are warming leftovers now for supper, but I am still fairly full from dinner!

Susie Q said...

Pecan Pie is a favorite of many of my friends! I will get this recipe to them and know we will all enjoy!

This looks delicious!

I hope your Thanksgiving was lovely AND tasty too!

Hugs,
Sue

BClark said...

Hi Janet,
Oh, that pie looks wonderful. My recipe is somewhat different, but that is what food is all about. After first reading this I had to look up pecans and where they grow. I found that I can grow them in Iowa, that there used to be trees along the rivers. The indians planted them, pecans were one of their favorites. So thank you,, I now have a new tree to plant.
Barbara

Emily said...

What wouldn't I give to have a pecan tree in my yard. I looove them. They're my favorite nut.
They're expensive, though.

I'll have to try adding a bit of flour to my pie. Why do you use light corn syrup, as opposed to dark?

JANET said...

Hi Emeline, You asked about why I use light syrup rather than dark syrup in pecan pie.
Mainly because that's the way my mother-in-law made hers!
But, the difference between the two is that light corn syrup is milder and has real vanilla in it. Dark syrup is sweeter and more syrupy, thus makes a "stickier" pie. But that's how a traditional pecan pie is made. This one is different and better, I think!