Perfect Pecan Pie

The holidays are here, and we’re all looking for that perfect dessert.  Here is one of my favorites and this is how it came about.  Last year my family came and we had about 10 for dinner. I made my usual Thanksgiving dinner, which is always quite traditional; although, over the years I have tried many recipes, most too fussy and with too many flavors. So ultimately, I seem to go back to my family tradition. It’s a funny thing but have you ever noticed tradition never seems to fail us? Along with the tradition comes participation.  What I particularly like about this time of the year is getting everyone involved in the festivities.  As the wine flows, the music hits the soul, perhaps even a nice roaring fire surrounds us but eventually all our friends and family gather together to relax and enjoy themselves.

Of course one of the many challenges we face is keeping everyone happy. And last year I was faced with challenge of making a pecan pie that my brother Tom would love. He loves this traditional favorite, but he is a tough one to please.  Thankfully, my daughter, the wonderful cook she is, found the perfect Pecan Pie recipe.  I must say she gets all the credit and it is now a family favorite for all of us.

Pecan Pie typically presents a couple of problems that cause some people to shy away from making it.  First, this pie can often be too sweet; this problem is easily remedied by lowering the amount of sugar.  The other problem is the texture; sometimes a weepy filling can turn the bottom crust soggy and leathery. Pecan Pie should be wonderfully soft and smooth, almost like a cream pie.  Taking the pie out of the oven before it is completely set helps achieve this texture as the pie will continue to cook after being removed from the oven.   Toasting the pecans beforehand will be a major improvement to your pecan pie.  We toast the nuts in the oven while it is preheating in preparation for baking of the crust.  So this holiday season, give this recipe a try and revel in the perfection.

Ingredients:
1 9-inch pie shell (either home-made or ready-made from the store)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ounces) pecans

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. While oven is pre-heating put pecans on a single layer of a cookie sheet and toast until fragrant, then
remove from oven. This will take several minutes but watch carefully as they can burn easily. When
cooled chop the nuts into small pieces.
3. Bake pie crust as directed.
4. Meanwhile, melt butter in a double boiler (medium heatproof bowl set into a skillet of water over a
low temperature keeping the water just below a simmer).
5. Remove bowl from skillet; mix in sugar and salt with wooden spoon until butter is absorbed.
6. Beat in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla. Return bowl to the hot water; stir until mixture is shiny and
hot to the touch, about 130 degrees. Remove from heat; stir in pecans.
7. As soon as pie shell comes out of the oven, decrease oven temperature to 275 degrees. Pour pecan
mixture into hot pie shell.
8. Bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed, about 50 to 60 minutes.
Transfer pie to a cooling rack; let cool completely, at least 4 hours. Serve pie at room temperature or
slightly warm with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Perfect Pecan Pie.pdf (149.78 kb)