Papa's Pecan Pie

Papa's Pecan Pie

My dad makes the best pecan pie. It is practically world famous. Throughout college, I would bring classmates to my parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner and weeks later I would still be hearing about the pecan pie. Needless to say, I had to learn how to make it. For this Thanksgiving, I made ten pies. Five of them were pecan pies and four of those were given away to very loving homes. For Christmas, I think that I need to keep two here ... one was not enough to share!


There are a few things to remember when making a pecan pie... First, never, ever use a mixer. Only use a spoon or spatula (I like to use a wooden spoon) and please stir gently. Second, it is pretty much impossible to overcook the custard part of the pie but very easy to overcook the crust so plan accordingly. I bought a pie crust ring to solve that problem (see photo of Baby R wearing the ring below).

Ingredients: 

3 whole eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup pecans (chopped or whole)
1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)

Directions: 

1. Prepare your 9-inch pie crust, put it in your pie plate, and put it back into the fridge.

2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees with a cookie tray in it (preferably on a lower rack) - allow the cookie pan to heat up while the oven heats up.

3. Slightly beat three eggs. Gently whisk in brown sugar, salt, cornstarch, and the melted butter. Add the corn syrup and stir to combine.

Put the pie on the hot cookie sheet

4. Put the pecans into the bottom of your pie plate. Pour the filling over the top of the pecans. Put the pie plate onto the hot cookie tray and let the pie cook for about an hour. My dad says to let it cook for 45 to 60 minutes but my pecan pie always takes the full hour. To avoid a burnt pie crust, fold some tin foil around the edges of the pie crust before you put it in (or use a pie ring) and take it off when you only have about 15 minutes to go so the crust can get slightly browned.

Notes about the ingredients ... I like to add cornstarch to my custard so that it thickens up a little bit more. My dad does no such thing. Admittedly, we have yet to have a pie-to-pie contest to judge the necessity of the cornstarch so I will leave that up to you - just how gooey do you like your pie?

Pecans ... We are so lucky here in North Carolina to be able to get fresh, local pecans this time of year! We are working on getting the two pecan trees in our back yard to produce some edible nuts but, until we figure that out, we are happy to get our pecans from the Greene Family Farm located near Shelby, North Carolina. Yum.

Baby R sporting the pie crust ring