Pecan Pie is a holiday treat! Chock-full of nuts, it’s a splurge that requires very little preparation time. However, you will need to plan for extra time at the gym after eating this mouthwatering dessert!

There are tons of recipe varriationsfor a Pecan Pie. I’m sticking to a very classic recipe that calls for:

• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup of dark brown sugar
• 1 cup of light corn syrup
• 4 Tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups of pecans, (6 ounces)
• 1 frozen pie crust, (9 inch.)

Many people use unsalted butter in their recipes. You actually have more control of the amount of salt in a recipe when you add your own. If you are using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to this ingredient list.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. degrees and then get all of your ingredients measured before you begin mixing. In general, pre-measuring before you start to cook is a good habit to get into.

When measuring brown sugar always pack it into a dry measuring cup. (There was a great article in this week’s Boston Globe debating the use of dark vs. light brown sugar and corn syrup.)

You can mix everything together with a whisk or a fork.

It should look like the photo below when everything is mixed together. Be sure there are no unmixed lumps of brown sugar.

Add the nuts

And give it a stir. The nuts will float to the surface. (Some recipes call for 2-to-3 times more nuts than my recipe.)

Set the frozen pie shell on a baking sheet with sides. Once the pie is cooked it will be MUCH easier to remove from the oven if it is on a baking sheet.

Now pour in the filling.

The pie is ready to go into your preheated oven.

Before you put it in the oven, cover the edges with a tin foil ring.

Normally you would cook a pie for about 15 minutes and then cover the edges. With pecan pie the crust gets too dark that way, so start with the edges covered.

For about $4. you can buy reusable pie rings like the one on the pie in my oven.

As the pie cooks, it puffs up. This is normal. It will take about 40-45 minutes for the pie to bake.

To check for “doneness”, slide a small, sharp paring knife into the pie about 2 inches from the crust. It should come out clean. (If you have an “instant read” thermometer the internal temperature of the pie should reach 200 F. degrees.)

As the pie cools, it will slump down and the top will crack a bit.

I love Pecan Pie with vanilla ice-cream!

Enjoy!

P.S.

Below is a photo comparing the pie crusts. For the darker pie on the left, the tin foil went on 15 minutes into the baking time. It is too dark. For the one on the right, I put the tin foil on before putting it in the oven...and it’s perfect!

You can view and print this recipe here.

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