If you live in the southern United States you know what this pie is. Everybody has their own version of pecan pie too. Probably one that their grandma had handed down to them from their grandma. And I love that. Where ever you are from tradition that is passed down and stays in the family is such a wonderful thing. Especially when it comes to pecan pie.
But after my hubby and I began our quest for eating organic foods and noticing that most pecan pie recipes used corn syrup I decided to look into making this classic pie without any corn syrup. I tried several times making little changes here and there to come up with an alternative to using corn syrup and still tasting just as great as all the pecan pies I had growing up.
After a few trials my hubby tells me she has seen organic corn syrup and maybe I should try that. I was determined though to make one without any. And I believe I have a very good alternative using only ingredients that almost every person already has in the pantry and refrigerator.
Just picture yourself sitting on a big porch with a slice of pie and coffee, or maybe bourbon, I think that would be perfectly acceptable here. We don’t really need a reason to have some bourbon though do we? Oh wait, I am getting distracted now. Back to pie. That brings me to pie crust. I have always had trouble with pie crusts but I saw a tutorial from a blogger friend and decided to give it a shot. I used her recipe and tutorial and can say I have never had a crust turn out as good as this one. f
One little note about the pie instructions here. I can recommend a quick way of putting the ingredients together if you just want to get the filling in the pie shell and get to baking. It may be a little gritty if the sugar does not completely dissolve but it will still taste the same. If you go an extra step, as I will put in the instructions below, and use a hand mixer or even a stand mixer to mix the ingredients well you will get a real nice smooth filling.
I am not going to say you have to use a certain amount of pecans either. I will say start with about 1 1/2 cups or even two if you like. Crush them or leave them whole that is a personal preference. I prefer to leave them whole. However you use the pecans put those in the bottom of the pie shell first then pour the filling over. The pecans will rise to the top creating that lovely layer that blankets the sweet pie filling below.
So, do you have a pecan pie recipe that has been in the family for generations?
Southern Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Pie crust homemade or prepared
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ stick butter softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ - 2 cups pecans crushed or halved.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees then fill pie pan with pie crust.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine sugar and brown sugar with softened butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Using a hand mixer mix on low for 2-3 minutes until well combined.
- Place pecans in bottom of pie shell. Pour pie filling on top.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, just until pie is about set. It should jiggle slightly.
- Let cool then enjoy.
