The Husband's Favorite Pecan Pie

The holidays are all about getting our favorite once a year foods.  Last year I shared our favorite cookie recipes, this wonderful Cinnamon Shortbread cookie from my husband's grandmother.

Every year dear husband asks for this Pecan Pie.  I drag my heals because there is just so much sugar in Pecan Pie, but I guess once a year isn't going to hurt any of us, except for that hour of sugar coma and slight headache after eating the pie - am I the only one that experiences these effects?

Anyway, this year we were at my mother-in-law's for Thanksgiving.  She is a wonderful cook, and she has always been amazingly generous with her kitchen and allowing me to cook in it.  So, she allowed me to make the Pecan Pie.  In fact, we were in Ohio early and my mother-in-law and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner together on Wed/Thurs.  For those of you that have not enjoyed the pleasure of working in the kitchen with someone else.  Try it.  Especially someone that is a great cook and you enjoy spending time with.  The day will fly by as you chat and move around each other.  But back to the pie....

Once again, I turned to Cook's Illustrated tried and true recipes for this favorite, and I don't even mess with it!  The only difference between this and a normal Pecan Pie is we heat up the filling first.

Pecan Pie (from The New Best Recipe)

1 pie shell  (I made a pie dough with about 3/4 shortening and 1/4 butter.)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into piece

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped into small pieces.

1. Partially bake the shell until light golden brown.
2. Melt the butter in a medium heat proof bowl set in a skillet of water at a simmer. Remove the bowl from the skillet; stir in the brown sugar and salt with a wooden spoon until the butter is absorbed. Beat in the eggs, then the corn syrup and vanilla. Return to the hot water and stir until shiny and hot to the touch. About 130. Remove from heat and stir in pecans.
3. When take pie shell out of oven, decrease the oven to 275 and pour the pecan mixture into the hot pie shell.
4. Bake on the middle rack until the pie looks set and yet soft, like gelatin when gently pressed with the back of a spoon. , 50-60 minutes. Cool completely.

The Pecan Pie was one of four pies I made in these 19 days.  The pies included the following:

1. A double crust apple/pear pie
2. An apple/pear pie with a crumb topping, (Both apple/pear pies used apples and pears from my parents trees and lard crusts.)
3. The above Pecan pie
4. My favorite: An apple pie with a walnut crumb topping, made with local Twig apples obtained at Findlay Market in Cincinnati, OH.  Apparently, practice really does help, this was the final pie and it set beautifully.

Sorry the below picture isn't very clear, but check out the height!

Nothing brings the same type of joy as a homemade fall fruit pie filling the air with that wonderful cinnamon smell.  While there is time involved in cutting up the fruit, this can become a very soothing process if you let it.  Don't be afraid of pie!