Monday, December 6, 2010

Pecan Pies Are Christmas For Me

( Ready to eat, nutty and sweet, a real Christmas treat! )

I don’t make them every year and some years I don’t even come across one to have during Christmas, but somehow one of the images I always think of around Christmas are pecan pies.

I used the same crust recipe from my earlier pie post, but after rolling out the crust and crimping it into the pan I refrigerate the shell before adding the filling and baking.

Pecan pies are very easy to make. One quick scan of the ingredient list for the filling and you can see why they taste so good. When you realize a whole pie has a 1000 calories in it from JUST the corn syrup you might starting debating whether you want to eat a slice though!

Pecan Pie

1 bag shelled pecans
8 oz light corn syrup
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
1 pie refrigerated pie shell (homemade or god forbid store bought!)

Dump the pecans into the prepared pie shell. I leave mine whole although some people will chop the pecans first. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour the mixture over the pecans. Place in a 350 oven and cook for 50-55 minutes or until set. Cool completely before serving. Pies can be frozen and warmed up for future service.

( Waiting for the filling... )

Luckily for us the pies we made were for a friend who would ordinarily buy their pies at the store but heard of my pie crust and asked if I would make them for here instead. It is an honor to make the pies that will be served on our friend’s holiday tables to be enjoyed by their guests this holiday season.

( To the oven with you! )

Because of the intense sweetness of pecan pie finding worthy beverage pairings can be a challenge. A maple liqueur on the rocks or coffee with Irish cream and/or Kahlua are two choices that come to mind from experience.

Keep an eye out this week for posts on a spicy chocolate martini (thanks to Brian at A Thought For Food), a holiday dinner we had with friends to end the week and a 1912 Christmas at Hildene in Manchester Center, VT.

Cheers!

--Jason

9 comments:

Sarah @ OC2Seattle said...

Hooray for Pecan Pie! But not the calories. Pecan Pie always reminds me of the holidays too! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe - I'm going to try it out for Christmas. Cheers, Sarah

P.S. I'm featuring you on Weds the 15th in my "Food Bloggers Changing the World" post series :)

Kate said...

Love pecan pie!!! HOpe you guys are having a wonderful start to the holiday season! Kate

Pam @ Sticks Forks Fingers said...

I'll never forget the time in my early 20's when I made a pecan pie and ate the entire thing by myself within 36 hours. The motivator, if I remember correctly, was a fierce case of PMS, and the pie didn't help one iota. But man, it sure tasted good. I doubt I've eaten an entire pie's worth of pecan pie slices since then. Pecans are so rich and luxurious, and still remain my favorite nut.

By the way, it's Christmas???? Already?? I better get my tookus in gear!

Tastemonials said...

I especially love chocolate pecan pie. And the coffee and kahlua sounds perfect for either one.

Lisa | Authentic Suburban Gourmet said...

Your pecan pie looks so tasty. It is one of my Mom's favorites - perhaps I need to make her one for the holidays. Hope the holiday season is treating you well thus far! Enjoy.

Anna's Table said...

I use pecans all the time in baking. Nestled on top of all that caramel goodness....it doesn't get any better than pecan pie.

Winelady Cooks said...

I LUV pecan pie but the calories are not my friend. So I've been making pecan tartlets. They are just as delicious only in small bites. I'll be posting my recipe at the end of this week.

Thanks for sharing,
Joanne

Jason Phelps said...

@Sarah - thank you so much. I look forward to the read next week.

@Pam - Yes, Christmas is upon us.

@Judy - I've never done chocolate and pecans. Hmmmm.

@Lisa - pie is like bacon, it makes everything better!

@Kate, Anna, Joanne - Happy Holidays and that for taking a peak and leaving a comment!

Jason

Roxan said...

I also love love love pecan pies. The best part about that is that many people don't, so there's always more for me! :)