Dec 20 Pecan Pie

Oven: 350°

• 1 pie crust
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• generous 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 eggs
• 1 heaping cup pecan halves

I like to make a pecan pie with half light corn syrup and half dark corn syrup. There was no dark corn syrup to be found at the grocery store when I went, so rather than trek all over town looking for some, I opted for this version instead which calls for half corn syrup and half brown sugar. It wound up making a pretty delicious pie.

I dusted the countertop and rolled out the pie crust, rotating it periodically as went, until it was large enough to fit a 9" pie plate. I transferred the crust to the pie plate by gently folding it in four, placing it in the pie plate, and then unfolding it. I trimmed the crust to have no more than about a half inch of overhang, then folded the overhang under itself to fit the plate. I then formed a decorative edge around crust by pinching it as shown in the photos.

I like to make sure I'm going to have a fully-cooked crust, so I placed some aluminum foil directly on the crust and weighted it with a few dry beans. I put it into the oven to cook for about ten minutes, just until the crust had set a little.

In the meantime, I mixed together the syrup, sugar, salt, and vanilla. I stirred in the butter, then mixed in the beaten eggs, and last of all stirred in the pecans, being careful not to break them.

Once the pie crust was set and all of the ingredients were mixed together, I poured the mixture into the pie crust and stuck it in the oven. I let it cook for somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour, just until the filling was still a little jiggly, but, much like a cake, would spring back when touched.