Easy Pecan Pie

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving pie? Mine is a toss up among apple, pumpkin, and this homemade pecan pie. In fact, I love them all so much I make one of each for our Thanksgiving Day feast. (It seems like everyone in our family has their favorite, and if I don’t make them all someone will run to the store to fill the gap!)

PECAN PIE: A HISTORY

Pecans are native to North America, so it is entirely fitting that a pecan pie would make an annual appearance at Thanksgiving along with our other native foodstuffs like turkey, pumpkin, and cranberries.

Pecan pie itself, though, is a more recent invention. While the first printed recipes for the pie started appearing in the late 1800s, the pecan pie classic as we know it became popular through the marketing efforts of Karo in the 1930s, to help sell their corn syrup, a necessary ingredient in the pie.

HOW MUCH SUGAR IS BEST FOR PECAN PIE?

Most pecan pie recipes I’ve found call for two cups of sugar—one cup of corn syrup plus one cup of either granulated or brown sugar. I find that just a bit too sweet for my taste, so for this pecan pie recipe, I’ve dropped the sugar down by half a cup. Feel free to reduce further or add more to your taste.

The molasses, butter, and vanilla bring out the wonderful flavor of the pecans. Nuts go rancid with storage, so make sure you are using the freshest of pecans for this pie!

HOW TO TELL WHEN PECAN PIE IS DONE BAKING?

This pie bakes for a little over an hour at 350°F. When done, the crust should be golden brown and the pie should be set around the edges, but still a bit wiggly (like Jell-O) in the middle. It will continue to firm up as it cools.