Easy Pecan Pie

Photo courtesy: Dr. Debarshi Chatterji

Thanksgiving for us means Pecan Pie and lots of good food. As I have mentioned before, it is a thanksgiving tradition for us to go to Vicki and Calvin’s place and enjoy a delicious homemade meal with them. Vicki would prepare a ton of mouth watering southern dishes with the turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans. Victoria would bring homemade bread with cranberry sauce and we usually take an Indian side dish with us. For dessert, Vicki would bake her delicious Pecan Pie and even though we would be totally full by that time, we would enjoy it with them and stuff us till we groan! Yes, that is how we celebrate Thanksgiving with them. They are our family away from home. 

This year since we moved to Kansas City, we couldn’t visit them during thanksgiving and it was definitely a downer for us. Specially for Debarshi, since he had been visiting them for 7 years! So, to cheer up both of us, I decided to bake a Pecan Pie. Now, normally I would go all the way and start from scratch, right from preparing the pie dough. However, this time I decided to go for a shortcut and I should say, it turned out really good. Well, a picture is worth a thousand words so what do you think?

Now this recipe is pretty simple and straight forward. Make the filling, bake the pie, cool it, refrigerate then serve and enjoy! I was a bit uncertain about the result (as I am always with the new recipes) but when we finally ate it, it was delicious! We loved the Pecans and the corn syrup and since the recipe is so easy I am going to bake this again for one of our get together parties. 

If you are a Pecan Pie lover, don’t wait, this delectable pie uses only seven ingredients so try this today!

Ingredients:

• Granulated Sugar - 1 cup 
• Light Corn Syrup - 1 cup 
• Butter - 2 tablespoons, sweet, unsalted, melted 
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
• Eggs – 3, large
• Pecans - 1 ½ cups, halves
• Deep Dish Pie Shell - 1 (unbaked and frozen)

Let’s make the filling: 

• Mix the Granulated Sugar, Light Corn Syrup, Butter, Vanilla Extract and Eggs together in a bowl. The mixture will be thick so make sure the sugar is mixing well with everything.

Directions to Bake the Pie:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Pour the pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. 
• Pour the syrup mixture over the top.

• Place the Pie plate on a cookie/ baking sheet. 
• Bake for about 60 minutes, then gently shake the pie to check if the filling jiggles slightly in the center.
• Take it out of the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely (approximately 2 hours) then refrigerate. 
• Serve with whipped cream (optional).

Tips: 

• Spray or grease the cookie pan before placing the pie crust on it. This will help an easier clean up in case the syrup overflows.

Recommended Reading:

• Breadsticks
• Pyaz Ke Pakore (Onion Fritters)
• Cranberry Orange Muffin
• Pecan Cake with Rum Frosting
• A superb day in London with Pecan Pie
• Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar and Pecans
• Mary Berry’s Victoria Sandwich Cake

A superb day in London with Pecan Pie

Photo taken at the Jamie Oliver's Union Jacks. This is a diner famous for its wood fired pizzas and grills. Debarshi and I took an Original tour in London which is a guided tour in a double decker bus! Yes! if you are going to London, I do recommend this tour. The bus takes you to all the famous places and landmarks in London. 

See the bus behind us? That’s the one. I must tell you, sitting in a double decker bus is so much fun! Our ticket said we could hop on - hop off which means go to a place, leave the bus, stroll for some time, explore the place and then take the bus for another place. I wanted to sit on the bottom deck because it seemed easier for the hopping. But Debarshi said that the best way to see London is from the top deck and that is indeed true. 

Photo taken at the Trafalgar Square, London.

I think if you really want to explore a place with everything in it, you should go to London. Of course there are perks of being such a big city, there is a diverse culture, food and you can see different types of people speaking different languages. But if I have to choose one thing which will be my reason to visit London again, I will say its beautiful architecture. Everywhere you go, you will see these beautiful carved buildings. The whole experience is so mesmerizing that you cannot take your eyes off them. You can see the time and labor put into each and every building and of course the rich history behind them all. 

Photo taken at the Buckingham Palace, London

So, our first day on the original bus tour, we went to the Trafalgar Square and the Buckingham Palace and on our way back, we went to Covent Garden. It was unusually cold at that time and we were tired and hungry after all that excursion and voila what we see? A diner! This seemed like the perfect place to sit for a while, warm up and recharge with some coffee and pie. Debarshi ordered this Bourbon Pecan Pie which came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Now for those who have never had a Pie before, let me tell you something about it. 

A pie is made by covering a sweet or savory filling with a rolled out pastry dough. Pies are usually named after their filling. So, a savory pie filled with chicken, vegetables and cream and covered with a flaky crust is known as a Chicken Pot Pie. For the Pecan Pie, the filling is prepared with eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and lot of Pecans. Unlike the Chicken Pot pie where the crust is added on the top of the pie, here the crust is first placed in the baking pan and then the filling is added on top of it. Bourbon Pecan Pie is just another variation done by many restaurants to add another flavor profile in the pie. 

Pecan pie is one of Debarshi’s favorite desserts. If there is a Pecan Pie on the menu we have to order it. It is one of those delicious desserts which reminds me of thanksgiving and my best friend – Vicki. A delectable homemade Pecan pie is a staple at her home on thanksgiving which I truly love. I wish I would have learnt a couple more recipes of cakes, pies and cookies from Vicki back when we were still in Tuscaloosa and I used to meet her every week. Well, hopefully next time when you will read about Pecan pie on my blog, it will be my tried and tested recipe. Till then eat good and stay healthy.

Recommended Reading:

• Easy Pecan Pie