Fabulous Pecan Pie

Firstly, I got this recipe off a really good blog.  Here is the link: gritsandmagnolias.com   Secondly, this blog is just beautiful and very informational.  I used the suggestions on what to do in order to avoid the common pecan pie woes from the link above.  And, they work!  I was frustrated with my pecan pie being mushy/curdled when I would cut to serve.  I did a little research and the above blog came up during my pursuit to find the perfect pecan pie. The advice/suggestions from the link I'm referencing is the I Ching for pecan pie bakers!   It is the answer to any question you have or ever will have on how to not mess up a pecan pie!  I made this pie during Christmas 2012.  You were here visiting, James, and it was incredible.  I remember both you and Dad asking for seconds!  Pecan pies are pretty rich and one cannot usually eat more than one piece.  This one you can!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup white corn syrup (Karo)
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 egg white beaten (for brushing pie crust)
pecan halves for decoration, optional
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Brush pie crust with beaten egg white and bake 5 minutes to seal crust. Remove from oven and set aside.

Chop 1 cup pecans or purchase pecan pieces in grocery store.

In saucepan, combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved, letting it slowly boil down just a bit.  Remove from heat and cool.  Do not cool in frig, cool at room temperature.  It does not need to cool too quickly!

Add eggs, vanilla extract, and salt; blend well.  After the eggs are added, mix vigorously with a wooden spoon.  Do not use a whisk or mixer.

Place chopped pecans on bottom of pie crust and pour filling mixture into pie crust.

If you are using pecan halves for decoration, now is the time to place the halves on top of filling.  You may opt to omit the chopped pecans and only use a layer of pecans on top.  I personally use both.

Bake 50-55 minutes.  Do not over bake -- a huge mistake when baking a pecan pie.


Now, this is the interesting part I got off this wonderful blog above.  She called it "troubleshooting a pecan pie"

Pecan pies will not set up correctly if the egg and sugar amounts are not in good harmony.  These two ingredients are the reason they set up in the first place.  Eggs are so important. Use at least 4  eggs in the pie filling.  Better results come from a cooked pie filling and cook it slowly.  Cooking the eggs and sugar correctly is most important.  Do NOT stir.  So increasing the amount of eggs in your fill will help with the pie not turning out runny.  Use jumbo eggs rather than large.  Oven  temperature plays a huge role.  Never cook a pecan pie for a longer amount of time at an oven set on  a low temperature and then increasing the temperature toward the end of baking time.  This just does not work!  The pie won't set properly.  Foam can be an enemy to a pecan pie filling. Try not to create any.  After you have cooked your filling, skim off any foam that may have occurred before pouring the filling into the crust.  Never over mix the filling, as this is only going to create the foam.  Never use a metal whisk or fork to stir the filling while cooking.  Use a wooden  spoon or something such as a spatula.   Whisks and forks create bubbles, thus foam.

The author of the blog further went on to add a little extra outside help as follows:

Over baking a pecan pie will result in the texture having the consistency of scrambled eggs.  A filling that is curdled would be the consistency of scrambled eggs.  If the filling starts to "puff up", it has been over baked.  In short, curdling is caused by over baking or baking at a temperature that is too high.

By cooking the pie crust for a short amount of time prior to filling, you seal the crust and alleviate the chance of a soggy crust.  This was another issue I've always had with pecan pies.  It did solve the problem by baking for 5 minutes or so prior to pouring the pecan filling into the shell.