The following question came in the other day, and we just couldn’t wait to share the answer:

What is your favorite pecan pie recipe? Would you share it?

Heather M
Temple, Texas

Well, here you go! My favorite recipe comes from my Grandmother Josephine Zimmerman. Let me know how it turns out for you!

Old Fashioned Southern Pecan Pie
From Josephine Zimmerman

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 1 Hour


Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup of cane syrup or light corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of pecans, coarsely chopped
  • 1 unbaked homemade or commercial pie crust

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pie crust by placing it into an ungreased, regular 9-inch glass pie plate and fluting the edges.

Whisk the eggs together, then whisk in the sugar. Stir in the syrup and the softened butter; mix well. Add the flour and the vanilla; combine well and fold in the pecans.

Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Shield outside edges of the pie with a pie shield or aluminum foil about halfway through cooking to prevent overbrowning.

Cook’s Notes: My Grandmother would recommend to me Pillsbury pie crusts, Karo syrup and Irish butter. Cane syrup provides a much deeper, richer, and stronger flavor. I prefer corn syrup.

Cooked Filling Version: Whisk the sugar and corn syrup together in a saucepan and bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute only. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Beat eggs in a separate bowl and very slowly drizzle some of the syrup into the eggs, while beating constantly to temper. Once syrup is incorporated well into eggs, whisk eggs into the remaining syrup mixture. Omit flour and increase butter to 1/2 stick. Stir in the butter, vanilla and pecans and bake as above.

Chocolate Pecan Pie:  Reduce pecans to 3/4 cup and add in 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips with the pecans.

Pecan Pie Tips:

►Toast the pecans for extra flavor.

►Don’t use a blender or a mixer. Use a whisk and a wooden spoon and hand mix only … and don’t beat it to death! Many pecan pies end up runny due to over-beating.

►Shield the edges of the pie about halfway through the cooking time to prevent over-browning.

►Let the pie cool completely before slicing. You should be able to hold the pie pan flat in the palm of your hand and it is not uncomfortable. If it’s still too hot to do that, it’s too hot to cut!

► The pie is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The filling will still seem a bit jiggly as a whole, but that’s normal and remember, it will continue cooking a bit even after removed, so you don’t want to overcook it!