For years I have wanted to make my husband a great pecan pie, his favorite dessert. I have tried so many "promising" recipes but I have never found the one that is perfect. Perfect means a pie that is not loaded with pecans but with plenty of creamy filling.
I had given up on finding that really good recipe but over the recent holidays I decided to try one more time to find out why my pies were just not very good. As I read recipes, hints and tips about making the perfect pecan pie, I noticed how beautiful some of the them were in magazines. I wondered how they got them to look so perfect. The pecans were arranged beautifully with all the pecans perfectly placed.
My old recipes had some major differences that I noticed. Mine said to mix the pecans with the filling, then pour the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Some recipes I found said to "carefully" arrange the pecans in the bottom of an unbaked pie shell in a circular pattern, then mix the filling and pour it over the pecans in the shell. Here was my answer for a pretty pie.
Other things I found: For a thick filling use a 9-1/2 inch pan. Other hints were to make sure the crust had no breaks in it so that the filling would not seep underneath the crust and I had to adjust my ingredients but in the end I came up with a pie my husband really loved.
So this is how I found my husband's perfect dessert. I know I don't use as many pecans as I used to in a smaller pie but that is OK. The pie is creamy and delicious for my husband and looks really pretty for me.
I do need to carefully pour the mixed filling over the pecans that are arranged in the shell and I have to lightly place the pecans in the shell because if I press on them, they won't float when the filling is poured in. Putting the filling on top coats the pecans and though they aren't underneath the filling, the coating on the pecans forms a nice and tasty crust on top. The filling is about a half inch thick and it is oh so creamy, yet firm.
Here is my lovely and great tasting pie recipe:
Deep Dish Pecan Pie
1 unbaked pie shell (I purchased mine in the dairy case at the grocery store.
Filling:
1-1/2 cups pecan halves (I don't use all of the pecans but I pick out the prettiest one from the package and save the rest for other recipes. It usually takes more pecans to find perfect pecan halves, since some are broken.)
4 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoon butter, melted
1-1/2 cups light corn syrup
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Line a 9-1/2 inch glass pie pan with a crust, making sure there are no breaks in the crust for the filling to seep through. Flute the edges and be sure that the crust comes to the top of the glass pan to hole the filling.
Carefully (and lightly) arrange pecan halves in the bottom of the pie crust. Make a circular pattern from the center to the outside edges. This should take three rows of pecans for the outside of the pie and three to five pecans in the center.
Mix all of the filling ingredients in a bowl and stir until well mixed with a wire whisk.
Pour the filling slowly and carefully over the pecans in the shell until they float to the top. Rearrange pecans if necessary if they float out of the pattern. Make sure all pecans are coated with filling.
Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.
Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake about 1 hour or until crust is golden and filling is puffy and begins to crack around the edges. It will still be little jiggly in the center.
Allow to cool completely before serving.
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