pecan candy pie

Happy Fourth of July!

Today, in celebration of America, I want to share a little story with you:

Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He was a good little boy, but he was poor. Nonetheless, he did as all little boys do, and he grew. He became an Eagle Scout. He finished school. He even joined the Army. Then one day, when he was all grown up and married, he moved to Arkansas, borrowed some money from his father-in-law, made a few shrewd business deals, and voila! He was a mega-multi-billionaire and a living embodiment of the rags-to-riches American dream.

His legacy lives on today. We all hate his long-lines-no-cashiers, the total and complete lack of customer service, the sweatshops full of underpaid children slaving away in order to stock the shelves in his mass-merchandising one-stop-shop crush-the-little-man mega-warehouse-superstores, but how great it is when we can get an incredible deal?

Take these little sundresses I bought the other day:
I won't even tell you how cheap they were, because PB&J thinks that is so gauche. But they were so cheap (obviously: I bought 3!) They were so CHEAP I won't even care if these look horrible at the end of the summer. I think they look cute now. And so, in honor of the man who made the cheapness of these cheap dresses possible, I wanted to post a recipe for a down home Southern favorite, one THE MAN HIMSELF, would surely enjoy -- if he hadn't done the one thing that all men (ultra-mega-multi-billionaire and pauper alike) must do, and died:


The WAY Better Than a Superstore Chewy Pecan Candy Pie

1 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 c butter or margarine
1/3 c light corn syrup
1/4 c heavy cream
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 c pecan (or more up to 3 cups — just to fill pan)
½ tsp vanilla
1 small baked pie shell


Preheat oven to 375.

Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and cream in a heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes. Mixture should thicken with large bubbles on surface.

Remove from heat. Mix a small amount of the hot mixture into the beaten egg. Then add the egg mixture to the hot mixture. Add vanilla and pecans. Stir to coat and pour into baked pie shell. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until bubbly in center.


This pie is a holiday necessity at our house. No holiday can be properly celebrated without this Pecan Pie on the menu. It doesn't have that weird nasty custard filling that so many nondescript pecan pies boast. It really is super yummy candy in a pie shell. And the pecans mean it has protein in it, and so it is good for you, right? Oh, and it is really good with a dollop of slightly sweeten whipped heavy cream.

Give it a try. You're sure to enjoy it, way more than you enjoy standing in an eternal line at your local superstore. And Happy Fourth from all of us in the Lunchroom!


Pecan Pie picture originally downloaded by Zirotti