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My Mum’s side of the family hails from the US (Oregon, to be precise). Hence, Christmas with the family has always included some American traditions. When I was younger, we used to have the traditional huge hot dinner – turkey, ham, creamy mashed potatoes, candied yams… etc.

A very important part of this meal was dessert – when we would always have a homemade Pecan Pie (and, more often than not, Pumpkin Pie, too). Though my Granny was actually an Australian by birth (she was a War Bride, having fallen in love with a dashing young US officer when he was stationed in Brisbane as part of General McArthur’s staff in WW2) she, like any good wife in the 40s and 50s, soon adapted to her adopted country, and learnt how to make lovely Yankee food.

This year was the first Christmas without her, and it wasn’t even a question that we would carry on the tradition of the Pecan Pie. My Mum inherited Granny’s recipe box, within which were both the recipes for the pie and the pie base, written in her own and hand modified by her, too.

So, for Christmas dinner, I pulled out her recipes and whipped up a delicious Pecan Pie. I added my own modification to the recipe – instead of using Karo Corn Syrup (which is really tricky to get here in Australia), I used Golden Syrup instead – and you could barely tell the difference, except that the pie was a little bit darker and richer.

For those who can’t see the recipes in the images, or want a text version, here it is:

Pie Shell (enough to make 2 shells)

  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
Mix these together
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup lard
Cut these in until the consistency of peas. (I used my fingers at this point to rub the mixture together.)
  • Add 4-6 tablespoons of ice cold water
Blend and mix until it forms a soft dough. I found I needed to add a little extra flour at the end to get the right consistency. Roll out and put into pie dish, crimp edges.

Pie

  • 3 eggs slightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup sugar (2/3 if liked – I used 2/3, yes… sweet tooth here)
  • 1/3 cup butter (melted)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup Karo Corn Syrup (or, as I used, golden syrup)
  • 1 cup pecan halves (I roughly chopped up whole pecans)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix well. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 180 Degrees Celsius/350 Fahrenheit, or until a knife comes out clean halfway between the edge and the center.

And there you have it. Granny’s Pecan Pie. Which *must* be served with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream. Seriously. The creamy stuff. If you are eating this pie, don’t muck about with any of that low fat nonsense.

Enjoy it, savour it, and make Granny proud.

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