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
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup lard
- Add 4-6 tablespoons of ice cold water
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
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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Yum! My Grammi always made Pecan Pie for Christmas too. She ended up in a nursing home this summer though with a badly broken leg and wasn’t able to do it. We were fortunate that she was at our celebration, even though her pie wasn’t.
Your pie plate also brings back memories – many in my family had the same pattern (Corning Ware?) on various baking dishes. I have my other Grammi’s famous dish that she always put her homemade chocolate walnut or peanut butter fudge in to cool and harden. I use it myself sometimes for the same purpose. Yum again!
Yes, it is Corning Ware! It’s lovely, isn’t it? So sorry to hear your Grammi was hurt – I hope she’s on the mend now xx
A simple, yet classic pattern. And thanks, Jess. She is slowly on the mend and is in good spirits despite her circumstances. I’d have made the pie myself like you did, but I figured the ice cream would’ve melted on our 14 hour trip to get there. 😉
Man that looks good! Shame you can’t post some to Perth 😉
I never really remember my Nanna baking anything. Grandad used to give us bowls of icecream though. And no icecream has ever tasted quite the same or been as nice and creamy as the one he used to buy for us.Â
It is very good – you should make some! Seriously, I am NOT a cook, and it is so super-easy 🙂 And bless your Grandad x
mmm, pecans 🙂
somehow things our grandparents feed/fed us are always more special aren’t they. Like my Babcia’s pumpkin soup, which (I found out later) sometimes didn’t even have pumpkin in it!
Both sides of my family hail from Texas, so pecan pie was always a part of Thanksgiving dinner, and my favorite for sure. When I make it these days, I substitute real maple syrup for the Karo because I figure that’s how the Pilgrims must have made it in Plymouth Rock!Â