Grub Americana

Classic Pecan Pie

Pecan pie

Attempts to trace the pies origin have not found any recipes dated earlier than 1886, and well-known cookbooks such as Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking did not include this dessert before 1940.

The makers of Karo syrup significantly contributed to popularizing this classic pie. The company has claimed that the dish was a 1930s "discovery" of a "new use for corn syrup" by a corporate sales executive's wife. However pecan pie was made before the invention of corn syrup and older recipes used darker sugar based syrup or molasses. Pecan pie came to be closely associated with the culture of the Southern United States in the 1940s and 1950s.

Recipe Makes: One 9-inch Pie

Whatcha Need:

  • 1 pastry shell, nine-inch, frozen, refrigerated, or homemade
  • 1 cup Karo® dark corn syrup
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans

Whatcha Do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

  2. Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.

  3. Place pie on cookie sheet and bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until the center of pie springs back when lightly tapped. If pie crust is over browning, cover edges with foil. Cool for 2 hours on wire rack before serving.

  4. To use prepared frozen pie crust: Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven as directed. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on preheated cookie sheet.