Classic Pecan Pie

I have to admit, whenever I hear the words “pecan pie” I immediately think of the line “But I would be proud to partake of your pecan piiiiiiiiie…” from that sweet museum scene in When Harry Met Sally, when Harry is gearing up to ask Sally out:

It’s hard to believe it’s been twenty years since that movie first came out! It’s still one of my all-time favorites. Anyhow, I digress…back to the pie.

When I first started this blog, Lydia from The Perfect Pantry commented that she had just baked the pecan pie recipe from the KARO syrup bottle – right away I made a note to myself to give this one a try come holiday time (by the way, “pecan pie” makes Lydia think of When Harry Met Sally too!). It’s the one, all right – incredibly rich and sweet. It takes all of five minutes to combine the filling ingredients, pour them into a pie shell and pop the pie in the oven. After that, you get an hour of olfactory enjoyment as the pecans and sugar slowly but surely caramelize away.

On Thanksgiving, in my mind the pumpkin pie suddenly becomes “the healthy one” vis à vis the pecan pie. For the sake of balance, I make sure to enjoy a sliver of both.

Classic Pecan Pie
From the side of the KARO Light Corn Syrup bottle

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup light corn syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie crust

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Stir the first 5 ingredients thoroughly using a spoon. Mix in pecans. Pour into pie crust. Bake on center rack of oven for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool for 2 hours.

Tips from KARO: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly; it should spring back when done. For easy cleanup, spray pie pan with cooking spray. If pie crust is over-browning, cover edges with foil.

* The recipe doesn’t specify salted or unsalted butter, but since no other salt is called for I chose to use salted butter.