The Pie That Will Make You Cry

There's a joke in my family that once you eat a big holiday meal, it's often necessary to "go and cry." The joke roots from a story of my Uncle Bobby who once ate so much that he had to drag himself to his bed and just cry it out until his stomach felt better.

I often feel this way after Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception. We usually have a pretty rigid menu on Thanksgiving because we're so attached to the tried and true dishes, but mom went all out this year and got all adventurous on us, making italian sausage stuffing and a pear harvest salad—everything was absolutely incredible! 

So following suit, I decided to make my first pecan pie ever! I'm generally not a huge pie person (where's the icing??) but pecan pie has just enough sugar to keep my sweet tooth satisfied. 

And if you're turned off by big nuts, keep reading because these ones are little enough to give a nice crunch without being overpowering. I spotted this recipe on Pioneer Woman and am absolutely in love with it. It was beyond delicious. And so easy. Especially if you use refrigerated pie crust. 
 

Are you sold yet? Because you need to make this pie for Christmas. 

Pecan Pie (AKA The Pie that will
Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

• 1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Corn Syrup
• 3/4 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1/3 cup Melted Butter (salted)
• 3 whole Eggs Beaten
• 1 cup Chopped Pecans

First, take your refrigerated pie crust out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes. And preheat your oven to 350. Next, Chop your pecans nice and small. You don't need to pulverize them, but chop them up good. Mix sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl. When your pie crust is pliable, flute it nicely in a pie pan. 

Pour chopped pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell.

From there, pour syrup mixture over the top. 

Within just a few seconds, the little nuts will rise to the top like magic. You'll see these cute little bubbles rising and popping at the surface too. Wait until it looks like this before you pop it in the oven. You may want to cover the edges with a little foil or a pie shield.

Bake pie at 350º for 25-30 minutes. Remove foil/pie shield then continue baking for 15-20 minutes, being careful not to burn the crust or pecans.

Note that the baking time for this pie varies quite a bit. You'll need to keep an eye on it. When you think it's done, shake it around a bit. It should not be overly jiggly!

Allow the pie to cool for several hours or overnight. This is not the kind of pie that tastes awesome very warm. You will definitely want some time to chill it in the fridge. 

And for your viewing pleasure, a few photos from Thanksgiving...