Many novice bakers are a bit skittish when it comes to making pie (and some just run screaming from the room). It's that darn pastry. There's a "knack" to it, to be sure. But once you've got it down, you'll never accept store-bought pies again. Give this traditional Southern pie a try. I've given you some pointers on my "food processor" crust, and trust me: the filling is a snap with only a few ingredients. 

 

Pastry for a 9" pie

3 large eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch salt

6 ounces pecans (halved or pieces)

 

Prepare pastry: this makes enough for 2 pecan pies (1 crust each) go ahead and prepare both crusts. Use one and save the other in the fridge for another pie later.

 

Pastry crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

6 oz. (3/4 cup) vegetable shortening

approximately 6 tablespoons ice water

 

Sift the flour into the bowl of your food processor with the metal blade attachment in place. Add salt and sugar. Pulse a few times until the dry ingredients are blended. Cut the shortening into bits (approx. teaspoonfuls) and drop onto the dry ingredients. Pulse 5 or 6 times, just a couple of seconds for each pulse, just until the pastry resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water through the tube, one spoonful at a time, while pulsing. As with the dry ingredients, only pulse 5 or 6 times, adding only enough water to just begin bringing the pastry dough together. Stop pulsing before it cleans the bowl and becomes a solid mass. 

 

Turn the pastry dough out onto a board dusted with flour and bring together with your hands. Handle the dough just like a snowball....gently packing it together. Handle the dough as little as possible. Shape it into a disk about 8 inches or so in diameter. Wrap well in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove the dough from the plastic wrap, cut in half, and put one half back in the fridge to use within 7 days. Coat a rolling pin with flour, and roll out the pastry dough half into a circle, about 12 inches in diameter. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin and carefully place the dough circle on top of a 9 inch pie pan, unrolling and settling it downwell. Trim the edge to 1/2 inch past the rim of the pie pan and roll the edge under, making it even with the rim, then crimp the edge decoratively.

 

In a medium mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs then add in the sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Use a wire whisk to blend together well. Stir in pecans. Pour into uncooked pie crust.

 

Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and the filling appears dry on top. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream. Serves 6 - 8.

 

Go ahead. Give yourself a pat on the back.