Oh, the holidays… my favorite time of year. I am a hugely sentimental person and I have kept some family traditions alive. We don't have many Thanksgiving traditions, but one I want to start is bringing back old family recipes. A few years ago, I received one of the best gifts from my Nana, copies of her Mother’s hand-written recipes. I have an entire book of them (some of them hard to read), all in her cursive hand writing. I love it, I absolutely love it. I made Granny’s pecan pie recipe a couple years ago for Thanksgiving, but this year I decided to add my own spin on her recipe. Same filling recipe (don't fix it if it ain't broke, am I right?), but instead of the traditional pie crust that Granny used, I made a shortbread crust as the base.
Recipe
crust
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cold butter (cubed)
filling
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup karo syrup
3 eggs
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Line an 8 x 8 glass baking pan with parchment paper. In a blender or food processor, pulse flour and sugar until combined. Add cold, cubed butter and pulse until mixture resembles course crumbles. Pour the dough into your prepared baking pan and press the dough down until it has an even thickness throughout. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until edges have just started to brown. While crust bakes, beat eggs well in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients and combine with beaten eggs. Remove pan from the oven and increase temperature to 350. Carefully pour filling into the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until filling does not “jiggle” when shaken. Remove and let cool completely before cutting.
This delicious dessert will be enjoyed by those at our Thanksgiving table this year. What do you plan to make? What family recipes have you kept going?
-The Happy Egg