December 10, 2009

Classic Pecan Pie

I love pecan pie, but I rarely eat it because yum, but oh my on the fat content! For Thanksgiving though I thought I'd try my hand at making one since I never had before. For some reason I assumed that they were difficult to make, but it truly is just a dump, stir and pour kind of recipe. Not only is it easy, but it's delicious to boot! This isn't something you would make every day, and is most definitely a sometimes kind of food, but oh what a sometimes it is! This my friends is comfort food at its finest!

What You'll Need:
1 - 9 inch pie shell (Note: Sometimes I make my own pie crust, but this time I took the easy way out and got one out of the freezer section.)
1 cup of corn syrup (Note: Look for a version that isn't made with high fructose corn syrup.)
1 cup of organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3 tablespoons of melted butter, cooled
3 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl stir together corn syrup, sugar, salt, butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add pecans and stir until incorporated. Pour mixture into a pie shell and sit the dish on a baking sheet just in case it runs over.

Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Notes: No notes for this one.

Posted by Dianne at 11:13 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 18, 2009

Coconut Pie Dianne Style

As I've grown older I'm becoming more and more fond of coconut. Don't get me wrong, I've always liked it, but I'm beginning to like it even more. There is a restaurant that I like to go to from time to time that has really fabulous down home cooked food. Their fried chicken is worth the drive all by itself! Not to mention their mashed potatoes, corn fritters and more importantly their Shaker Coconut Pie!

You may not know this about me, but I'm very good at tasting things, figuring out what is in them for the most part and then recreating them. I decided that this pie would be the perfect thing to play around with. My sister searched the internet and found something that was similar, but it wasn't exactly what we were looking for. So I decided to go off on my own and try out a few theories. I actually nailed this one on the first try! Usually it takes a few goes, but this pie just came together perfectly! I plan to make another one for my sister and one when Jamison's dad is here in a few weeks.

So if you like coconut then this is the pie for you. If you're ever up around Thurmont, MD then be sure and try out Cozy...They even have a Camp David Museum on the premises too! Plus you're a short drive from Gettysburg too so you could make a day of it.

Now let's talk some pie!

What You'll Need:
1 pie shell (Note: You can make one, or you can just pick up one at your store.)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups of organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of half and half
2 cups of shredded coconut
6 tablespoons of melted butter, cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place pie shell into a pie plate and crimp the edges.

As you can see I'm not that great at the crimping thing. Oh well. Set pie shell aside.

In a large glass bowl beat eggs until completely yellow. Stir in sugar, vanilla and half and half until well mixed. Add coconut and stir to combine. Add butter and stir to mix. Pour into the pie shell.

Bake for 30 minutes until slightly golden. Turn off the oven, put the door in the broil position and the let the pie sit for another 30 minutes.

Let the pie cool completely before slicing or it won't be set all the way.

Notes: No notes for this one either. Wow...That's twice in one week! ;oP

Posted by Dianne at 8:08 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack