A nut pie that is everything it’s cracked up to be
Every year at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, two types of pies always show up. One makes the repeated appearance because it is expected to, and the other is there by popular demand.
When the menu is drawn up and delegated, pumpkin pie is always on the list even though it is that one item on the dessert table that is hardly touched. Invariably, it would be packed up to go and foisted on the poor soul who has a hard time saying no. The pecan pie, on the other hand, has a faithful following and is almost always consumed in its entirety before the end of the football game.
I am one of pecan pie devotees and would always have that first slice come what may. But the second slice would depend on how good it is.
The pie should have a good buttery crust (no shortening, please), and it should not be underbaked or soggy. For the filling, I like it to be a sweet — but not too sweet — and the nuts have to be fresh to emit a real pecan flavor. I like a traditional pie made with corn syrup and granulated sugar but I love when it is made with maple syrup and brown sugar.
As long as it is not over the top, I don’t mind if the recipe is tinkered with and
has surprise elements. My eyes light up when the filling gets a good splash of bourbon or rum and flavored with luscious chocolate. When walnuts are tossed in along with pecans, I don’t get bent out of shape, and when the pie is studded with cranberries or candied ginger, I embrace it. However, I am not crazy about a spice-y filling that is heady with ground clove, cinnamon and nutmeg.
When I came across a mixed nut pie recipe that was not drowning in maple syrup and brown sugar in the “Martha Stewart’s Newlywed Kitchen” cookbook I had two words for it — classic and irresistible.