My Meemaw’s Pecan Pie Recipe Is So Good, There Are Never Any Leftovers
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My mom’s grandmother—Meemaw, as she was known to her grandchildren and great grandchildren—was very old and not quite herself, I’m told, by the time I came along. I never got to know her as well as I would’ve liked, but I’ve heard enough stories to be confident in a few facts: She was one of the sweetest women to have ever lived, she grew the best vegetables in her small Alabama town, and she was a damn good baker. (One of the great tragedies of my mother’s life is that she never wrote down her famous chocolate chip cookie recipe.)
There is one recipe she did take the time to scribble onto a notecard, though. My Aunt Nancy shared Meemaw’s pecan pie recipe with me earlier this year—and she assures me there have never been any leftovers when she makes it.
Corey Williams
How to Make Meemaw’s Pecan Pie
The pecan tree in Meemaw’s front yard blanketed the ground with nuts every fall, so it’s no surprise that this was her preferred Thanksgiving dessert. The recipe is similar to the classic one you’ll find on the Karo Corn Syrup bottle, but there are some notable differences:
- The Karo recipe calls for ¼ cup more white sugar than Meemaw’s slightly-less-sweet version.
- Meemaw’s recipe has a pinch of salt to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
- You’ll need a cup of pecans for both recipes, but Meemaw’s version calls for ½ cup chopped and ½ cup halved for a particularly attractive presentation.
Meemaw’s Pecan Pie Recipe
Corey Williams
Ingredients
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter or Oleo (margarine), melted
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- Unbaked pastry crust (homemade or store-bought)
- ½ cup pecan halves
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the corn syrup, eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt, and butter or margarine in a large bowl. Stir the chopped pecans into the corn syrup mixture.
- Press the pastry crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Flute the edges.
- Pour the filling into the crust, then arrange the pecan halves on top.
- Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the filling is set.
Recipe Tips
- Full disclosure: light corn syrup is the more traditional choice, but I almost always prefer dark to light corn syrup in pecan pie, as it offers a much more robust flavor. Sorry, Meemaw!
- To deepen the flavor even more, use a combination of white and brown sugar.
- Unless you are devoted to a homemade pie crust recipe, there’s really no reason not to use a store-bought crust (and this is the best one you can buy).
