Baking a pecan pie

You know what is perfect for fall? A pecan pie! After an IHop breakfast yesterday morning, friends and I decided it was a great day for baking. After a quick trip to the grocery store for pecans, everyone came over to my house and together we baked a pecan and pumpkin pie.

You will need:

• 1 cup dark karo syrup
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup pecans
• pie crust 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Mix together the first six ingredients. Whisk by hand or with a mixer. I love to use my vintage wall mounted mixer, then we get to lick the beaters after detaching them from the mixer, reminds me of when I was little. 

Add to pie crust in pie pan. I like the Pilsbury pie crust you just unroll into the pan. Cheating, I know, but I've never been great at making pie crust. I used one roll for the pan, and the other for designs around the edge. We cut out little leaves and used a fork and butter knife to make the designs. My six year old helper really loved this part!

Want to know a little secret? Dip your finger in milk and run it over the little leaves on the pie crust. They'll brown just right and won't burn. My mom taught me that. Roxanne's a genuis! It even works if you make a closed pie and want to draw a little design on top of the crust. 

Stir in pecans. You can add all of them or a little over half. You can save half and neatly arrange them after pouring mixture into the pie pan. I just stir in all of them, but next time I'm going to attempt a design with the pecans. Add mixture to pie pan.

Next, bake the pie for 15 minutes at 400 then reduce to 350 for 45 minutes. Allow to cool and serve! 

I love my vintage pie pans. They have the recipe printed on the bottom of the pan. It's so fun as the pie is eaten, the recipe reveals itself. While it's not the actually recipe I used, slightly different, it makes consuming the pie with friends and family so much more enjoyable!

We all sat on my porch and had a slice of each pie. And yes, it was warm enough for just a t-shirt; I love Georgia. The pecan pie was definitely the favored pie of the two. It's the recipe from my friend's granny! A true Southern woman that owns a pecan farm. Can't get much better than that! Sarah always has the best recipes.

Tomorrow, spinach artichoke dip that is perfect for football parties! I helped Matt put together a little shindig with friends at his place this weekend. I made the spinach artichoke dip and taco dip. Both pans were scraped clean by the end of the night! 

Want to make mini pecan pie?! Check out these heart shaped pies I made for Matt for Valentine's Day.

Happy Monday everyone!