They'll be proud to partake of your pecan pie
Forget Your Diet
enjoy Thanksgiving
Well, the winemakers came to visit last night and I sampled the wine I'll be getting for making Thanksgiving dinner this year.
As previously mentioned, I was offered homemade wine in exchange for making a stuffed turkey breast dinner.
And after a few glasses, I found myself sloppily agreeing to make a gluten-free pecan pie, along with my pumpkin pie. And for the kids I'll be making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
Goodness, what's next?
My man-servant reminded me of that line from When Harry Met Sally when Harry (Billy Crystal) says to Sally (Meg Ryan): "But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie." Hence, the reason for my subtitle. Up next is the 52 second clip of that scene - those of you over 30 might remember it.
When Harry Met Sally
First Impressions of Pecan Pie
When I was first learning to bake, I thought pecan pie already contained maple syrup. So when I discovered that corn syrup was most commonly used in it, I thought I'd change that.
In all fairness, I don't feel that an egg-less version tastes the same. If you find a comparable vegan recipe then good for you (I haven't yet).
And about the pecans. I recommend buying pecan halves and chopping some for the filling, if you want. I always thought they tasted better halved - the same holds true for walnuts. And all it takes is a few stale pieces to ruin it.
My Tweaks
I created my recipe from three sources. Good Housekeeping magazine has a basic recipe[1] that I've tried in the past which worked. However, I wanted to try a simpler cooking method and my filling to be made with maple syrup instead of corn syrup.
Yet, when I viewed a video of how to make a pecan pie using Karo[2] syrup, I was thoroughly impressed by the cooking method. I've never understood why some recipes recommend pre-baking the pie crust. (Whenever I've done that - even with pie crust protectors on - my crusts taste too well done or hard). What's more, Karo syrup isn't a high fructose corn syrup.
Finally, a couple of years ago I came across a recipe[3] by Carrie Vitt at Deliciously Organic. Even though I'm thoroughly pleased with my gluten-free pie crust (using Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour), her pecan pie filling included maple syrup.
So, I decided to use 3 tbsp. butter (not 2 tbsp. or 4 tbsp.) and I kept the brown sugar amount that Good Housekeeping recommends. I tried the Karo video baking method (which worked beautifully). And, I used Canadian Grade A Light maple syrup (instead of Grade B) as in Carrie Vitt's recipe, but omitted the maple sugar.
Up next is the 2:03 second Karo video. I adopted the same cooking method (skipped the pre-bake) and "my pecan pie was practically perfect." (Those last 5 words were supposed to sound the way Harry spoke to Sally).
How to Make Pecan Pie
by AchFoodCompanies
Rose's G-F Pecan Pie Filling w/ Maple Syrup
If you require a gluten-free pie crust, I provide instructions to make 1 pie crust in my Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie recipe article. If you are making two pies, you may wish to double it.
For those of you who don't need a gluten-free pie crust, you can use any 9-inch unbaked (or frozen) deep-dish pie crust.
Using a frozen pie shell? Here's a helpful tip:
Put a baking or cookie sheet in your oven while it's preheating. Pour pecan pie filling directly into your frozen pie crust (no need to thaw it out first) and bake it on the preheated baking sheet in your oven. The heat from the already hot baking pan will thaw the frozen crust.
Pecan Pie Filling Ingredients:
Just Before it Hits the Oven
New York State Grade A Maple Syrup
by Catskill Provisions (8.5 fluid ounce)





New York State Grade A Maple Syrup
If you can't find Canadian Grade A Light Maple Syrup

Amazon Price: $18.99 Buy Now
(price as of Sep 16, 2016)
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
