creating beauty and warmth where you live

Monday, November 29, 2010

Nanny's Pecan Pie

Growing up I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandmother, whom I called "Nanny".   I enjoyed being with her as she always had something interesting going on.  Nanny was an excellent cook, gardener and seamstress.  My parents named me after her as they chose her middle name to be my middle name too! 

In 1983 she made a very special Christmas present for all the married women in the family.  A recipe book filled with all her best and most popular dishes, called Nanny's This and That.  One of those recipes was for her pecan pie. 




In recent years I have made this pie a lot.  It never fails to garner high compliments.  I think one of the reasons people like it is because it is not too sweet as some pecan pies can be.  We (my husband loves this so much he wanted to learn how to make them too) just made 4 last week for Thanksgiving.  Two to take to family get-togethers and two to keep at home.  It is Monday and they are gone, gone, gone.  But fortunately for you, today, I am going to share this recipe with you!



Nanny's Pecan Pie
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed
1 1/2 cups light or dark corn syrup (I use light corn syrup)
2 tablespoons butter or oleo softened
3 tablespoons flour (all purpose)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
5 eggs beaten 
2 cups broken pecan pieces
2 regular 9-inch pie shells (do not use deep dish)

Combine flour and sugar.  Mix well.  Add butter.  Beat with wooden spoon to combine.
Stir in syrup and eggs.  Combine well.
Add vanilla and salt.  Add broken pecans.  Mix well.
Carefully pour into pie shells.
Bake 35 to 45 minutes.  
Cool completely before serving.
Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.  Delicious!

We used some whole pecans to decorate the top of the pie.  



Another reason this recipe is dear to me is because of the book she made for us.  She hand wrote the recipes then my Aunt made mimeographed copies.  She also wrote a special letter to us which is in the very front of the book.

 Nanny then sewed fabric to the cover.  Look how ingenious!


 

  

As you can see in the pictures this book has seen much wear and tear.  It has been well loved and much used since 1983. Nanny is no longer with us.  She went to be with the Lord in 1988.  Thank you Nanny for giving us something very precious that we can treasure and enjoy for years to come!  

Come back tomorrow to learn who won the $25.00 give away from Vintage Townsquare! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Libby~

1 comment:

  1. I love this more than words can say!!

    Visiting from Debbie's link up.

    ReplyDelete