Pecan pie is my all-time favorite dessert! My father was a correspondent banker for a large bank in St. Louis, and his territory was the Southeast area. He traveled all over doing business with smaller banks in the region. And as he became close friends with many of these folks, we used to visit them on family vacations.
I learned to water ski on Lake Norfork in Mountain Home, Arkansas at Powers and Louise Fowler’s weekend lake house. They had a really fast powerboat (Powers liked speed) as well as a pontoon party barge, (Louise loved a party). One time, when I was about 12 years old, for some reason, I was with my parents alone. None of my other 5 brothers were with us and we visited the Fowlers.
So my mom says, “Louise, you make the best pecan pie and it’s Mary’s favorite. I wondered if we could have your recipe.”
Mrs. Fowler said in her lovely Southern drawl, “Well honey, why don’t we just go and make Mary one right now, and of course you can have the recipe!”
Cocktail in hand, she got up, went straight into the kitchen and made me a pecan pie right then and there.
And I have been making them for years. These days I use less sugar and Karo syrup as I like things less sweet. If you like it really sweet, go with the full cup measurements.
MRS. FOWLER’S PECAN PIE
3 eggs beaten (take out early to be at room temperature)
1 scant cup of packed light brown sugar
1 scant cup of Karo light syrup (I know it’s not good for you – just close your eyes, just this once OR you can substitute 7/8’s of a cup of raw agave syrup)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecan halves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs with a whisk, add in all remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a 9” pie crust, which has not been pricked, but has been baked for 5 – 10 minutes, weighted with beans or rice in parchment paper.
Bake for 40 – 50 minutes. Test with a knife or toothpick in the middle – should come out clean and the center slightly set. Cool completely before cutting and serving. Bake this in the morning before your feast.
Serve with whipped cream sweetened with a touch of powdered sugar and some vanilla. I use 1/2 pint of heavy cream, 1 tbs. powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla and beat until soft peaks form.
For me, this is the perfect ending to a Thanksgiving meal!
Strawberry Shortcake
Gnocchi for a Birthday Party!
Made-in-the-Pan Chocolate Cake
Holiday cookies
How’d it work out?
mmm yummy!!!!!
It truly is!!
This looks delicious! So beautifully presented, too!
Thank you!! It is truly delicious too!
Thanks for the recipe. In memory of Dzia Dzia, Busia and the Fowlers this will be on our dessert table this year.
whoo hoo!!! Let me know how it turns out!!
Hi Mary, thought you might want to know that Karo corn syrups do NOT contain high fructose corn syrup. So much the better! But they’re still not organic, meaning that there is a very high probability that they’re derived from genetically modified corn sources. Much healthier to choose an organic corn syrup – they do exist. Or to use brown sugar (preferably organic) instead of corn syrup, which renders a less cloyingly sweet pecan pie. For your recipe, 1 3/4 cups packed medium brown sugar could substitute for your your sugar/corn syrup combo. Here’s to fabulous, and sort of healthy(?) pecan pies.
Lynn- Thanks so much for the info! Happy New Year! I’m also going to try substituting Agave syrup for the corn syrup some time soon.
Oh, great. Let me know how you do with the agave. Happy New Year to you and yours.
This looks fabulous! I can’t wait to try it!! Pecan pie is my absolute favorite dessert. <3
You will LOVE it!
Hi Mary!
The recipe appears on my computer screen as 2 lines:
1 scant cup of Karo light syrup (I know it’s not good for you – just close your eyes, just this once OR you can substitute
7/8’s of a cup of raw agave syrup
I’d recommend to close the parentheses so it remains as one line and not two – because I accidentally added 7/8 cup agave syrup as I didnt realize it was a substitute suggestion!!! I’m sure it’s going to be delish anyways 🙂
xx
xx
Whoops!! You’re absolutely right!! So sorry. It’s gonna be a sweet pie for you!