Pecan Pie Recipe #1

I have seen some real disasters when it comes to homemade pecan pies. I once saw my father-in-law cut into a pecan pie and, as he removed a slice, the space filled up with the rest of the flowing, runny pie filling. Yuck! While I've never personally experienced a disaster of that magnitude, I did make one of those "magic" pecan pie/cheesecake combos which looked beautiful but had absolutely no taste whatsoever. But, I've decided that as a southern cook, I needed to perfect my pecan pie-making skills. So, I painstakingly researched pie recipes this weekend and came up with two that I wanted to share here. Both are from the authority of southern cooking: Southern Living.

Caramel-Pecan Pie

1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts
28 caramels
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pie plate according to package directions; fold edges under, and crimp. Prick bottom and sides of piecrust with a fork. Bake piecrust at 400° for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned; cool on wire rack.

Combine caramels, butter, and 1/4 cup water in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, 5 to 7 minutes or until caramels and butter are melted; remove from heat.

Stir together sugar and next 3 ingredients. Stir into caramel mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in pecans. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake pie at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°, and bake 20 more minutes, shielding edges of crust with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Remove pie to a wire rack to cool.

I did not use a refrigerated pie crust. My past experience with the refrigerated pie crust was not a positive one so I used a frozen dip dish pie shell. I pricked it with a fork before baking at 400 degrees for about seven minutes.

Here are the 28 caramels that I used. They're just so pretty. Let me pause a moment to admire the beauty!

But, I needed to move on and make the caramel sauce. I melted the caramels with the butter and water.

Yum! I could stop here and be very happy.

Measure out the sugar in a mixing bowl.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.

Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt to the sugar and mix well.

Add the caramel sauce and chopped pecans to the egg mixture. Mix well.

Put the pie on a baking sheet before putting it in the oven to prevent any overflow.

Per the directions, I baked at 400 degrees for ten minutes. I removed the pie from the oven and put on a foil collar to protect the edges from getting too brown. I returned the pie to the oven and baked at 350 degrees for 20 more minutes.

Pretty as a picture!

I love caramel and I love pecan pie. I didn't know that a pie with this much perfection even existed. Caramel and pecan pie together - how can this be? But, it does exist and now that I have discovered this pie recipe, my life will never be the same again. I have tasted perfection and this is it. Please discover this for yourself. You will enjoy!

Click here to see the original recipe at Southern Living.