Pecan Nut Pie

Pecan Nut Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

In all my years associated with the Walker clan I have yet to make a dessert too sweet for the Walker men. The guys are known for their “sweet tooth” and to them the sweeter the dessert the better. My old Mennonite recipe of the Pecan Nut Pie during holidays was one of the fellow’s favorite, especially my husband’s old brother, Dale, who was a Vietnam vet and very patriotic. Dale spent a lot of years, until he retired, in Germany involved in several border incidents that never made the news. A family favorite tale of Dale’s army life was years ago when he was in his early twenties and wounded in Vietnam. The surgeon involved in his case decided that Dale’s leg was too badly damaged to be saved and made the decision to take it off- making the mistake to declare his intentions in Dale’s hearing. Dale pulled out a hidden pistol, pointed it at the doctor’s head, and said, “Oh no, you’re not.” When the surgeon tried to reason with Dale saying, “You are going to lose that leg anyway.” Dale replied, “I might, but not by you.” Today Dale has both legs and barely walks with a limp thanks to the Walker bulldog determination.

Unfortunately, a lot of vets aren’t as fortunate as my brother-in-law. We still have too many soldiers overseas trying to keep peace in war torn areas of the world risking their lives each day. The longer the situation drags out in Iraq with a no win solution, the more I agree with an older vet who summed up today’s overseas state of affairs by saying, “We need to pull our boys back home, let them fight it out amongst themselves, kill each other instead of our boys, and when they finally decide they want peace send in our boys to clean up the mess.” Meanwhile we salute each veteran with heartfelt thanks of gratitude for their part in ensuring that America remains the home of the free and the brave!

My Pecan Nut Pie has a crunchy nutty filling that also can be made into mini tarts by placing pie crust into mini muffin pan cups and filling for individual servings this holiday season. You can add maple syrup to the corn syrup for a different twist or substitute dark corn syrup for the light and for every chocolate lover just add one cup of chocolate chips to make a chocolate pecan pie. Preparation time for the Pecan Nut Pie is five minutes (not counting baking time) and this recipe makes one 9-inch pie.

Pecan Nut Pie

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
3 eggs
1 c light corn syrup
1 tb self-rising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ c brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 tb melted butter
2 c pecan’s halves

In a small bowl beat together the eggs, syrup, flour, extract, sugar, and salt with a Wisk until smooth. Add the butter and pecans and pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes. Let cool before serving!

Weekly tip: For a perfect homemade pie crust think cold. Always use chilled eggs and cold water to ensure a flaky crust. Some even chill the pastry before rolling it out and chill before baking. Don’t overwork the dough as handling it too much will result in a tough crust!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com