Belated Birthday Pecan Pie

I made this Pecan Pie for a college friend of mine who shares my affinity for local seasonal pie goodness. Happy Belated Birthday, Julie!

In this pie, I used brown rice syrup instead of sorghum. I have yet to find a local source of sorghum in the DC area. Julie is on the case though, so maybe she'll unearth some down in northern Virginia and let me know. Using the brown rice syrup instead of the sorghum still lends a delicious and flavorful natural sweetness to the pie, but the resulting pie lacks the full-bodied complexity of the sorghum. Like a rug can tie a room together, sorghum really ties my Pecan Pie together. I miss it.

Perfect Pecan Pie
6 T. unsalted butter
1 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 c. brown rice syrup
1/4 c. real maple syrup
1/4 c. good quality honey
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 t. grated orange zest
1/4 t. salt
3 large eggs
2 c. pecan halves (1/2 pound)

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out crust dough and line pie dish. Prick dough all over with a fork and stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sorghum, honey, syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Whisk syrup mixture into eggs. Pour pecans into pie shell. Pour liquid mixture over. Bake at 350F for about 50 minutes. Pie is done when filling is set and crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 66

Pecan Pie for Pops

I made the above pie using the same recipe as for the last pecan pie (with orange zest) in honor of a visit from the in-laws. Pecan Pie is Dad's favorite, and it's a quick one to throw together when guests are on their way. It turned out wonderfully as usual.

Current Pie Tally: 48

Orange You Glad

This pie almost slipped through the cracks and didn't get posted on the blog. This is another Perfect Pecan Pie, except this one was made with orange zest instead of lemon. I must say, I prefer the orange, though both are delicious. I baked this when my mother came to visit for a week after the holidays. Then, I must have forgotten about it the next week, when my family went on vacation. No pies were baked on vacation or have been baked since, but they are coming, I promise.

Current Pie Tally: 44

Perfect Pecan Pie

This is the first of two Christmas pies. I showed up with this one, my father-in-law's favorite, in hand when we arrived for our holiday stay. This is the first time I finally got to try sorghum instead of molasses, and my oh my is it good. It gives the pie less bite and a more mellow, well-rounded flavor. Also, with the tamer flavor of the sorghum, the other flavors, like the lemon zest, really sing out.

Perfect Pecan Pie
7 T. unsalted butter
1 heaping cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 c. sorghum
1/8 c. real maple syrup
1/8 c. good quality honey
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups pecan halves (1/2 pound)

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out crust dough and line pie dish. Prick dough all over with a fork and stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sorghum, honey, syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Whisk syrup mixture into eggs. Pour pecans into pie shell. Pour liquid mixture over. Bake at 350F for about 50 minutes. Pie is done when filling is set and crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

Current Pie Tally: 42

4th of July Pecan Pie

Granted the height of summer does not exactly call to mind this nutty pie common to Thanksgiving feasts, but it was the hostess' favorite so I obliged. Thanks for a great 4th of July party, Cathy & JP! The recipe I used as a base for this called for corn syrup instead of the molasses and maple syrup mixture that I used. This is the second one of these pies that I've made. For the first, I substituted straight blackstrap molasses for the corn syrup. I really wanted to use locally produced sorghum for the most recent version, but alas we exhausted our supply and have to wait for our next farmer's market outing to restock. Next time, I aim to use a mixture of equal amounts of sorghum, maple syrup, and honey. Also, for this iteration of the recipe, I used some grated lemon rind instead of the orange rind the original recipe calls for and decreased the brown sugar to 1 cup. The resulting pie this time was incredibly rich and velvety with a very strong molasses flavor. Perhaps not for everyone, but all the party guests I polled had nothing but rave reviews.

Current Pie Tally: 23

Additional Notes on Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie

The Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie was delightful. I couldn't distinguish any difference in flavor as a result of using some lime juice and the taste was plenty citrus-infused. Also, no one got sick, so the egg yolks were fine. Next time I make this pie, I'll use the 9-inch pie plate instead of the 10-inch. That way I can heap the meringue on top more obnoxiously.

In an attempt to simplify my life and pie and avoid using unnecessary processed ingredients, I did some research on cream of tartar before deciding to go out and buy some since I didn't have any on hand. I have made this pie without cream of tartar before, but admittedly the meringue did not come out as fluffy or creamy. Regardless, if you make this pie with or without cream of tartar, expect that some little liquid blobs will start to separate out of the meringue after a day or two. I think it's liquid sugar, but don't hold me to that. If you look closely at the top of the pie slice in the photo, you can see a few pools.

According to wikipedia.org, cream of tartar is the culinary name for potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate, a byproduct of winemaking. Crystals form during the fermentation of grape juice or on the underside of a cork in wine bottles that have been stored at temperatures below 50 F. In its crude form, cream of tartar is referred to as "beeswing". The processed cream of tartar is a white, odorless, acidic powder that is often used to stabilize egg whites, prevent the crystallization of sweet syrups, or reduce the discoloration of boiled vegetables. It can also be combined with baking soda to create baking powder or with potassium chloride to create salt substitutes.

I feel it is also necessary to comment on cornstarch. I generally avoid using processed forms of corn (high-fructose corn syrup and corn syrup being high on the list), and plan to phase out my use of cornstarch once my current box is finished. A friend of mine said she uses arrowroot starch instead, so I'll give that a try. If it works as well in making Chinese food (my husband's specialty), I will switch permanently. Some of you may be wondering what to do about the corn syrup called for in some pies. I substitute any other naturally sweet syrup instead. I use molasses most often, but if a recipe calls for a large amount of corn syrup, I will probably use a combination of molasses and maple syrup or honey. Large amounts of molasses carry a VERY strong flavor. I haven't tried using sweet sorghum syrup yet, though I just picked some local organic Wisconsin stuff up at the farmer's market this past weekend. It is said to be comparable to molasses, so I look forward to trying it. I'll let you know how it is.