American Pie

Earlier this year, someone brought a ready-made Paula Deen pecan pie to work, and it was quite delicious, especially because of the bit of liquor in it. I decided I wanted to try to make such a pie, and I found this recipe from Paula on www.foodnetwork.com. Actually, my mama, not I, prepared it for our Christmas dinner, and it tasted wonderful. Even better, the filling was not at all runny, as sometimes happens with certain pecan pie recipes.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 to 2 cups pecan halves
2 tablespoons good-quality bourbon
1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie shell, unbaked

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, eggs, pecans and bourbon, and stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into an unbaked pie shell, and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.