My grandma is the queen of comfort food. Her mac n’ cheese is legendary, as are her chicken and dumplings, wilted lettuce salad, and turkey enchiladas. She also knows her way around butter, sugar and flour, and some of my favorite childhood memories are of eating her wonderful desserts when visiting her during the holidays. One of my family’s favorites is grandma’s pecan pie. She was never a fan of the thick layer of sugary “goo” that makes up the majority of pecan pies, so she doubles the nuts in her recipe which makes the pie more like a chewy candy bar than the pecan pie you might be used to. It is especially good cold out of the fridge, give it a try!

 Grandma’s Deluxe Pecan Pie

1 unbaked 9” pie shell (recipe below)

1 cup Karo dark corn syrup

1 cup white sugar

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

2+ cups nuts (I generally use about 2.5 cups)

Beat eggs slightly. Mix in the next 5 ingredients, then stir in the pecans. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes at 375°, then reduce the temperature to 350° and continue baking for another 35 minutes. The filling should be slightly less set in the center than around the edges. Don’t overbake!

Pie Crust (makes two, 9” pie crusts)

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup Crisco

½ cup ice water

Mix the flour and salt together, then blend the Crisco into the flour until you get pea sized lumps of dough. Mix in the ice water to form a cohesive pie dough.  Don’t overwork the dough. Cut the dough in half, and roll out the dough- there will be enough for 2 pies.