Brown Sugar Pecan Pie + an Update

I know it has been several months since I have shared anything so here is a quick update on what has been going on in the Southern Pink Lemonade household…

Back in February Russell and I found out that we were not only adding to our family, but we were having twins! :) We never in a million years thought we would be having twins, so we were quite surprised by the news. Once we found out that we were having twins we started making arrangements to move back to Alabama before the babies were born. We moved to Alabama in May and had just a couple of short months before the girls were born in July. 

Natalie and Ella were born a few weeks early so they had to spend a little less than two weeks in the NICU (mostly just to gain weight and learn how to eat). They came home in early August and we have been adjusting to life with 2 newborns/infants pretty well if I do say so myself :) . Jake is such a loving big brother and really enjoys having two babies in the house. The girls are not quite 4 months old and I have been slowly trying to get back into the kitchen. 

I came across a recipe for brown sugar pie in Cook’s Country: From Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens cookbook. With a relatively quick baking time and short ingredient list I decided to give it a try. While it was quite tasty, I felt like it was missing something. The pie itself reminded me of the filling in pecan pies so I decided to make a second attempt while adding pecans. I knew after the first bite that I had a winner!

This pie is basically a pecan pie without using corn syrup, which is found in most pecan pies. I decided to mix the pecans in with the filling instead of placing them on the bottom and then pouring the filling over it like most pecan pie recipes recommend. I really enjoyed the pecan pieces being incorporated throughout the entire pie. I used a pre-made pie crust to save on time but feel free to use your favorite pie crust recipe.

Brown Sugar Pecan Pie
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Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1- 9-inch pie crust, chilled and unbaked

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until butter is slightly browned and has a nutty aroma to it, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl add brown sugar making sure to break up any clumps. Add cooled butter and combine until butter is evenly distributed. Mix in flour and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Stir in pecans.

Pour mixture into pie crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few wet crumbs.

Remove pie from the oven and place on a wire rack. Allow to cool for 2 hours before serving.

Adapted from: Cook’s Country: From Our Grandmothers' Kitchens, page 164-165 Recipe submitted to Cook’s Country by: Audrey Hunter of Tennessee

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