245. Pecan pie is an absolute favorite at this time of year for me. Toasted pecans smothered in sweet yumminess! I have a hard time resisting!
I have tried many recipes in the past but have never been completely happy with the outcome. The filling was either too runny or too sweet. They always lacked a good balance of pecans to sweet filling. This year I found a new recipe and I am keeping it! I found it on the Taste of Home website (here) and is so easy but produces a perfect pecan pie. I changed mine up a bit by adding orange zest. It gave a beautiful light hint of orange flavor but not enough to change the wonderfulness of the pecan pie. Now, I warn you, don't look at the calorie count per slices...you might be shocked...but it's the holidays, so splurge a bit.
Orange Pecan Pie
1 recipe pie crust, rolled and placed in 9" pie plate
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup pecan halves
Cream together butter and sugar till light and fluffy about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Pour into pastry crust. Sprinkle orange zest over top of liquid filling. Run a knife gently through the top of the filling to distribute the orange zest over 
filling.
filling. Arrange the pecan halves over the top in a pattern of your choice.
Bake pie at 350° for 50 minutes or till center is set. (The Taste Of Home recipe calls for at 375 oven for up to 55 minutes. This causes the pie to burn.) You can cover the edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent over browning. Cool. Serve with whipped cream. You can add orange zest to the whipped cream for added flavor.
The pie comes out very toasty. The pecans sink into the filling a bit but the flavor excuses this small problem. Oh...I wish I had a piece right now...but the pie disappeared!
"When someone asks if you'd like cake or pie, why not say you want cake and pie?
~Lisa Loeb
