Pecan Pie

THE ULTIMATE COMBINATION of crunchy, buttery, and syrupy sweet, pecan pie has long been a star on Southern dessert tables. A true born-and-bred treat, this pie’s star ingredient is pecans, which are native to North America and were a part of the Native American diet for thousands of years. The word pecan was derived from the French word pacane, which was taken from the Algonquian word for “nut.”

This might be why some think it was French settlers in New Orleans who invented the pie, but most believe it originated in Texas, where the first printed recipes were included in cookbooks in the 1870s and 1880s. By the 1920s, recipes for this decadent dessert had spread throughout the South, thanks in large part to the manufacturer of Karo syrup, who included a recipe for it on their products.

Since its inception, this recipe hasn’t strayed very far from the original, and you really can’t go wrong with the simple and easy combination of butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, corn syrup or molasses, a