Pecan Cream Pie - National Pecan Day

The other day I was on the lookout for a quick and easy pie recipe.  It was a day we needed a sweet treat.  You probably think we always have treats lying about, but the reality is we rarely do.  If I'm working on a recipe for the blog I typically end up passing the treats on to someone else to get it out of the house.  Especially if it makes a large amount.  :)

But I'm getting off topic.  I was looking for a recipe that I could easily throw together.  Something that I could make without having to run to the store.  Enter this Pecan Cream Pie recipe from the old Martha Meade Modern Meal Maker.  This is the neatest cookbook I have ever come across.  It was put out by the Sperry Flour Company which used to be a division of General Mills in Tacoma, Washington in the 1930's.  I picked it up at an estate sale for a dollar.

It's not the same as a pecan pie, but its not a pudding pie either.  It's more like a pecan custard pie.  It was a big hit right out of the pan.  When I make it again, I plan on adding a chocolate ganache layer on top of the crust.  I think this recipe will only improve with chocolate.  :)

Pecan Cream Pie

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup whole milk or half and half, scalded
1 baked 9-inch pie shell

Blend the first five ingredients until smooth.  Add pecans and add to scalded cream.  Cook over hot water, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 15 minutes.  Pour into baked pie shell and let stand until cool.  Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

The only thing I'd be careful about with this recipe is adding the scalded milk in its entirety to the egg mixture without tempering it first.  I recommend you whisk in a small amount of scalded milk into the egg mixture, to temper it, before adding the rest.  This way your eggs won't cook when you add the scalded milk.

Go To Pie Crust Recipe

1 cup flour
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons ice cold water

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, shortening and salt.  Using a pastry cutter, cut shortening into flour until it resembles coarse meal.  Using a fork, stir in enough cold water to form a dough.  Shape dough into a flat disk and roll out on floured counter top until dough is large enough to fit pie plate.  Drape and fit dough to pie plate and crimp edges.  Blind bake 8-10 minutes until slightly golden at 425 degrees.  Remove from oven and cool.