Recipe Of The Day: Pecan Pie

July 12th is National Pecan Pie Day. And the sad part about that is, that millions of people have never had the joy of eating a really great homemade Pecan Pie.
Many people are scared to make their own pie crust at home, whether it is because it is uncommon these days to roll out your own dough or because people just never really learned how too.
The two greatest thing about making your own dough are that for starters you are in control of what ingredients are going into your food and secondly your learning a skill that can be passed on to future generations for years to come.

Too often we get caught up in the ease of using store bought mixes and ready made products. In many cases these products are life savors and great flavor enhancers, but let's face it, when it comes to pie dough, breads and baked pastries, it is really hard to beat a homemade treat that you created with your own two hands.
This recipe uses my great grandmothers pie dough recipe and incorporates a filling that is used at a friend of ours restaurant, known for their Pecan Pie.
Enjoy this recipe and try it out on your loved ones, it will surely be a hit.

Ingredients

Crust:

1 cup lard

2 TBS butter

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

4 TBS cold water

Filling:

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

2 TBS butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Whipped cream, chopped nuts and mint, for garnish

Directions:

In a large bowl, place the lard and butter.

Add the flour and salt and rub together with fingers to form small balls.

Add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing the flour mixture in between each tablespoon.

Only add enough water until dough comes together in one large ball.

Spread some flour on a piece of waxed paper and place the dough on it.

Sprinkle some more flour on top of the dough and proceed to roll out the dough until desired thickness, about 1/8 inch thick.

Fold the dough over once to make a half moon and again to make it a quarter moon. Remove the dough from the waxed paper and place into a (9-inch) pie pan.

Unfold the dough so that it covers the entire pan.

Press dough gently into pan.

Using a fork, crimp the edges of the dough along the edge of the pie pan and cut away excess dough with a pairing knife.

Set the pie shell aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine the corn syrup, sugar, butter, vanilla, and eggs.

Mix with a whisk until well incorporated.

Place the pecans in the pie shell and pour mixture over nuts.

Be careful not to overflow the shell.

Bake the pie for 45 minutes.

The pie should be firm and golden brown.

Let pie cool before cutting.

Pie may be garnished with whipped cream, nuts and mint.