Happy Pecan Pie Day!

Pecan Pie Day, July 12, should be celebrated every year, especially here in Alabama. We grow the best pecans, and have the best syrup, and there’s no excuse not to celebrate this quintessentially Southern dessert on its Day.

In honor of this momentous Day, I’ve decided to share my Momma's recipe for pecan pie. You'll have the best results with Alabama pecans, a quality vanilla extract, and above all, ALAGA syrup. If you use that OTHER syrup, your pecan pie just won't be as good. That syrup has many fine uses, but…this ain’t one of them.

I can’t say for certain that if you use the K-word, you’ll burn in the lowest depths of Baptist HELL—right alongside people who bring a sack of Krystals to a covered-dish supper!—but I can’t say you won’t, either. You have been warned.

For each pie, you’ll need:

1 pie shell, unbaked

1 ½ cups whole pecans

3 eggs

1 cup ALAGA cane syrup (see warning, above)

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

To make the pie:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cover the bottom of the pie shell with pecans

Lightly beat the eggs, then stir in sugar, ALAGA, salt and vanilla, adding the vanilla last. Mix gently but thoroughly

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until the pie is firm

Allow to cool for at least one hour before serving 

Note: the above recipe makes 1 regular pie. For a deep crust, double it.

In the interests of full disclosure: I've modified the above recipe slightly. The original calls for "enough pecans to cover the bottom of the shell," which is "a couple of handfuls", a "dash" of vanilla and "cook until done." Momma was never big on accurate measures, and couldn't follow a recipe to save her life. I can’t either, but at least I come by it honestly.

Pre-made, store-bought pie shells are fine, so long as they’re a good bran—generics rarely work well in this case, but caveat emptor. Allow the shell to come to room temperature before starting. When I was growing up, Momma used Bama syrup exclusively, but it's been ages since the Bama brand went away. ALAGA is the only syrup that even comes close, and there's no reason not to use it—it's just that good. Thanks to the miracle of the internet, even those poor heathens in God-forsaken places like New York City, Los Angeles and Ulan Bator can have ALAGA syrup and Priester's Pecans delivered to their doors. You can even cheat, and order a Priester's pecan pie, and they'll ship it to you. They're quite good—just not as good as my Momma's.

Enjoy, and Happy Pecan Pie Day!

A version of this article was previously published in The Alabama Gazette

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