Name: Pam Lolley's Pecan Pie
Total time: 340 min
Ingredients: 1.5 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; .5 teaspoon kosher salt; 6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed; 3 tablespoons cold shortening, cubed; 4 - 5 tablespoons ice water; 1 cup dark corn syrup; .75 cup granulated sugar; 3 tablespoons butter, melted; 2 tablespoons plain white cornmeal; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; .5 teaspoon kosher salt; 3 large eggs, lightly beaten; 2 cups pecan halves; Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

Pam Lolley's Pecan Pie

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The perfect slice of pie comes in pecan form.

Pam Lolley

Published on October 14, 2021

Pam’s Pecan Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Active Time:

20 mins

Chill Time:

30 mins

Bake Time:

1 hrs 20 mins

Cool Time:

3 hrs 30 mins

Total Time:

5 hrs 40 mins

Servings:

This Thanksgiving, Southern Living's editors and contributors are sharing the recipes that grace our tables year after year—like Pam's Pecan Pie. We consider this to be the ultimate pecan pie—it's rich, sweet, and carries layers of flavor from the dark corn syrup and crunchy, toasty pecans. The flaky, homemade pie crust completely takes this Thanksgiving-ready pie over the top (but you can use store-bought if you'd like).

"This was my mom's go-to pie for the holidays," recalls Test Kitchen Professional Pam Lolley. "She was notorious for leaving it in the oven too long. As far as I know, she never owned a timer. We all had a lot of fun teasing her—saying, 'It must be Thanksgiving when you smell pecans and sugar burning!' Her first reply would always be, 'Well, I just don't know what went wrong.'"

Fresh pecans, not the ones from the back of the freezer, make all the difference in this simple pie. Using a combination of butter and shortening in the crust gives you the flavor of the butter and the flakiness from shortening—talk about the best of both worlds. Blind baking the pie crust keeps it extra flaky, but be sure to watch the edges during the last 15 minutes; if browning, tent with aluminum foil. Serve this pie with a big ol' scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

Crust

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
3 tablespoons cold shortening, cubed
4 - 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling

1 cup dark corn syrup
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons plain white cornmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups pecan halves
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

Directions

Prepare the Crust: Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined, 3 or 4 pulses. Add cubed butter and shortening; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 pulses. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Pulse until dough clumps together, 4 or 5 pulses, adding up to 1 tablespoon ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary. Gently shape dough into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle (about ⅛ inch thick) on a floured surface. Fit into a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 9-inch pie plate, and crimp edges. Prick bottom and sides with a fork. Line pastry with parchment paper; fill with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment; bake until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer Crust to a wire rack; cool completely, 30 minutes.
Prepare the Filling: Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Whisk together corn syrup, sugar, melted butter, cornmeal, vanilla, salt, and eggs in a medium bowl until combined. Stir in pecans. Pour into Crust.
Bake on middle rack of preheated oven until Filling is set, 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes, shielding edges with aluminum foil during the last 10 to 15 minutes of bake time to prevent overbrowning. Transfer to a wire rack; cool completely, 3 hours. Top slices with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.