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Ah, Thanksgiving. It’s one of my favorite holidays. But recently, it seems as if it has been skipped completely. TV commercials, emails advertisements, stores, they’re all telling me that Christmas is here. I know, Christmas is close but really? There are even Christmas tree tents going up already. Must we ignore Thanksgiving? Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is an awesome holiday but can I get some love for Thanksgiving?

Okay, I’m hopping off my soap box now.

Like I was saying, Thanksgiving. One of my favorites, most likely because there is food involved. But aside from that, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to enjoy family. It’s even better when it involves my Grandma’s southern pecan pie.

There isn’t a single Thanksgiving in my memory that doesn’t include this pie. Grandma makes no less than 10 pies each year for family and friends that request them. The original recipe is from one of her cookbooks she received as a wedding present. You can tell how well loved it is by the ripped, stained, and scribbled on pages.

On a side note, this was the first time using my shiny, new Emile Henry ruffled pie dish. I got it as a gift for my birthday recently and this seemed like the perfect pie to christen it with. It baked the pie perfectly even and the crust came out wonderful!

This pie is so simple to make. Just mix, pour, bake.

Easy as…pie! Sorry, I couldn’t resist that one.

Southern Pecan Pie

Filling:

1 1/2 cup pecan halves
3 eggs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup granular sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the crust I used my favorite recipe, Pate Brisee (pie dough), from Martha Stewart.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line your pie dish with dough and spread the pecan haves evenly over the bottom of the dish. Pop the pie dish in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in melted butter, corn syrup and vanilla.

Combine the sugar and flour; blend with egg mixture.

Pour the mixture over pecan halves and let the pie stand until all of the pecans float to the surface.

Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes, until the filling jiggles slightly when gently shaken. Let the pie cool completely to allow it to set up which usually takes about 4-6 hours.

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Blueberry Pocket Pies that is. I saw these Pocket Pie Molds on Williams-Sonoma’s site a while back and just had to try them. Last week I finally ordered a set (heart & star) and they came in today so I stopped by the market to pick up some fresh blueberries.

The molds work really well and are easy to use. The heart mold holds a bit more filling than the star.

Take a look at these gorgeous berries. I must confess… some of them never made it into the pies…

For the filling I used a Blueberry Pie recipe from MarthaStewart.com. Oh my goodness, it was de-lish!! Normally, I’m not one for blueberry pie (I’m more of a peach gal) but I have to say this rivals almost any fruit pie I’ve ever made.

Rather than using the crust recipe on the back of the boxes I opted for the Pate Brisee (crust) recipe, also from Martha. It was perfectly flaky and buttery! It made about 6 but I have a feeling had I rolled out my dough a bit more I easily could have gotten 8. But I tend to like more crust so I think it worked out just fine.

Poor thing. Didn’t even make it through the photos… I will definitely be trying these again with other fillings.

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