Sue's Pecan Pie

My sister in law Sue made a magnificent pecan pie this Christmas based on The Joy of Cooking recipe but using barley malt and maple syrup in place of corn syrup. It was amazing!

I found this fun blog about the joy of pecan pie while poking around today.

From Sue:

Here's the recipe, I made it again after Christmas, and I used a cupcake tin to make little one-serving pies. The only thing is, you need more crust than a regular pie.

First, toast 2 cups of chopped pecans.
I just put them on the tray in our toaster oven at 300 degrees for maybe 10 minutes. You can smell when they're done, you don't need them to toast much. You can do this even a week ahead.

Then make or take out of the freezer a store-bought pie crust (that's what I use) and brush the bottom with egg yolk.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Whisk until blended:
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 c maple syrup
- 1/2 c barley malt (warm it up if it was in the fridge)
- 2 Tb. honey
- 5 Tbs melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla (or 1 tsp of dark rum)
- 1/2 tsp of salt (omit if you use salted butter)

Stir in the nuts.
Warm the pie crust in the oven until it's hot to the touch, then pour in the filling. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until the edges are firm and the center seems set but quivery, like jello, when the pan is nudged.
Let cool on a rack for at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

You can add 6 oz. melted chocolate (decrease the sweetener by half and the butter to only 1 Tb) to make a chocolate pecan pie.