Pecan Recipes | August, 2005

Pecan Valley Caramel Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour; unsifted
¾ cups brown sugar; firmly packed
1 egg; beaten
¾ cups unsalted butter; cold
¾ cups Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces
24 caramels
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar and egg; cut in ½ cup margarine until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Reserve 2 cups of crumb mix. Press remainder of crumb mix on bottom of greased 9-inch-by-13 pan.
3. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt caramels with sweetened milk and remaining ¼ cup butter. Pour over prepared crust. Top with reserved crumb mix.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Cool.
6. Cut into bars. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

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Pecan Valley Chocolate Pie

1 9-inch pie shell; unbaked
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs; beaten
4 ounces unsalted butter; melted and cooled
1 cup Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces
1 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix sugar and flour; then add eggs, then butter.
3. Add pecans, chocolate chips and vanilla. Pour all into pie shell.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick in the center and bake longer if necessary. The pie should be somewhat chewy.

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Pecan-Spice Cake

½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar; firmly packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs; or 1 whole egg; plus 2 yolks
1¾ cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
⅔ cups sour milk
¾ cups Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces
Bake-On-Meringue

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugars.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Sift dry ingredients and stir in alternately with sour milk.
5. Blend in nuts. Spread in greased and floured 13-inch-by-9-inch-by-2-inch pan.
6. Top the batter with Bake-On-Meringue.
7. Bake in a preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Bake-On-Meringue
2 egg whites
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup brown sugar; firmly packed
¼ cup Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces1. In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites until frothy.
2. Add cream of tartar, and then gradually beat in brown sugar. Continue to beat until stiff.
3. Spread over unbaked cake batter in pan. Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans.
4. Bake with cake as directed.

Makes enough to cover one 13-inch-by-9-inch cake

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Purefoy Hotel Pecan Pie

1 10-inch pie shell; unbaked
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cups granulated sugar
2 cups Pecan Valley Pecan Halves
4 large eggs
1¼ cups Karo Light Corn Syrup

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Brown butter to golden brown in heavy skillet. Remove to bowl (not plastic) and stir in sugar. Add syrup in thin stream and beat in. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Toss pecans with mixture to coat. Pour all into unbaked pie shell.
3. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Turn oven down to 375ºF for the rest of the cooking time; 40 to 50 minutes, depending on the depth of the pie shell. If crust starts to become too dark, cover entire pie with aluminum foil. Pie is done when pecans are a rich, dark brown and the filling is completely congealed. (Tap with finger to test for firmness.)

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San Saba Pecan Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour; sifted
1 cup brown sugar; firmly packed
1 cup unsalted butter
4 eggs
2 cups brown sugar; firmly packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 2 cups flour and 1 cup brown sugar. Cut in butter until crumbs form. Press into well-greased 15½-inch-by-10 ½-inch-by-1-inch jelly roll pan.
3. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
5. Increase oven temperature to 375ºF.
6. In another bowl beat eggs until light.
7. Gradually beat in 2 cups brown sugar, then vanilla.
8. Stir together 2 tablespoons flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture along with nuts.
9. Spread over baked crust in pan.
10. Bake in 375ºF oven about 20 minutes or until light brown.
11. Cool in pan on rack.
12. Cut in 2-inch-by-1-inch bars.

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Pecans

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter; softened
¾ cups granulated sugar
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate; coarsely chopped1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour a 10- to 12-cup fluted tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, using a hand held electric mixer set at high speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute.
3. Add the sugar and continue beating at high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
4. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
5. At low speed, beat in ½ cup of the flour mixture, then beat in 1 of the eggs. Beat in another ½ cup of the flour mixture, then 1 of the remaining eggs.
6. Repeat with another ½ cup of the flour mixture, and the last egg.
7. Beat in the remaining flour along with the sour cream and vanilla.
8. Using a spatula, fold in the pecans and chocolate. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
9. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes until the cake begins to shrink from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The surface will crack.
10. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a wire cake rack. Cool completely before serving.

Serves 12

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Texas Chocolate Pecan Pie

1 9-inch pie shell; unbaked
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ pound unsalted butter
½ cup Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces
½ cup self rising flour
¾ cups chocolate chips
½ teaspoon vanilla
Whipped Cream

1. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix eggs, sugar, butter, pecans, flour, chocolate chips and teaspoon vanilla together. Pour into uncooked pie shell.
3. Bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes.
4. Top with Whipped Cream, if desired.

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West Texas Pumpkin Pecan Pie

1 9-inch pie shell; unbaked
1½ cups pumpkin pie filling
½ cup Pecan Valley Pecan Halves; toasted
4 eggs
¾ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup rum
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ cups whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
2. Combine pumpkin and pecans in bowl of a food processor; process until smooth and well blended. Scrape pumpkin mixture into bowl. Beat in eggs. Add sugar, rum, cinnamon, ginger and cloves; blend well. Add cream; stir until completely mixed. Pour pumpkin mixture into pie shell.
3. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to 300ºF bake about 40 minutes longer until a knife inserted slightly off center comes out clean.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Zucchini and Pecan Cake

1½ cups Pecan Valley Pecan Meal
2 medium zucchini; unpeeled; ends trimmed
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch sea salt
3 large eggs
¾ cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons diced candied lemon peel; finely minced
Powdered sugar1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter the sides of an 8-inch-by-2-inch cake pan, line the base with a circle of baking parchment and butter the parchment.
2. Using a nut mill, grind zucchini into fine shreds. There should be 1 cup, firmly packed, or 6 ounces. Place in a sieve and press out the liquid.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine cornstarch, rice flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
4. In another bowl beat eggs with sugar until lemon-colored and very thick. A lifted beater should leave a slowly dissolving trail of batter.
5. Using a large rubber spatula, lightly fold in pecan meal and minced lemon peel, as though mixing a soufflé. Fluff up zucchini shreds and fold in.
6. Sift cornstarch-flour mixture over batter and quickly fold in, retaining as much volume as possible. Pour into prepared pan (the batter will be loose).
7. Bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before un-molding onto a rack. Peel off paper, reverse onto rack right side up and let cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Serves 8

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