Holiday Dessert Recipes

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During the holiday season, dessert is something elevated. It's not a mere candy bar or bowl of ice cream, but something representative of the transformation of the seasons.

It begins with Halloween when dessert is practically worshipped, and continues on through the cinnamon, pumpkin and nutmeg of Thanksgiving, the gingerbread and deep chocolate of Christmas, the honey and apples of Hanukkah, the bread pudding, nuts, spices and the fruit of all these wonderful holidays.

My top priority of holiday dessert recipes is pecan pie. Depending of course on where you live in the United States and the world, your idea of perfect holiday dessert ingredients will vary. Here in the Northeast we like to borrow, and do it shamelessly and without hesitation. The place we like to borrow from the most is the South when it comes to our holiday dessert recipes.

Pecan pie is a classic southern dessert, and remains to this day something I could literally eat the moment I get out of bed almost any day of the week. I like it cold, warm, hot and melting on the plate, plain, topped with ice cream, real whipped cream or fake whipped topping (don't underestimate the power of the cool whip).

The following is my favorite tried and true pecan pie recipe, handed down to me from years of my own perusing through cookbooks, eating my grandfather's delicious cooking, and running out of brown sugar. (This recipe does not call for brown sugar since I often forget to buy it).

You can make your own dough, pie crust, topping, but this particular version is in favor of a store-bought pie crust, many of which are inexpensive and fantastic.

Ingredients:
1 pre-made pie dough shell
3 well-beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the corn syrup and sugar. Stir until you get a nice thick, but well-blended texture. Add the 3 well-beaten eggs. Continue to stir until all is smoothly yellowish and sugary looking.

Melt the butter over the stove top or in the microwave. Add butter and thoroughly combine with your stirring. Chop up the 1 1/12 cups of pecans and throw these in. Mix until the pecans are all threaded throughout, and each one is covered.

Pour this into the pie crust/dough and make certain your pie is placed in an oven-safe pie pan.

Place pie in oven and leave it in there for about 50 minutes. If you are checking to see if it's ready to take out, GENTLY jiggle it a little with your oven-mitted hand (protection is crucial). The pie should not be sloshing about, but neither should it be rock-solid upon exiting the oven. It should be slightly jiggly.

Let the pie sit and cool for 20 minutes. Then, have at it topped with nothing but smiles or your favorite sweet and cool complementary substance!

For more great ideas about holiday dessert recipes, follow this link: http://www.midwestliving.com/food/holiday/30-best-holiday-dessert-recipes/

Aimee Boyle is a regular contributor to EmpowHER
Edited by Jody Smith

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.