Southern Pecan Pie

Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 45 minutes plus baking

2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces (1 stick)
1 to 2 tablespoons ice water

¼ cup butter, room temperature (1/2 stick)
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

Place the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add ½ cup chilled butter pieces. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the blade running, pour 1 tablespoon of ice water through the feed tube. Repeat until the mixture comes together around the blade.

Transfer the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Gently form into a round disk. Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out a pastry disk to about 1/8-inch thickness. Place the pastry into the bottom of a deep pie dish. Crimp the edges to form a decorative crust.

Pierce the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees.

Use an electric mixer to combine ¼ cup room temperature butter with the granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the rum and corn syrup.

Place the pecan halves in the bottom of the pie shell. Pour the filling over the top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the filling comes out clean and the pastry is golden.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream.