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7/12/19 OT: American Pie

DAY

Grab a slice on July 12th and celebrate National Pecan Pie Day! Mix up the ingredients using primarily corn syrup, pecan nuts, salt, and vanilla. Occasionally, recipes vary by including sugar syrup and molasses or maple syrup. Other additions include chocolate and bourbon whiskey in some regions of the country. Top it all off with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Pecan pie is considered a specialty of Southern U.S. cuisine.

Many attempts to trace the origins of the pecan pie have not been successful. The earliest dated recipes come from 1897. However, claims of the pie being made in the early 1800s in Louisiana exist. One of the earliest recipes for a pecan pie appeared in the Lady’s Home Journal in 1897. The recipe for the "Texas Pecan Pie" was later reprinted in several newspapers across the country. It included six ingredients – sugar, sweet milk, pecan kernels, eggs, and flour. The recipe is basically directions for a custard base, unlike the pecan pies we know today.

Well-known cookbooks such as Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking did not include this dessert until 1940. By then, Karo syrup found its way to the pantry shelves. Of course, the makers of the sweet syrup increased the popularity of pecan pie. Their company claimed the pie was a "discovery" in the 1930s by a corporate sales executive’s wife as a "new use for corn syrup."

HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL PECAN PIE DAY

Make your family’s pecan pie recipe. Did you know you can also try miniature pecan pies or bars as an alternative to pie? Find a recipe here. If you still want to have a traditional pie, we have you covered. Try this irresistible Pecan Pie recipe. National Day Calendar would love to try your recipes. Be sure to send them our way, and we’ll give them a whirl! Post photos on social media using #NationalPecanPieDay.