Combining Itta Bena & Muddy’s Bake Shop Pecan Pie Recipe.

One of my favourite American desserts is a proper Southern pecan pie. On my US roadtrip from Chicago to New Orleans back in 2019 I ate an insane amount of pecan pie because if I was in a cafe or restaurant where they served it, I ordered it.

During the pandemic I did a bunch of things to cheer myself up, and one of those things was to throw a little Thanksgiving dinner for my household. Not only was hosting a Thanksgiving dinner an excuse to plan something new for little old British me, but it was also the perfect excuse to finally try and bake my own pecan pie, and the recipe was so good I’ve made it every year since.

So I thought I’d finally share it with you all, ready for Thanksgiving, seeing as it’s been aaaages since I published a baking recipe!

Combining Itta Bena and Muddy’s Bake Shop Pecan Pies

Now, there were two stand-out pecan pies from my roadtrip that I haven’t been able to forget even 18-months later. The first was the Chocolate and Pecan Pie at Itta Bena in Memphis, and the second was the Shady Wake Pecan Pie at Muddy’s Bake Shop – which, funnily enough, was also in Memphis! What can I say, Memphis was clearly the King of Pecan Pie.

Anyway, I searched for the recipes for the pecan pies from two of my favourite places and it seems the God’s were looking down on me, because I found them both online. The Muddy’s recipe isn’t the absolute recipe as that’s a secret, but it’s the one that Muddy’s Chef Kat Gordon cooks at home with her family.

For my own Thanksgiving I decided to basically combine the two recipes to create my dream Pecan Pie, and the result was pretty incredible, so I wanted to share!

So, are you ready to bake the best Southern Pecan Pie you’ve ever tasted? Let’s go!

Southern Pecan Pie Ingredients

½ cup (100g) golden caster sugar
½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
¾ cup dark Karo syrup (US) or Golden Syrup (UK)
½ cup (100g) butter
3 eggs beaten in heat proof bowl
2 cups (200g) roughly chopped and lightly toasted pecans
1/2 cup (50g) whole pecans
¾ cup (150g) semisweet chocolate chips (around 60% cocoa)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons bourbon
Sprinkle of salt
1 10-inch shell, unbaked, or a deep dish 8 or 9″. You could also use mini pastry shells for mini pecan pies!

Note: the Itta Bena recipe calls for 1 cup light Karo syrup, so feel free to switch ¾ cup dark for 1 cup light.

Method for the ultimate Southern Pecan Pie

• Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C
• Toast the 2 cups (200g) of pecans
• Combine the butter and syrup in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir constantly and once the butter has melted, add the sugar
• Continue stirring until it starts to boil
• Pour the hot mixture slowly into the eggs, beating while you do this. If you quickly add the hot mixture into the eggs, the eggs will cook and clump, so do this very gradually and slowly!
• Stir in the chopped toasted pecans, chocolate chips, vanilla, whisky, and salt
• Pour the filling into the pie shell
• Top the pie with the 1 cup of whole pecans
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. You can tell when it’s ready as the pie should jiggle a little but not slosh
• Let it cool all the way before serving, and serve with whipped cream and/or ice-cream.

How long it keeps for & freezing pecan pie

You can keep the baked pie in the refrigerator for up to four days – please note that you must keep it in the refrigerator (and not in room temperature) as it contains egg. The pie is also freezable once it’s baked.

If you want to freeze it you just need to wait for it to cool completely at room temperature, and then wrap the pie gently but tightly in a layer of cling-wrap and then a layer of aluminium foil. You could also put it in a freezer bag, but make sure all the air is pressed out of the bag.

You can keep it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To eat it from the freezer leave it to defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then bake at 170°C for 20 minutes.

Special thanks to StyleBlueprint for sharing the Muddy’s recipe, and 4Memphis Magazine for sharing the Itta Bena recipe!