Peanut and Pecan Pie

I have made this yummy pie twice this festive season and both times people have asked me for the recipe.  It's not very hard to make, in fact it is very simple and you could probably substitute, your favourite nuts for the peanuts if you wanted too.

1 x quantity of sweet pastry (see below) or a pre-made sweet pastry shell would probably do.  I made my own.

1/4 vanilla pod or a few drops of vanilla essence.  I used essence because I had it already.
30g sugar
30g butter, softened
3 eggs - the recipe calls for 3 x 61gram eggs
3/4 cup maple syrup - use the real Canadian stuff people, it's expensive but well worth it.
150g pecan nuts - I used maybe 50g extra as well, a mix of halves and pieces
50g raw peanuts or whatever nuts you might like to try

You need a flan or pie tin that is about 25cm in diameter.

Pre-heat your oven to bake at 200 degrees celsius.

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 4-5mm and lay it over the pie tin.  The pastry is very fragile and soft, so it will break... just patch it up.  No worries.  Press the pastry into the sides of the tin and trim the edges with a knife.  Place in the freezer for about 3 minutes before baking in the pre-heated oven for 8-12 minutes or until base is dry.  On both occasions I went over 12 minutes - just keep an eye on your base or it will burn.

Meanwhile, cut your vanilla pod in two lengthwise and scrape the black vanilla grains into a large bowl (or open your bottle of vanilla essence and add a few drops to the bowl!)  Add sugar and butter, then cream for about 3 minutes.  Mix in eggs, one at a time, then add maple syrup and stir until well combined.  Stir in pecan and peanuts.  Pour into the pre-cooked pie shell and bake at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes until the filling is set.

Too easy right?

Sweet Pastry

50g almond meal
150g unsalted butter, cubed and softened... I'm sure I used salted butter - oops!
1 egg - again 61g
2 drops of vanilla essence
a pinch of salt
100g of icing sugar
250g plain flour

This quantity makes enough pastry for two 20-22cm in diameter pie bases.  I used the left overs to make small cookies.  Just roll small balls in your hand and flatten onto a tray, put in the oven for, maybe 10 minutes - keep an eye on them, because they go from just right to burnt in a blink!

The recipe says that it is good to make the pastry the day before it's needed. 

Mix together the almond meal, butter, eggs, vanilla and salt until butter is softened and all ingredients are well blended.  Add in icing sugar and flour and mix well.  Using your hands form, roll the pastry into a ball, flatten a little and store in gladwrap in the fridge for at least an hour before using.

So there you have it.  Make away and prepare yourself for compliments!!

Mr C has caused, what seems to be the normal issues the last couple of days - stinging and redness.  It seems that in the hips, heat does not prevent lumps under the skin.  The lumps are not huge, but they are in existence.  Maybe the heat prevents them from getting so big.  The test will be tomorrow on my thighs.  The itching continues...  I think it takes 3 days from injection to itch.  The itch seems to last a day and the following morning the next site starts to tickle!  I have some Soov to try... it has lignocaine to anaesthetise the site.  Go go Soov.  Giddy up!