Pecan Cheesecake Pie

1/2 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs, divided
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
1 cup light corn syrup


Fit pie crust into a 9 inch pie plate according to package directions. Fold edges under and crimp.


Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into pie crust. Sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans.


Whisk together corn syrup and remaining 3 eggs, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Pour mixture over pecans. Place pie on a baking sheet


Bake at 350 degrees on lowest oven rack 50 to 55 minutes or until pie is set. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour or until completely cool. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 2 days.

Pretzel Turtles

small pretzels (the square shaped ones seemed best to me.)
bag of rolos
toasted pecan halves

Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Lay out as many pretzels as will fit (I did 50). Top each pretzel with one rolo candy. Bake in 300 degree oven for 3-4 minutes. Take out of oven and press one pecan half onto the top of each rolo, squishing it down. (Toast pecan halves on a baking sheet at 350 for about 5-8 minutes...in case you didn't know how to do that.) Let cool and harden. Then, if you want, you can melt a few white chocolate chips in a baggie in the microwave. Clip a corner and decorate the tops of these candies with a zig zag. They look beautiful. They taste divine. And they are a breeze to make. My kind of treat.

Microwave Pecan Brittle

I made this as Christmas gifts last year and had many requests for the recipe. This stuff is GOOD.

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces (chopped chunky)
1 tsp. vanilla (Mexican vanilla is the best)
1 TBS butter
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Butter a (rimmed) cookie sheet well. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt in glass pyrex or other microwave safe bowl. Do not use plastic. Cook 4 minutes on high. Add pecans, stir well and cook 4 more minutes. Add vanilla and butter. Stir well and cook 2 more minutes. Remove from microwave and add soda. Stir well but quickly, only 8-10 stirs to get soda mixed in. Mixture will start to foam up when soda hits it. Immediately pour out onto buttered cookie sheet and scrape all out at once. Quickly pick up cookie sheet and spread the mixture out by leaning the sheet to and fro. (Act fast because this stuff starts to harden very fast.) DO NOT spread with a knife or any other utensil. Let it cook completely. Turn out the hardened piece onto wax paper. Wipe off extra butter from it so it won't be greasy. Break into pieces by whacking it with the handle end of a table knife.

Dara's Grandma’s Brown Sugar Cookies

In one bowl combine:
3 Cups of Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
¾ tsp of Salt

In another bowl combine:
1 ¼ cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
¾ cup Margarine (Blue Bonnet)
Melt margarine and add sugar, eggs, vanilla

Add dry bowl ingredients to liquid bowl ingredients and alternate with a little milk (2/3 cup)

Repeat until all mixed

Add 1 cup of chopped pecans

Grease a cookie sheet

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes

I love these cookies! They remind me of my childhood. My mom and grandma both made them a lot! I like the fact that they are soft, chewy, cake-like and not too sweet (just right!)