1 cup sugar [white or light brown sugar (if light brown, firmly packed)] 1 cup light [white] corn syrup [not dark or golden] 1/2 cup butter [use real butter] 4 eggs, lightly beaten [should be room temp when you start]. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips [optional] 1 cup pecans, broken ok 1 unbaked pie shell [in the frozen food section of the grocer]
Preheat oven to 325. Combine first 3 ingredients (sugar, syrup and butter) in small saucepan and cook over medium heat STIRRING CONSTANTLY [don't let it get too hot], until butter melts and the sugar dissolves to form a thick syrup. Set aside to cool, uncovered. Beat the eggs, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Add a shot of Bourbon [Jack Daniel's is good] if you like. Blend in the sugar mixture with a whisk (be sure itis cool enough that it doesn't cook the eggs). It should form a congealed mixture to which you add the pecans. and then pour it all into a shell. Bake for about 35 minutes, then pull it out, pour the chocolate chips all over and put it straight back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes. [The timing may vary, but the idea is to put the chips on after the pie has set, so the chips don't just sink to the bottom of the pie.] Total cooking time is 50-55 minutes. [It should puff up a bit and get sort of crusty and hard on top.] Serve warm [with vanilla ice cream!].
from Fannie Flag's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook [editorial by Bill King, Radical Entertainment] [In the South, I am often called Sweetie Pie, Honey Pie, and/or Sugar Pie by women I hardly know.]