Best Pecan Pie

Place 2 cups small pecan halves on a cookie sheet and toast in a 350 degrees F oven for 8-12 minutes, shaking the pan once during baking time, until the pecans are fragrant. Let cool completely, then coarsely chop.

If you can't find small pecan halves, use 2 cups coarsely broken pecans. Watch these more carefully during the baking time because they can burn easily.

When ready to make the pie, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place unbaked pie crust in freezer until ready to bake. Then line pie crust with aluminum foil and pie weights or dried beans. Bake pie shell until set, about 5-6 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake 2-3 minutes longer until crust is just beginning to brown on the edges.

As soon as the pie shell comes out of the oven, decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat; mix in sugars and salt with wire whisk until butter is absorbed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in corn syrup and vanilla.

Place saucepan over very low heat. Cook and stir constantly with wire whisk until mixture is hot and looks shiny, about 6-7 minutes. You have to stir constantly so the mixture cooks evenly and the eggs don't scramble on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl (this is important to remove any cooked egg!), then stir in the cooled, toasted pecans.

Pour pecan mixture into hot pie crust. Place large pecan halves on top of the filling in a decorative pattern.

Bake the pie until center feels set but soft when touched with your finger, and moves slightly when the pie is gently jiggled, about 40-55 minutes. You may need to cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent over browning, or cover the top of the pie with foil so it doesn't get too brown. Transfer pie to wire rack and let cool completely, at least 5 hours. Best eaten within 12-14 hours.