FILLING

In medium bowl, beats eggs slightly. Add maple syrup, brown sugar, lemon juice and zest, and mix well. Do not over-beat or a foam will form.

CRUST

Pre-heat oven to 400° with rack in bottom third of the oven. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. With paddle attachment, pastry blender, or using fingers, cut butter and shortening into dry mixture until pea-sized crumbs are formed. Slowly add ice water just until dough comes together (not sticky). This could take a couple of minutes. Add 1 tsp additional water at a time if dough is too dry. Do not over-handle dough.

Gather dough and push it together, forming a disk between sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap. (If room temperature is hot, it is helpful to chill the dough ½ hour before rolling it out.) Using two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap, roll out dough into a circle about 2” larger than the pie plate. Peel off top layer and invert the pie plate over the dough and cut off the excess dough, keeping an extra 2”. With your hand on the parchment or plastic wrap on the bottom of the crust, invert dough into greased pie plate. Fit dough down into the pie plate and push up the extra dough on the outside to form the crust edge. Use your fingers or a spoon to make an even decoration around the edge of the crust. (Cover and chill if dough is too soft.) If you get cracks or breaks, push the dough back together with your fingers; it really is that simple.

Sprinkle chopped nuts in the bottom of the pie shell, carefully add the custard mixture, and arrange the remaining pecan halves over the top. Bake for 15 minutes at 400° in bottom of oven. Cover with a disk of foil if nuts are getting too brown, or ring of foil if crust is browning too quickly. Turn down oven to 350° and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes more, until custard is just set.

Chef’s Note: For outstanding flavor use all butter in your crust, though the recipe above has the best flaky crust, just like grandma used to make. There will be a little extra dough. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes for a tasty treat.

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