Pecan pie, made with pecans and a sweet filling often containing corn syrup, is a popular Thanksgiving dessert.
The pie is strongly associated with the Southern United States, where pecans are native. A typical filling combines pecans with eggs, butter, sugar, and usually corn syrup; vanilla and salt are also common. It may be served with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or hard sauce.
The dessert’s exact origin is less certain than its modern reputation suggests. The earliest known published recipe resembling pecan pie appeared in Harper’s Bazaar in 1886. Older versions existed before corn syrup became common and used sugar-based syrups or molasses instead. Karo syrup helped popularize the familiar style during the twentieth century.
Pecan pie is sometimes mistakenly treated as an ancient colonial dish or as definitively invented in New Orleans. Those claims are difficult to document. The strongest evidence points to a later American development that became closely linked with Southern foodways and holiday meals, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas.