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For Christmas, you drive down to a friend's house in the south. Homemade meat loaf, fried chicken with cream gravy, classic macaroni and cheese, Southern style cornbread, crockpot barbecue country style ribs. You think to yourself, “Wow, these southern ladies really know how to cook.” Just when you've stuffed yourself up to bursting, they serve the dessert: chocolate pecan pie.
You can't resist the lure of this chocolate pecan pie. You take just a little teeny-weeny bite. Oh the glorious taste. The sweet sumptuous chocolate taste combines incredibly well with the buttery and rich pecan tang. This is certainly a great twist to the traditional pecan pie you've been eating. Every bite of the chocolate pecan pie makes you want to taste even more. You feel happy, slightly intoxicated, and so at peace with the world that you want to hug everyone in sight.
Maybe you're letting yourself get carried away. But you feel like you've been taken back to the times when the Mayan people drank a warm unsweetened liquid chocolate for life and fertility. Chocolate was so precious then to the Mayans and the Aztecs who conquered them that it was used for currency. In the old Spanish courts where chocolate was brought after Cortes' journey to the Americas, it was mixed with sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon to produce an enticing drink. You picture yourself in the French courts in the 1600s where chocolate was reputed to be an aphrodisiac. Even the famous Casanova was rumored to use chocolates laced with champagne to seduce ladies.
You indulge in the bittersweet buttery flavor from the pecans in the chocolate pecan pie. These pecans also have a great story to tell. Some Native American tribes considered the pecan tree a symbol of the Great Spirit, the creator of all things. You picture yourself in the pre-colonial North America worshipping the Great Spirit under the wide canopy of the pecan tree. The nuts were favored by the Native Americans for food during the lean months of winter. You imagine the creamy liquid powcohicora prepared from pecan nuts drunk for sustenance or being added to broths or meat stews. Pecan fruits or nuts were considered valuable, so much so that they were used by the Native Americans as currency to trade for hides and mats from the Spaniards.
Did anyone back then every think that they could make something as sinfully delicious as chocolate pecan pie from chocolates and pecans? You rouse yourself from your reveries to find your slice of chocolate pecan pie gone. You reach for another slice, just a small one and go back to your reveries.
The great pecan pie had its roots in New Orleans. When the French settled in this area, the Native Americans taught them about pecans. Several nutty experiments later, voila! The pecan pie. You can't believe the first recipe for the pecan pie was made in 1925. It must have taken years to perfect the recipe for the perfect combination found in chocolate pecan pie. At least, that explains how the chocolate pecan pie became one of the most loved ingredients of a traditional Southern cooked meal.
For the best that Southern cooking has to offer, go to Tanner's Pecans and Candies. They offer a homemade chocolate pecan pie and other pecan treats for desserts that complete every home cooked meal.
You would think that a slice of chocolate pecan pie is so decadently scrumptious it must be bad for your health. Not really. You probably think there can be no other reason to eat this delicious dessert except for its wonderful taste. That's where you're wrong. Eating a chocolate pecan pie has health benefits you don't realize.
Take the first ingredient in the pecan pie as an example. Obviously, the pecan is a nut. Nuts are good sources of protein, unsaturated fats (oleic acid), and more than 19 vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin B1, calcium, potassium, zinc, and magnesium. Research suggests that 1 to 2 ounces a day of nuts, like pecans, can reduce the risk of heart disease, especially if taken with a low cholesterol diet. Sterols found in pecans are reported to lower cholesterol levels. Pecans rank among the highest foods with anti-oxidant capacity. It is actually the nut which contains the highest amount of antioxidants. Pecans are rich in Vitamin E, flavonoids, and ellagic acid, anti-oxidants linked with anti-cancer effects and prevent disease-causing oxidation in the body. These phytochemicals appear to protect against colon, stomach, and rectal cancers. That slice of chocolate pecan pie may not be that bad after all. And for those people on a diet, pecans are included in the 35% of calories that you need to get from fat. Pecans have low carbohydrate content and unsaturated fat that can help you keep the weight off longer. It is even a good source of fiber. One slice of a chocolate pecan pie can give you your day's equivalent of nut unsaturated fat and fiber.
The chocolates in the chocolate pecan pie have their benefits too. Cocoa or dark chocolate has antioxidants, like flavonoids, which have anti-cancer effects. Some studies also claim that chocolates produce a slight decrease in blood pressure. Remember the times you ate chocolates to feel good after a fight with your boyfriend or mother? Chocolates contain the stimulants theobromine, caffeine, tyramine, and phenylethylamine. The Tryptophan in cocoa lessens anxiety.
Chocolates are also said to release endorphins, which reduce the sensation of pain. The claim that it is an aphrodisiac is not yet validated, but probably comes from the effects it produces such as reduction in anxiety and an energy boost.
Every pecan pie needs its eggs. Eggs are a good source of protein. Not only do they contain choline for the brain and nervous system, they also have lutein which prevents age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. And contrary to most opinions, eating an egg a day does not significantly affect your cholesterol levels. Each chocolate pecan pie also contains only 3 eggs. If you eat only a slice from the 8 that the pecan pie is divided into, you only get less than an egg with that slice. You do the math.
The combination of these ingredients in a chocolate pecan pie is not only good for the senses, but also for your health. Just remember, though, that as in everything in life, moderation is the key. Eating a slice of chocolate pecan pie is good if done once a day a couple of times a month. It becomes unhealthy if taken more than that.
So the next time you take a bite out of that chocolate pecan pie, remember what it can also do for your health. Visit Tanner's Pecans and Candies for the best pecan pies and desserts.