The Kentucky Derby is next Saturday, which for some means Mint Juleps and big hats. Around our house, it means pie.

When I was working in my post-doc laboratory, I was invited to a Diwali celebration by a fellow lab mate. Being the good Southern lady, I offered to bring a dessert. I knew there would be quite a few foreign nationals at the celebration, so I wanted to make something that would be novel to most of the people at the party and expose them to a Southern dish. After trying my Kentucky Chocolate Pecan pie, one young man exclaimed that this was the best thing ever. Now, I won’t go that far, but it’s pretty good.

For the pie, you’ll need…

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup self-rising flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 (6 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 deep-dish pie crust

Mix sugar, flour, eggs, butter, and vanilla until well-blended.

Add pecans and chocolate chips, mixing with a spoon. Pour into 9 inch deep-dish pie crust.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

P.S. This is my mom’s recipe…. From a handwritten card in her recipe box. It did not come from a company in Louisville, KY, who made us change the title of our original blogpost. We didn’t even know that company existed, but we most certainly won’t be visiting it now.