When I examined the cookbook, The Whole Town’s Cooking, compiled by the Rutherfordton Woman’s Club, I was intrigued to find a full page of recipes for pecan pie. I’ll be the first to tell you that pecan pie isn’t one of my favorites. I often find it too sweet – it makes my teeth sing – and the texture reminds me of peanut brittle. So, when I saw this recipe for Brown Sugar Pecan Pie, attributed to Mrs. Beaty Bass, I knew I had to try it because it was the one recipe that did NOT call for corn or Karo syrup.

Another winning point for Mrs. Bass was the simplicity of her ingredients and instruction – often an indicator of a practiced cook!

While stirring the filling, I knew this pie would be different. The filling has the consistency of warm caramel, and after fully combined, has a thick pour. This showed great promise for a different pecan pie experience from the corn/Karo syrup recipes I’ve made in the past.

Even before the pie went into the preheated oven, it smelled so good – and not too sweet.

An hour passed between these two photos and during that time, as the warm smell of caramel and pecans wafted from my oven, I thought that I may need to know more about Mrs. Beaty Bass, of the Brown Sugar Pecan Pie fame. I reached out to the folks in the Forgotten Rutherford County, NC Facebook group for any memories of Mrs. Beaty Bass. While no one really remembered her, they did help me by identifying her husband as one of the local doctors, Dr. Beaty Bass. That was all the information I needed in order to discover more about Mrs. Bass.

Mattie Young “Patsy” Smith was from Winston-Salem, NC, and attended the Flora Macdonald College in Red Springs, NC. After graduating, she worked in Winston, as the City Hospital librarian. Oh joy! Our recipe comes from a librarian! This is where she met Dr. Beaty Bass during his residency. The couple married in 1942. Our copy of this cookbook dates to 1946; by this time she would have one child, and go on to have three more.

What a lucky family they were to have this pie! Hands down, this is the best pecan pie I’ve ever tasted. Is it sweet? Yes, those two cups of brown sugar don’t hide. Yet the sweetness doesn’t overpower the softened pecans. As good as this pie is, it is only improved by a dollop of ice cream. The filling is soft, almost a cookie-like texture, and just melts in your mouth.

The only thing wrong with this pie is that I only made one. Next time – and there will be a next time – I’ll make at least two!

-Carolyn Shankle