Thanks for the feedback on the recipe, @Bromfield2. I got the inaugural issue of the new magazine. The photos of the Boston space look great!
Texas girl here. Use the Karo syrup recipe - no extras, except for more pecans. Why would you put liquor or chocolate or syrup in pecan pie, lol?
Where is she from?
@cap —haha…us Texas girls think alike! Why ruin it with chocolate and stuff?
I would make pecan tarts, more crust - less filling. I always eat the pecans, scrape out the nasty filling and then eat the crust. If you must make a pecan dessert, there are sweet potato pecan pies that are much less sweet.
Here’s a recipe for you @ollie113. Very good. Like pecan pie without the goo. I’ve played around with the recipe over the years. The best thing to do is to double the filling and divide the dough between a 13x9 inch pan and a 8x8 inch pan so the crust is thinner than the original recipe.
@Bromfield2 , what a neat experience! I am an ATK podcast fan but was actually a little disappointed in the inaugural edition of The Milk Street magazine.
This recipe is under strong consideration. She is also the source of the upside down turkey cooking method. Her lemon bars, which are actually lime bars, are hands down the best recipe ever for lemon bars. Beat This has been a favorite of mine for years. And it’s funny. 
@abasket I agree. The inaugural issue didn’t have many recipes that interested me. However, I’m going to give it a try and subscribe.
@ollie113: "… scrape out the nasty filling and then eat the crust. "
Are you in the right thread?
@Consolation on The Bitten Word blog site, they recently ran a pie recipe “make it and review it” and for one that needed Lyle’s, some noted it’s hard to find. Good to see a substitute.
That site is going away soon, the guys need a break. But it’s been a wonderful compilation of food ideas from various magazines and other sources.
I don’t use Crisco for pie crust or anything else. Pure leaf lard is the way to go.
@“Cardinal Fang” No doubt lard makes the flakiest crust. But where do you find pure leaf lard, as opposed to those blocks of processed lard?
^ no carbs! 
@lookingforward The pies tested by users on the bitten word blog this year sounded horrid to me but I blame the cooking magazines for trying to get too creative. I guess I’m a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving.
Loved that blog and wish it weren’t going away. Ironically, they sent me this one to test, http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/brown-butter-pecan-pie-espresso-dates
We actually don’t usually eat pecan pie, I couldn’t imagine what I’d do with it, if I made it, so I didn’t. The comments:
"Bakers’ favorite elements were “the dates” and “the brown butter,” but this recipe “takes a ton of work” and “expensive ingredients.” More than a few found the espresso “off-putting,” and some felt the “wonderful flavors” were “heavily masked under a sticky-gooey layer of over-sweetness.” Bittens’ advice: “Cut the bake time to 60 minutes” or “make the basic pecan pie on the Karo syrup bottle instead.”
Average Bitten Rating: 3.4 out of 5"
Then this showed up from Bon Appetit, http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/best-pecan-pie?mbid=nl_001_11152016_Daily&CNDID=14389432&spMailingID=13790314&spUserID=MTU4NDQ3MDExMjcxS0&spJobID=864396312&spReportId=ODY0Mzk2MzEyS0
Uses lard.
Yeah, I don’t see where dates and espresso are going to enhance a pecan pie. Unlike other posters here, the rum, bourbon, and chocolate I get.
That Bon Appetit recipe looks good. Obviously you don’t need to use their crust recipe if you don’t want but the filling looks like the classic recipe tweaked to add depth of flavor rather than adding new flavors that the girlfriend might not like (or that might not be in keeping with the tradition that she loves).
I’m allergic to pecans but I love the “goo,” i.e. the shoefly pie, or chocolate versions!
My favorite pie substitutes maple syrup for the corn syrup (discovered this with trepidation when found out that ds3 was allergic to corn, but it worked!!) And to keep it from being too sweet, we also use unsweetened chocolate. I’ll try to find the exact amounts.
Enough for one large (9" in deep pan) pie crust - crust should be uncooked. Also works for tarts or for multiple smaller pies.
Unpecan pie:
Combine in medium bowl: 3 eggs, 2/3 cup maple syrup, 1/2 to 1 cup packed brown sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt.
Melt slightly in microwave: 4 oz unsweetened chocolate with about 3 Tblsp butter or pure coconut oil, and stir until smooth. You want the mixture to be melted but not too hot. In fact, let it sit for a few minutes to make sure it won’t cook the eggs.
Add the egg-sugars-etc. mixture to the chocolate mixture, stirring constantly.
Pour into crust (it rises a bit so make sure you don’t over-fill) and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes until clean toothpick at r/2.