Pecan Pie Dip — The Sweet That Belongs in Every Southern Notebook

Baker visits every Saturday this summer. The every-Saturday schedule because next year will be every-other or every-third from sixty miles away. I am storing the Saturdays like MawMaw Shirley stores summer tomatoes — preserved against the season when fresh is not available.

We cooked everything. Gumbo, etouffee, biscuits, bread pudding, peach cobbler, fried catfish. She taught me everything she had left. She showed me the leather notebook — full now, two handwritings, two generations, one book. She said, "Take this to New Orleans." I said, "That is your notebook." She said, "It is our notebook. You are the cook now." I took it. I held it to my chest. The notebook is the thing that will outlast us both.

Of all the recipes we made this summer, the ones built on pecans and brown sugar felt the most like home — the kind of thing MawMaw Shirley would set out on the table without ceremony and watch disappear before dinner. When I opened the notebook on my own for the first time, I knew the first thing I wanted to add alongside her handwriting was something warm, sweet, and unmistakably Southern. This Pecan Pie Dip is that something: it asks almost nothing of you technically, but it gives you back that particular comfort that only a kitchen full of good people can produce.

Pecan Pie Dip

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted
• Graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or apple slices, for serving

Instructions

1. Toast the pecans. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the chopped pecans for 3—4 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Make the caramel base. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the brown sugar and heavy cream. Stir continuously for 3—4 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly and the sugar dissolves. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
3. Beat the cream cheese layer. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sour cream together until smooth and fluffy. Mix in the granulated sugar and cinnamon until fully incorporated.
4. Combine. Fold the slightly cooled caramel mixture into the cream cheese base until well blended. Stir in 1 cup of the toasted pecans, reserving the rest for topping.
5. Assemble and serve. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl. Spoon the remaining caramel sauce from the pan over the top and scatter the reserved pecans. Serve warm or at room temperature with graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or apple slices.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 21g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 140mg