At Christmas and other special occasions, pecan pie will be on the table at the home of Leigh Rapp. She and her eldest daughter, Kate, share in the holiday tradition.

As a young bride, Rapp’s mother-in-law, Sally Rapp, made pecan pie for her and husband, Curt, on their first Thanksgiving.

“Curt and I loved the pecan pie. My mother-in-law wrote the recipe down for me. She called it ‘Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson’s Pecan Pie,’” Leigh Ann Rapp said.

Though Rapp does not know why the recipe is titled “Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson’s Pecan Pie,” Jenny Drapkin in LBJ: The President Who Marked His Territory writes that during the 1964 election campaign, Lady Bird Johnson wooed voters with her Southern charm “and everywhere she went, she handed out her recipe for pecan pie.” Visit mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/14233.

“My daughter, Kate, 25, and I like to cook a lot together,” Rapp said. The Marietta resident has two other children Abigail, 20, and Sam, 15.

“Pecan pie is a family favorite,” said the former preschool director at First Presbyterian Church of Marietta.

“The secret I believe is that you use dark Karo syrup,” she said.

Rapp makes the crust from a recipe that her mother, Jane Willard who lives in Connecticut, shared with her. “(The crust recipe) is from grandmother to mother to me, just handed down in our family,” she said.

Cooking traditions teach about family.

“Tradition is important so that (the children) know more about their grandparents and those that have come before them even if they haven’t had a lot of time with grandparents and great grandparents,” Rapp said.

Best served with vanilla ice cream, this pecan pie is a winner.

“(Pecan pie) tastes good. It’s just a little sinful.” Rapp said.



Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson’s Pecan Pie

ONE PIE CRUST 1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/2-teaspoon salt 1/3+ cups Crisco 4 Tablespoons very cold water DIRECTIONS Sift flour and salt together. Add 1/2 Crisco and cut in. Add remaining Crisco and cut with pastry blender. Add water and blend in. Roll on a floured board and put in a glass pie plate. (I usually mound the 1/3-cup of Crisco.) 1 Cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 Cup dark corn syrup 3 eggs ½ Cup butter 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans DIRECTIONS In saucepan combine 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup dark corn syrup. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Meanwhile beat 3 eggs until foamy. Into syrup stir 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans. Then add the beaten eggs. Turn into pie shell. Rapp recommends serving the pie with vanilla ice cream. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool and refrigerate.