Contest sponsored by the Texas Pecan Board

Rusk County Electric Cooperative member Jean A. Bunyard received $500 as a runner-up in the Sweet category in the 2011 Texas Co-op Power Holiday Recipe Contest.

Bunyard, who works part time as an insurance office manager, stays busy with volunteer work and helping her husband, Guy, entertain their four grandchildren. She gets figs from her daughter, who has her own trees. She came up with this recipe by modifying an old one she had found and adding lemon juice for a sweet-tart zing.

Fig Pecan Pie

2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch salt
Top and bottom crusts for 9-inch pie
2 cups sliced figs (fresh or dried)
1/2 cup Texas pecans, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Butter
Milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, flour and salt; sprinkle half of mixture evenly into pastry-lined pie pan. Arrange figs and pecans on top and sprinkle with lemon juice, zest and remaining flour mixture. Dot generously with butter. Fit top crust over pie, sealing edges. Brush top with milk and cut vents. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 30 minutes longer. Cover edges of crust with strips of foil to prevent overbrowning, if necessary. Allow to cool before cutting.

Servings: 8. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: 411 calories, 2.9 g protein, 20.4 g fat, 51.9 g carbohydrates, 2.2 g dietary fiber, 310 mg sodium, 20 g sugars, 8 mg cholesterol

Jean A. Bunyard, Rusk County Electric Cooperative