1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped pecans

1/3 cup caramel sauce (or caramel ice cream topping)

Graham cracker pie crust

1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

8 oz cream cheese block, room temp (not the spreadable kind)

1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar (by preference)

1/2 stick softened dairy butter (not margarine)

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 tsp vanilla flavoring or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

*Optional: 1/2 tsp butterscotch flavoring or 1/4 cup butterscotch morsels (like choco chips)

Using a deep pot, melt the butter on low heat, dump in the pecans, stir until the pecans are well coated in butter. Allow to sizzle on low temp, stirring occasionally, while mixing up the rest of the ingredients. This can scorch if it doesn't get stirred before it does scorch. Stir about every 3 minutes. Keep the stovetop burner on low heat. When the pecan aroma suddenly becomes stronger, it's ready, take it from the heat, cover and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, caramel sauce, butterscotch chips, sour cream or yogurt, and salt. Mix with a mixer until all becomes smooth and creamy, set aside.

In the pot of pecans, add the vanilla and other flavorings of choice, add brown sugar, stir very well and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. It can scorch rapidly, so keep a close eye on it. Keep it moving around until the brown sugar has dissolved and melted to the pecans. As before, when the aroma suddenly explodes, it is ready. Remove from the heat immediately.

Quickly dump the pecan/brown sugar mixture into the cream cheese mixture, there may be a syrup from cooking this. This is lovely stuff. If you want the pie to be marbled, then fold only until marbled with the pecans.

Otherwise the two mixtures can be very well blended together for a uniform pie filling.

Pour the pie filling into the graham cracker crust, smooth it out with a spoon, and swirl designs in it if you like, or leave it plain. Add a thin drizzle of caramel sauce over the top, put the clear plastic cover back on the pie, and pop it into the freezer for about an hour. Or can be refrigerated overnight before serving. That's it!

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Also, pecan halves can be placed in patterns all over the top of the pie, the caramel sauce drizzle will stick them in place. Or, the butterscotch chips could be sprinkled over the top, instead of mixed into the pie filling.

The sky's the limit on how this can be customized. Caramel, pecans, butter and cream in some form is *always* a fantastic combination, no matter how you put them together. :P

This is one of those foods that improves in flavor the next day or so. It's ok to freeze it and serve it later. If you can't hold off that long, let it chill about an hour and serve. But it will be SO much better the next day!

When I've made two pies at the same time, then froze one, the first one tasted wonderful. But the second pie that had been stored in the freezer a while longer had so much more depth of flavor than the first one had.