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Pecan Pie

posted in Sweets by Kathy Maister
Difficulty:
difficulty rating

Pecan Pie, chock-full of nuts, is a splurge that requires very little preparation time. However, you will need to plan for extra time at the gym after eating this mouthwatering dessert!

There are tons of recipe variations for a Pecan Pie. I’m sticking to a very classic recipe that calls for:

  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 cup of dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup of light corn syrup
  • 4 Tablespoons of melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups of pecans, (6 ounces)
  • 1 frozen pie crust, (9 inch.)

Many people use unsalted butter in their recipes. You actually have more control of the amount of salt in a recipe when you add your own. If you are using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to this ingredient list.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. degrees and then get all of your ingredients measured before you begin mixing. In general, pre-measuring before you start to cook is a good habit to get into.

When measuring brown sugar always pack it into a dry measuring cup.

You can mix everything together with a whisk or a fork.

It should look like the photo below when everything is mixed together. Be sure there are no unmixed lumps of brown sugar.

Add the nuts

And give it a stir. The nuts will float to the surface. (Some recipes call for 2-to-3 times more nuts than my recipe.)

Set the frozen pie shell on a baking sheet with sides. Once the pie is cooked it will be MUCH easier to remove from the oven if it is on a baking sheet.

Now pour in the filling.

The pie is ready to go into your preheated oven.

Before you put it in the oven, cover the edges with a tin foil ring.

Normally you would cook a pie for about 15 minutes and then cover the edges. With pecan pie the crust gets too dark that way, so start with the edges covered. (See photo comparison at the bottom of this post.)

For about $4. you can buy reusable pie rings like the one on the pie in my oven.

As the pie cooks, it puffs up. This is normal. It will take about 40-45 minutes for the pie to bake.

To check for “doneness”, slide a small, sharp paring knife into the pie about 2 inches from the crust. It should come out clean. (If you have an “instant read” thermometer the internal temperature of the pie should reach 200 F. degrees.)

As the pie cools, it will slump down and the top will crack a bit.

I love Pecan Pie with vanilla ice-cream!

Enjoy!

P.S.

Below is a photo comparing the pie crusts. For the darker pie on the left, the tin foil went on 15 minutes into the baking time. It is too dark. For the one on the right, I put the tin foil on before putting it in the oven…and it’s perfect!

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11 Comments

Sanjana said:

HI Kathy the videos and recipes at start cooking are a delight to watch and I especially like the cleanliness of your work. And Yeah great pie I am surely trying this!!

Justin said:

Oh, I wish I was around the day you were making that one. Might just have to try that here in Montreal!

will said:

Outstanding post, and truly great photography. i just stood back from this one kathy, and thought, wow a lot of work went into this beautiful post.

Kathy Maister said:

Thanks Everyone! Both Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie are a MUST this time of year!

Sanjana, I would like to wish you the very best with your new food blog. You are off to a great start!

J.R said:

i dont like pecans but on a butter tart therre sooo good…

Kyle said:

Hiya. Thank you ever so much for the recipe, i just made my first unsupervised pastry :] (im 15) i want to get into cooking so will use yr great site to help ! i am based in UK tho and it turns out corn syrup is MAPLE syrup here. i was searching the supermarket for like 30 mins tryin to find it lol… :) thanks

Kathy Maister said:

Hi Kyle, good for you! The closest thing to Karo syrup in the UK is “golden syrup”, but it really is not the same thing. Here are some recipes for Pecan Pie made with Golden Syrup.

Cheers! Kathy

Ninette said:

I discovered your website by accident. It is wonderful. Congratulations Kathy! I have a son who loves piroggis (sp?). Is there an easy way to make them? Many thanks for your good work.

Patti Smith said:

Kathy, I enjoyed reading several of your recipes but I am particularly interested in your pecan pie. I am diabetic and am looking for a good pecan pie for diabetics. Is there such a thing?

Patti

Kathy said:

Hi Patti, If you Google Diabetic Pumpkin Pie there are close to a half a million recipes listed. If you scroll through you might be able to recognize a reputable site name for a good recipe. Unfortunately I have no experience with cooking diabetic recipes.
Good Luck with your search!
Kathy

Wong said:

Hi, J lee Wong here, like you really passionate about cooking specially “cakes/desserts” being a chef by profession I honestly appreciate how great your blog is with in-length & elegant recipes posted. Often times I like to visit your blog to get more ideas and brain storm new recipes etc. I also put up a Diabetic Cake Recipes blog, do check it out sometime in the near future! Thanks.

J Lee Wong

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