Classic Pecan Pie

A no-fail recipe for pecan pie with a smooth, caramelly filling studded with southern pecans perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner!

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This is the pecan pie that almost never was. I tried so hard to screw this pie up. And it came out perfect anyway.

This pie has tenacity, y’all.

First of all, let me explain what I think was (is still) wrong with me. I’m on steroids. And I’m functioning like a bull in a china shop. I’m clumsy and rough and awkward. I broke the lid off the shampoo bottle because evidently I’m The Hulk now.

I've never taken steroids before but it’s like my brain and body aren't in sync. One of them thinks I’m capable of performing faster (and better and stronger and GARGH! Why do I look sunburned?! Brutus, I need you to crush that ball today... CRRRUSH IT!! It’s normal to want this much ice water, right??).

I’m not paying attention to the little things. I’m hammering through everything like it’s a race and I. MUST. WIN.

The first thing I did was drop my frozen pie shell in a sink full of dirty dish water. The oven was heated, the eggs at room temperature, everything was ready to go and then BOOM no pie shell. So I had to make one homemade which was NOT what I wanted to be doing at the last minute because I’M IN A HURRY FOR NO APPARENT REASON!!!

About halfway through the cooking time I always cut out a ring of tin foil to lay over my crust so it doesn't brown too much before the pie gets done. I popped open the oven, laid the foil over the crust and went about my business.

And then I smelled something burning. Like, ON FIRE, burning. I whip all over the house looking for the source of the smell, run outside to check there and can’t find the fire! I run back through the kitchen and that’s when I see the flames in the oven. I fling open the oven door to discover I’d dropped a pot holder in there and it had caught on fire.

The oven and kitchen are filled with smoke, the fire alarm is going off, the babies are running around screaming and I’m standing there at the sink on the verge of tears running water over the scorched remains of the pot holder in the sink.

And all I could think about was that damn pie. That stupid, pain in the butt pie sitting in the oven probably looking like a chunk of charcoal when I need it to look magazine-perfect so I could take photos of it for y’all.

I think the universe may have actually bent in response to the sheer force of will that was coming out of me for the pie to make it. I’d almost burnt my house down but all I could think about was wanting the pie to be perfect.

And guess what? She made it. And she turned out pretty after all.

I wish I could have gotten a good picture of the inside of the pie for you but this one was coming with us to some friends house and I didn’t want to butcher it. 

I can tell you what it looks like though, if that helps! The filling is smooth and almost like caramel or dulce leche once it has set up completely. The nuts float up through the filling so the top of the pie is a layer of almost caramelized, toasty pecans. It is heaven!

NOTES ABOUT MAKING CLASSIC PECAN PIE

• Having the eggs at room temperature makes the filling smoother. Ice cold eggs will cause the melted butter to coagulate a bit which can make the pie appear slightly curdled. TIP: to quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl of hot tap water for about 5 minutes!
• You can use light or dark brown sugar and light or dark corn syrup. I prefer the lighter color from the light corn syrup so I use dark brown sugar for a little more flavor. 
• Don’t skip the salt. There’s A LOT of sweetness happening here so we need the salt to balance it a bit.
• You can use pecan halves if you prefer!

Recipe for Classic Pecan Pie

Classic Pecan Pie

Yield: 8 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 55 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

A no-fail recipe for pecan pie with a smooth, caramelly filling studded with southern pecans with a hint of maple syrup.

Ingredients

Classic Pecan Pie

• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup real butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 9-in deep dish pie pastry

Flaky Butter Pie Pastry (Pâte Brisée)

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 4-5 tablespoons ice water

Instructions

Classic Pecan Pie

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using pre-made frozen pie shell, set out to thaw.
2. Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl until beaten well. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, salt, vanilla and butter then stir until completely smooth, breaking up any clumps of brown sugar if necessary.
3. Using a fork, gently pierce the bottom and sides of the pie pastry to perforate (about a dozen total pokes should be good).
4. Spread the pecans evenly over the bottom of the crust then gently pour filling over pecans.
5. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees or until pie is mostly set (a slight jiggle in the center is OK), placing a piece of aluminum foil over the pie after about 35 minutes to prevent the crust from browning too much.
6. Cool completely before serving.

Flaky Butter Pie Pastry (Pâte Brisée)

1. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse once to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea-sized pieces of butter.
2. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together.
3. Turn dough out onto a clean surface and shape into a small disk (about 5 inches in diameter). Sprinkle dough with a little flour and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for one hour (up to 24 hours).
4. When ready to prepare the pie pastry, roll dough into a 12-inch circle (about 1/8 of an inch thick) with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Carefully place pastry into a 9-inch pie plate then trim edges to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish (using kitchen shears or a sharp knife). Shape edges as desired either by crimping with your fingers or pressing down with a fork.
5. Perforate the bottom of the pastry by piercing with a fork 4-5 times (to ventilate and keep the crust from bubbling up on the bottom) then fill and cook as directed by pie recipe.

Notes

• Having the eggs at room temperature makes the filling smoother. Ice cold eggs will cause the melted butter to coagulate a bit which can make the pie appear slightly curdled.
• To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl of hot tap water for about 5 minutes!
• You can use light brown sugar or dark corn syrup. I just like the lighter color from the light corn syrup so I use dark brown sugar for a little more flavor. 
• Don’t skip the salt. There’s A LOT of sweetness happening here so we need the salt to balance it a bit.
• You can use pecan halves if you prefer!

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2013/10/classic-pecan-pie.html

Images and text © South Your Mouth LLC 2013

pecan, pie, caramel, smooth, maple, rich, thick, best, southern, classic, traditional, homemade, easy, corn syrup, Flaky, Butter, crust, shell, frozen, Pie Pastry, Pâte Brisée

dessert

american, southern

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