Turkey Day Treats: Pecan Pie
We like to think of pie as the grand finale to a fantastic holiday meal. We’d never do without our traditional pecan pie, preferably topped with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream (though some guests prefer a dollop of homemade whipped cream instead).
There are many different ways to make pecan pie, but we always go for the delicious simplicity of an old-fashioned, corn-syrup-free recipe. We’ve found that this type of pecan pie is richer and doesn’t have the cloying sweetness of corn-syrup-based recipes. By far, our favorite recipe is this one by Eddy Van Damme. His pecan pie is lusciously rich, but not terribly sweet, which suits most of our tastes.
To start, whisk up three large eggs until they’re combined, then stir in 3/4 cup of room-temperature water. Add 1-3/4 cups of light brown sugar and a pinch of salt to the egg and water mixture. Melt 1/4 cup of unsalted butter and gently stir it into the batter. Flavor the custard with 2 tsp. of real vanilla extract. We also find that adding about 2 tbsp. of dark rum really enhances the flavor of the brown sugar and butter, but you can leave this out if you prefer. The pie is delicious with or without it!
Pour 1-1/2 to 2 cups of pecans into the bottom of a 9-inch pie crust. The type of pecans that people like to use for pecan pie varies. We really enjoy the salty edge that our roasted pecans give the dessert. However, you may prefer to use our premium raw Georgia pecans to make your pie, toasting them yourself in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for several minutes to make them crunchy and savory.
Pour the filling over the pecans in the crust, stopping just a hair short of the top. The pecans should float to the surface. Depending on the depth of your pie crust, not all of the filling may fit. If you’re really concerned about this, opt for a deep-dish crust as opposed to a regular one. It will make a difference.
Slide the pie into a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven and bake it for about 10 minutes. This helps the filling set up. Then, reduce the heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking the pie until it’s no longer jiggly. This usually takes about an hour in our oven, but we’ve known it to take up to 10 minutes more or less in other people’s kitchens. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it isn’t overcooked.
Let the pie cool completely (or at least until it’s just barely warm) before digging in.
Do you have a favorite pecan pie recipe?
4 Responses to “Turkey Day Treats: Pecan Pie”
I have a dumb question (I’m not much of a baker). Is the pie crust baked before filling? Or is it raw?
Hi there, Geraldine! That’s not a dumb question at all! 🙂 Most people at least partially bake their pie crust before pouring in the filling. If your prepared crust or recipe doesn’t come with instructions for doing this (and most do), just poke some holes in the crust with a fork and pop it in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. That’ll keep it from getting soggy later.
If you try the recipe, let us know what you think!
I am wondering if you have a recipe for pecan pie using xagave nectar.
We haven’t tried this recipe yet, but it looks pretty good to us: http://www.nibbledish.com/people/ChefCleo/recipes/agave-nectar-bourbon-pecan-pie
Let us know if you give it a shot! Happy baking! 🙂