A Beautiful Pecan Pie

This Pecan Pie makes a deliciously festive dessert for the holidays while using less sugar than many traditional recipes. Toast the pecans or add a thin layer of chocolate for added interest. If you watch carefully while baking, this pie will look just as beautiful as it tastes.

Baking a Pretty Pecan Pie

I’ve had my say about rustic pies. While the pies I bake are not always picture perfect they usually taste good. The Rustic Apple Pie, I wrote about recently, turned out to be delicious. Despite its flaws, my family enthusiastically ate every last bite before the weekend was over. We thoroughly enjoyed its imperfect charm.

While a rustic pie is wonderful in so many ways, there are still times when I want my pie to look as good as it tastes. I know it’s possible. I just need to focus. So I put baking a beautiful pie on my “Before-the-New-Year” to-do list.

Putting away the Thanksgiving dishes and fall decorations, I began to focus on the Christmas holiday. Ham and sweet potatoes headed up my menu for Christmas dinner. Wouldn’t a Pecan Pie would be the perfect dessert?

Mastering a Southern Specialty

Having lived in the south for many years, I felt a bit embarrassed to admit I had never mastered a Pecan Pie. To improve my pie baking skills that seemed like a good handicap to work on. I started to look forward to the seasonal challenge of baking a pretty Pecan Pie.

First I had to decide on a recipe. I looked through my cookbooks from the south and found a pecan pie recipe in almost every one. Yet all of these recipes called for a total of at least two cups of sugar or other sweeteners. To me that seems a bit excessive. Finally, an Internet search turned up a recipe that sounded more to my liking.

This pie is based on a recipe found at the Dohmann Pecan Farms website. It uses one cup of corn syrup plus 1/4 cup of sugar to sweeten the filling. I decided this recipe was the one for me.

Toast the Pecans

Not only did my search for the right Pecan Pie lead me to a great recipe but I found a few good tips along the way. One was to toast the pecans before baking. I decided to toast mine in the microwave. I placed the pecans on a paper plate and microwaved them on high for one minute. Then I stirred the pecans and microwaved them on high for another minute.

To toast the pecans in the oven instead, spread the nuts on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven, preheated to 350F, for about 10 minutes, or until the pecans are fragrant and just begin to brown. Watch carefully to make sure they don’t overcook.

Be Mindful of the Crust

Another thing I learned was to be mindful of the crust. The outer edge of a pie crust can easily burn. I usually flute the pastry for a one crust pie inside the rim of the pie plate. This keeps the edge closer to the pie filling and makes it less likely to burn.

It is still a good idea to check on your pie as it bakes. Start checking about halfway through the baking time. If it looks a little too brown for the amount of time left in the oven, try covering it with foil. If the edges are browning too quickly shield them with strips of foil. Alternately cut a foil shield according to these directions. If, on the other hand, the middle looks like the nuts are browning too quickly, cut a shield for just the filling.

Maybe Next Time I’ll Add Some Chocolate

While I was considering recipe tips, my sister-in-law shared another idea. She told me that she likes to melt 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave and spread the melted chocolate across the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. Then she refrigerates the pie shell for a while, until needed. Once the chocolate has set you can add the toasted pecans and continue according to the recipe. I already had my pie in the oven but I want to try her idea the next time I bake a Pecan Pie. It sounds fantastic!

Pecan Pie

Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

This pie makes a deliciously festive dessert for the holidays while using less sugar than many traditional recipes. If you watch it carefully while baking, it will look just as beautiful as it tastes. Serve it topped with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Ingredients

• Pastry for a one-crust pie

• 1 1/4 cups broken pecans, lightly toasted

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1 cup light corn syrup

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 Tablespoons flour

• 1/4 teaspoons salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Line a 9-inch pie plate with pie pastry.
• Spread the toasted pecans in the unbaked pie shell. (For tips on toasting pecans see the post above.)
• Mix the eggs, light corn syrup, brown sugar, flour, salt and vanilla. Pour the mixture over the pecans.
• Bake at 375F for approximately 45 minutes or until the filling is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. You may want to check the pie crust halfway through baking. If it is browning too quickly, cover the edge with aluminum foil while the pie finishes baking.
• Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Notes

• Recipe Source: This recipe is slightly adapted from one I found on the Dohmann Pecan Farms website. That web page is no longer available but the recipe is still the best Pecan Pie recipe I’ve found.
• My sister-in-law told me that she likes to melt 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and spread the melted chocolate across the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. Then refrigerate the pie shell for a while, until needed. Once the chocolate has set you can add the toasted pecans and continue according to the recipe. It sounds great. I think I will try that next time! (Update: It was delicious!)