Richly flavored PecanPie Recipe features a dark brown sugar and maple custard base, plenty of pecans, and a foolproof pie crust! This easy pie recipe does NOT include shortening or dark corn syrup!
CRUST: In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and powdered sugar. Stir. Add in the butter and using a pastry cutter, cut it into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and water until smooth. Pour egg yolk mixture into the center of the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until combined as much as possible. Gently knead with your hands to form a crust (add extra tablespoon of water if needed). Handle the dough as little as possible and once it's formed into dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and gently flatten into a small disc. Refrigerate for (at least) 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax before rolling. You can make the crust ahead of time and refrigerate for 1-5 days.
TOAST PECANS: (Melt butter right now so it has time to cool to room temperature.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread pecan halves on a rimmed baking sheet and toast them for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove and let cool. Divide the toasted pecans, reserving 3/4 cup for the top of the pie. Chop the remaining 1 and 1/4 cups to add to the filling mixture.
FILLING: Combine the ROOM TEMPERATURE egg yolks, syrup, brown sugar, and cream in a large bowl (it's very important all ingredients are same temperature for this filling). Whisk until smooth. Once the melted butter is completely to room temperature, drizzle it in while whisking constantly. Fold in the chopped pecans. Reserve the bowl from the egg yolk, and if there are any bits of mixture remaining, they can be brushed over the crust before baking.
ASSEMBLY: Roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured surface. Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a 12-inch circle of dough. Use the rolling pin to lift up the dough and gently place place into a 9-inch pie pan (preferably glass or ceramic; avoid metal). Gently tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth and then crimp the edges of the crust. Chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator or freezer (don't skip this step!). See Note 1 for pie crust tips.
ASSEMBLY, CONT.: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the prepared filling into the chilled crust (you don't need to blind bake the crust). Press the remaining 3/4 cup pecan halves on top. Place the pie on a lined sheet pan. Use a pastry brush to brush any tiny remains of the egg yolk and water mixture (from the reserved bowl; you didn't need to leave some specifically, but there should a bit leftover) onto the crust. Place into the preheated oven.
BAKE: Bake for 40-55 minutes, or until the filling is set. The filling is "set" when it's very slightly jiggly in the center. It should not slosh around at all. If it is sloshing, return it to the oven for another 10-20 minutes (baking times can greatly vary with pecan pies). If the edges of the crust begin to brown, cover with a pie shield. Once the filling is set, remove the pie and let cool completely on a cooling rack, 3 to 4 hours, before slicing. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Note 1: Crust tips:
The less the crust is handled, the better it will perform.
Keep it chilled to prevent the butter from softening.
If desired, you can crimp the crust following the instructions in the blog post.
You can also brush the edges of the crust with egg yolk to encourage a golden brown appearance after baking.
Unbaked crust freezes well.
Some crusts need to be blind baked (pre-bake without any filling) but Pecan Pie doesn't need that step.
When baking, a pie shield can protect against the crust over browning. The blog post contains tips on making your own pie shield.