Pecan Pie

This easy, American classic, Pecan Pie is taken up a notch with brown butter and toasted pecans. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this pie recipe! Easily made ahead of time, you are sure to love this on it's own or a la mode!

Last week I made three homemade pecan pie recipes, the last two were pretty much the same I just had to test it twice to make sure it was just right! We devoured all three. My sister always has this pie warmed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream where I much prefer a warmed slice with whipped cream.

If you love pecan pie then you've gotta check out my recipe for pecan pie brownies, honestly they disappeared so fast, for good reason!!

Ingredients

For this gorgeous fall pie you will need:

• Pie Crust. You can use store-bought or homemade. If you want to do a braided top as I did in the photos you will need two pie doughs.
• Pecans. I think the key to great flavor is toasting the pecans, it makes a world of a difference!
• Butter. Most recipes call for melted butter but for this pie recipe, we are going to brown the butter, this helps create a nutty, caramelized flavor that is perfect for pecan pie!
• Large Eggs. In order for your eggs to properly combine with the rest of the ingredients, you need them at room temperature. To do this quickly just place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes. You'll also need one egg for an egg wash to give the pie crust that gorgeous golden sheen.
• Pure Vanilla Extract. Vanilla compliments the warm flavors of pecan pie so use the real stuff!
• Light Corn Syrup. I personally like using light but you could use dark corn syrup.
• Dark Brown Sugar. The reason for using dark brown sugar is the higher molasses content in the sugar, it helps provide a deeper flavor profile. You could in a pinch use light brown sugar and just add an extra tablespoon of molasses.
• Salt. Although, you might be tempted to skip this ingredient, salt provides balance to the pie as well as helps the other ingredients flavor profiles shine through.
• Molasses. Just a little bit adds to the gorgeous flavor.

Instructions

To start we will toast the nuts, toasting the nuts is crucial to the best flavor!!

Preheat your oven to 350F/180C and place the pecans on a baking sheet and shake to spread out, you want them in a single layer. Bake for the nuts for about ten minutes until just toasted. Set aside to cool and try not to snack on too many!

While the pecans are baking brown the butter. In a medium-large pot over low-medium heat melt the butter and stir until the butter starts to produce golden brown flecks and you smell a nutty aroma. Check out this detailed post on how to make brown butter.

Immediately take the pot off of the heat, the butter can turn from brown butter to burnt butter very quickly! Pour into a heatproof bowl and set aside. If you leave the butter in the pot the residual heat will keep cooking it.

Roll the pie dough on a lightly floured surface and add to pie dish. I added a braided pie crust design if you want to do this you will need an additional pie crust dough. You could prick with the back of a fork, or flute it. Place the pie dough in the freezer for ten minutes to chill it.

Adjust the oven temperature to 415F/213 while the pie crust is chilling. Crinkle up a pie sized piece of parchment paper then uncrinkle and place over pie dough and fill with pie weights or dried rice or beans, place back in the freezer until the oven comes to temperature. Keeping the pie dough chilled helps ensure it doesn't shrink much when baking. Once the oven reaches 415F par-bake the pie crust.

Bake for the pie crust for 15 minutes uncovered then carefully remove the pie weights and parchment then bake for an additional 5 minutes. Set aside while you prepare the filling and reduce the oven to 350F/180C.

In a large bowl whisk the filling together; eggs, vanilla, corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, molasses, and brown butter.

Make sure to whisk until there is no trace of egg left behind.

I like to do a combination of pecan halves and chopped pecans. Reserve about 40 full pecan halves and roughly chop the rest of the pecans.

Add the chopped pecans to the syrup mixture and mix to combine.

Pour the filling into the par-baked pie shell and arrange remaining pecans on top in whatever decorative design you want. Gently press the pecans into the filling to kind of get them wet, this helps them bake to a golden glow and not dry out.

Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk together then use a pastry brush to brush all of the exposed pie crust to create a golden brown sheen when baked.

Bake the pie for 30-45 minutes or until the center of the pie registers to 185F/ 85C, I use my Thermapen MK4 and if you gently press the top of the pie it should bounce back.

I personally like to bake my pies with a pie shield for the first 15-20 minutes to prevent the crust from over browning.

Let the pie cool for at least two hours before slicing otherwise you will end up with a messy sloppy pie.

Serve pie slices with homemade whipped cream or ice cream. Leftovers can be stored in the pie dish covered in plastic wrap tightly or in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

How to freeze

Pecan pie can definitely be frozen. Let the pie cool completely then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap twice, then in aluminum foil. The three layers help prevent freezer burn.

Take the frozen pie out of the freezer and let thaw in the refrigerator overnight or bake unwrapped of the plastic wrap but recovered with foil at 300F/148C for 20ish minutes.

More pie recipes

My rhubarb custard pie is unlike any other pie and it's absolutely scrumptious!!

This gorgeous blackberry pie can be made with frozen berries so you can enjoy it all year long!

This Lemon Lime Atlantic Beach Pie looks to die for, I can't wait to try it!

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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