Classic Pecan Pie
An easy recipe for homemade pecan pie that turns out perfect every time. This classic pecan pie is a family favorite and perfect for the holidays!
Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away and the one thing I love most about the holiday is all of the pies. This week I’ll be sharing a tutorial for how to make a lattice pie crust (the easy way!) plus my favorite apple pie recipe. But first, I had to kick off the week by sharing this classic pecan pie recipe.
This pecan pie filling recipe comes straight from Josh’s grandmother. I made a few small tweaks to her recipe by adding a little brown sugar and vanilla extract, but it’s still pretty much the same as hers. This pie is also simple to throw together and the filling bakes up beautifully.
Since this pie does take some time to cool, you can also prep it ahead of time or even the day before to free up some precious oven space for the holidays. And if you prefer chocolate in your pecan pie, you can even add some chocolate chips to this pie as well!
To make this pecan pie, you’ll want to start out by blind baking your pie crust. If you’re wondering what in the world it means to blind bake a pie crust, it simply means that you’re partially baking the crust before adding your pie filling.
Why? Partially baking your pie crust first prevents your pie from having a soggy bottom. For custard pies like my homemade pumpkin pie or this pecan pie, it’s best to blind bake your crust first. I’ve tested this pecan pie by baking it in the lower third of the oven without blind baking the crust and while it turned out okay, the bottom crust was still soft and didn’t hold up nearly as well.
I also wrote an entire post here about how to blind bake a pie crust with step-by-step pictures. It’s simple and definitely worth it if you ask me. If you want to keep this pie a little easier you can use a store-bought pie crust, but I actually prefer to make my own pie crust because they turn out flakier. You can find my post all about making homemade pie crust here. I love to prep a bunch of pie crusts for the holidays and leave them in the freezer!
Once the crust is blind-baked, you’ll pour the filling into the pie crust. To save a little time, I prefer to mix up the pecan pie filling while the pie crust is baking in the oven.
The filling is just a simple mixture of eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, and chopped pecans. Josh’s grandmother’s original recipe used just granulated sugar, but I really loved the addition of the brown sugar in this pie. I also added some vanilla extract to the pie filling too because I love the flavor that it adds.
As far as the pecans, you can either chop them or use pecan halves. I prefer to use chopped pecans because it makes it easier to cut the pie, but feel free to just use pecan halves if you love the look of it that way.
Once you’ve blind baked the pie crust, the edges should be lightly browned. At this point, I like to go ahead and add some foil or a pie crust shield to the edges of my pie crust. They’ll continue to brown a little more even after they’re covered, so I like to cover them before putting the pie back in the oven so I don’t have to worry about opening the oven door any more than possible.
You’ll want to bake the pie in the lower third of the oven too. I tested this pecan pie in the center of the oven as well and while it worked fine, I find that the bottom of the crust browns a little more if you bake it in the lower third of the oven. To keep things easy you can go ahead and blind bake the pie crust in the lower third of the oven too.
As the pie bakes it may begin to brown on top before it’s finished. If this happens, just tent with a piece of aluminum foil until the center of the pie is set. The filling will puff up in the oven and sink down some as it cools, so don’t worry if you get a small crack or two as it won’t be too noticeable once it’s cooled.
Baking Tips For Classic Pecan Pie
- I suggest blind baking your pie crust first, I wrote a full post here with step-by-step pictures for how to do this.
- Be sure to adjust your oven rack to the lower third position in the oven before getting started. By baking the pie lower in the oven, the bottom of the pie crust will brown a little more and hold up better.
- I prefer to use a glass pie dish when making this pie, it helps to be able to check the crust and see how it looks as it’s baking in the oven.
Classic Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust homemade or store-bought
- 3 large eggs room temperature and well beaten
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (175 grams) chopped pecans
Instructions
- Roll out the pie dough to about 12 inches in diameter, transfer to a 9-inch pie plate, gently fit it in the dish, and trim any excess dough from the edges.
- Adjust oven rack to the lower third position in the oven. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the pie plate in the refrigerator and allow the dough to chill for about 15-20 minutes while the oven is preheating.
- Once the oven is preheated, remove the pie plate from the refrigerator, decorate the edges, and line the dough with parchment paper or foil, making sure to cover the bottom and the sides. Fill with pie weights make sure to press them up against the sides as well.
- Bake in the lower third of the oven with the pie weights at 400°F for 15 minutes or until the edges of the crust start to lightly brown. Remove from the oven, carefully remove the parchment paper (or foil) and the pie weights. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes or until the bottom of the crust looks dry. Remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
- In a large mixing, whisk together the beaten eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fully combined. Whisk in the melted butter and vanilla extract until well combined, then stir in the chopped pecans.
- Pour the pecan pie filling into the warm pre-baked crust. Cover the edges of the pie with foil or a pie crust shield if desired (I prefer to add mine at this point, but you can wait until the edges start to brown more then add one).
- Return the pie to the oven (in the lower third of the oven again) and bake at 375°F for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the pie is set. If the pie begins to brown too much before it's finished baking, tent with foil.
- Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Then slice and enjoy or cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
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