Recipe · Kitchen · November

Pecan pie that sets every time, with less sugar than most

Name: Pecan pie that sets every time, with less sugar than most
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients: Crust: 1¼ cups flour, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, 8 tbsp cold butter, 3–4 tbsp ice water; 2 cups pecan halves; 4 tbsp butter, melted; ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar; ¾ cup maple syrup or dark corn syrup; 3 eggs; 1 tbsp bourbon or 2 tsp vanilla; ½ tsp salt

Toasted pecans in a brown-sugar custard that slices cleanly, in an all-butter crust. Less sweet than the classic corn-syrup version. Serves 10.

By Almanac Kit EditorsUpdated Oct 16, 20261 h 40 minServes 10

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You'll need

Why it sometimes doesn’t set

Runny pecan pie is almost always underbaked or cut warm. The filling is a custard: it needs to reach about 200°F in the center, and then it needs hours to firm up as it cools. Bake until only the very center moves, and wait.

Pecan pie

Prep 30 · Cook 70 · Serves 10

Ingredients

Crust: 1¼ cups flour, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, 8 tbsp cold butter, 3–4 tbsp ice water
2 cups pecan halves
4 tbsp butter, melted
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup maple syrup or dark corn syrup
3 eggs
1 tbsp bourbon or 2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt

Steps

Step 1: Make and chill the crust as for pumpkin pie, roll it out, line a 9-inch dish, crimp and freeze 15 minutes. Blind-bake at 400°F with weights for 15 minutes, then 5 minutes without.
Step 2: Toast the pecans on a sheet pan at 350°F for 8 minutes, until fragrant. Let them cool, then roughly chop half.
Step 3: Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, syrup, eggs, bourbon and salt until smooth. Stir in all the pecans.
Step 4: Pour into the crust and bake at 350°F for 45–50 minutes, until the filling is puffed at the edges and the center barely jiggles. Cover the edge with foil if it browns too fast.
Step 5: Cool at least 4 hours before slicing, so the filling sets.

Stoneware pie dish

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For pie week in November, and every pie after.

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French rolling pin

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A tapered wooden pin turns easily and gives you a feel for the dough's thickness.

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Toast the nuts

Raw pecans taste flat inside a sweet filling. Eight minutes in the oven makes them taste like pecans again. Chopping half means every slice gets nuts all the way through, not just a crust of halves on top.