Fall is for football, pumpkin carving, and scrumptious pecan pie. For those who are nervous about recreating this fall holiday classic, don’t fret, this recipe is easy to follow — we’ve even included tips for making the perfect pecan pie. With this recipe, you can make your own pecan pie that will rival Grandma’s.
Ingredients:
Pie Crust
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- 3/4 cup vegetable shortening or lard
- 1 lightly beaten egg
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Pie Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup corn syrup (light or dark)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 whole eggs (beaten)
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions:
Step 1:
Begin making the pie crust by mixing the flour and salt in a large bowl. Then, add vegetable shortening and butter. Blend the butter into the flour using a dough cutter until it resembles small pebbles. Next, add the egg, five tablespoons of cold water and white vinegar and stir well. This yields more than enough dough that is needed for one pie, so divide it and chill the remainder of the dough for future use.
Step 2:
For the filling, combine the granulated sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and eggs, and set aside. After your filling is complete, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 3:
Take your prepared dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Transfer the dough to your pie pan. There should be a bit of overhang along the edges of the pan, so you’ll need to even it up with a knife or kitchen shears. The pie crust overhang should be 3/4 to one inch around the pie. Next, roll the overhand under itself so that it rests on the rim of the pie pan.
Step 4:
Now, it’s time to crimp the crust. Crimping the crust not only makes the pie look more appealing but it prevents the crust from sinking and the pie filling from spilling out during baking. To crimp the edges of the crust, place one hand on the outside of the crush and the other on the inside. Use the index finger of your inside hand to push the dough through the thumb and index finger of your outside hand, forming a V or U shape. Continue this process for the whole circumference of the pie.
Step 5:
After your pie crust is perfectly crimped, add the pecans to the bottom of the crust. Then, pour the filling on top. Lightly cover the top of the pie with a piece of aluminum foil–doing this prevents the pie crust and pecans from burning.
Step 6:
Place the pie in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Once 20 minutes have passed, removed the foil overwrap and allow it to keep baking. When removing the pie from the oven, it should jiggle a bit. However, if it jiggles too much, then place the foil back on top and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
Once the pie is done baking, let it cool for a couple of hours. For best results, let it chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Tips for Making the Best Pecan Pie
- If you don’t feel confident making your own pie crust from scratch (or crimping it), don’t be ashamed to purchase premade crust.
- You can tweak this recipe by substituting corn syrup with maple brown rice syrup.
- Don’t overbeat the eggs. Doing this will result in a fluffy, meringue-type pie filling.
- Some bakers have taken their pie filling up a notch with a tablespoon of cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon of grated orange zest.
- Get a little fancy and serve your pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.
