Best Perfect Pecan Pie Recipes

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PERFECT PECAN PIE



Perfect Pecan Pie image

Of all pies, pecan is one of the trickiest to make. The problem is in the crust. A fat-filled dough is tender, flaky and flavorful, but likely to tear during rolling and to develop tiny holes during baking. Naturally, the lava-like pecan-pie filling seeps into these openings, baking rock-hard onto the pie plate. A lean crust, on the other hand, is sturdy, but tough and dry. The crust I've developed offers the best of both styles: The following recipe is rich and tender, yet baker-friendly. Bonus: This silky-smooth filling tastes a little less treacly sweet, a plus for most pecan pie lovers.

Provided by USA WEEKEND columnist Jean Carper

Categories     Desserts     Pies     Pecan Pie Recipes

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 17

1 ⅛ cups pecans
1 cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup light corn syrup
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
⅓ cup water
1 ⅛ cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 tablespoons frozen butter
2 tablespoons frozen vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons ice cold water

Steps:

  • To make crust: Mix flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Rub cream cheese into flour mixture with fingertips to blend thoroughly. Using a box grater, grate frozen butter and shortening into flour mixture. Working quickly, rub fat into flour until it has the texture of coarse sand and small pebbles. Stir in ice-cold water with a fork until dough clumps form; press to form a cohesive ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, pressing it into a thick disk. Refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 1 hour. (Can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen for a month.)
  • Roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14-inch circle, turning frequently and dusting with flour to keep it from sticking. Fold dough in half; quickly lift it into 9-inch Pyrex (not deep-dish) pie plate and unfold. Fit dough into plate so it is not stretched in any way. Trim with scissors to 1/2-inch beyond pan lip. Roll overhanging dough under with fingertips so it is flush with pan lip, then flute. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. (Do not prick shell with a fork.)
  • Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line pie shell with a sheet of heavy-duty foil. Crumple 3 large pieces of foil into balls and place in shell to act as light weights. Bake (lightly pressing on foil if dough starts to balloon) until fluting turns golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove all foil; bake until bottom starts to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Remove shell from oven.
  • To make filling: Adjust oven rack to middle position and reduce temperature to 300 degrees. In a separate pie plate, toast pecans in oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes.
  • Reduce temperature to 250. Meanwhile, heat brown sugar and corn syrup in a medium heat-proof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water until sugar is almost dissolved. In another medium bowl, whisk eggs, yolks, vanilla and salt. Slowly whisk warm sugar mixture into eggs. Return bowl to pan of simmering water. Whisk in butter. In a small pan over low heat, stir together cornstarch and water until pasty thick; whisk into sugar-egg mixture. Heat in bowl over simmering water, stirring frequently. Set pie shell on middle oven rack. Sprinkle in pecans, then pour filling into shell. Bake until pie puffs slightly and just sets, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature and serve.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 579.5 calories, Carbohydrate 69.4 g, Cholesterol 159.5 mg, Fat 32.4 g, Fiber 2.1 g, Protein 7.1 g, SaturatedFat 11.7 g, Sodium 377 mg, Sugar 37.5 g

PERFECT PECAN PIE RECIPE



Perfect Pecan Pie Recipe image

Explore this Perfect Pecan Pie Recipe. eggs, butter and pecans are baked in a pie shell in this delectable Perfect Pecan Pie Recipe.

Provided by My Food and Family

Categories     Nuts

Time 1h5m

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 7

3 eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecan halves
1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 14.1-oz. pkg.)

Steps:

  • Heat oven to 400°F.
  • Beat eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add next 4 ingredients; mix well. Stir in nuts.
  • Prepare pie crust as directed on package for filled one-crust pie using 9-inch pie plate. Add nut mixture.
  • Bake 15 min. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue baking 30 to 35 min. or until top is lightly browned and evenly puffed. Cool completely.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 450, Fat 18 g, SaturatedFat 5 g, TransFat 0 g, Cholesterol 75 mg, Sodium 160 mg, Carbohydrate 0 g, Fiber 2 g, Sugar 0 g, Protein 5 g

PERFECT PECAN PIE



Perfect Pecan Pie image

I made this recipe for Warkworth's Annual Perfect Pie contest - I got an honourable mention for the recipe! I use Beehive Golden Corn Syrup.

Provided by Rachel P

Categories     Pie

Time 1h

Yield 1 pie, 8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 8

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 beehive corn syrup
4 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups roasted pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons havana club aged rum
1 unbaked pie shell

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degress.
  • Combine sugar and syrup in a pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is completely dissolved.
  • Beat eggs and add a small portion of sugar/syrup mix to eggs. Add eggs to sugar/syrup mixture and stir quickly so as not to scramble.
  • Stir in butter until completely melted.
  • Add pecans, vanilla and rum, and stir until mixed well.
  • Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake for 45 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 282.3, Fat 15.6, SaturatedFat 6.3, Cholesterol 108.2, Sodium 153.4, Carbohydrate 27.2, Fiber 0.8, Sugar 16.8, Protein 4.6

PERFECT PECAN PIE



PERFECT PECAN PIE image

Categories     Nut     Dessert     Bake     Thanksgiving

Yield 8-10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 17

Ingredients
Pie Shell
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dough and rolling surface
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4 -inch pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, frozen, cut into small pieces
1 large egg white, chilled, thoroughly mixed with ice water (about 2 tablespoons) to equal 1/4 cup
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1/8 teaspoon water
Filling
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole pecans (8 ounces), toasted and chopped into small pieces

Steps:

  • 3. Roll dough on lightly floured surface into 13-inch circle and transfer to 9-inch pie pan, preferably glass. Press dough into corners and sides of pan, being careful not to stretch dough. Trim edges of dough to make 1/2-inch overhang. Tuck overhanging dough under so that folded edge is flush with rim of pan. Flute edge. 4. Chill shell until firm, about 1 hour. Prick sides and bottom with fork and line entire shell with heavy-duty aluminum foil, pressing foil firmly against shell and extending it over fluted rim. Prick foil with fork and return shell to refrigerator while oven is heating. 5. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat to 400 degrees. Bake, pressing once or twice with mitt-protected hands, if necessary, to flatten any puffing, until crust is firmly set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until bottom begins to color, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, brush sides and bottom with egg yolk, and return to oven until yolk glazes over, about 1 minute longer. Remove from oven, and set aside while preparing the filling. 6. Lower oven temperature to 275 degrees. Place pie shell in oven if not still warm. 7. For Pie: Melt butter in medium heatproof bowl set in skillet of water maintained at just below simmer. Remove bowl from skillet; mix in sugar and salt with wooden spoon until butter is absorbed. Beat in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla. Return bowl to hot water; stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130 degrees. Remove from heat; stir in pecans. 8. Pour mixture into warm shell; bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pie to rack; let cool completely, at least 4 hours. Serve room temperature or warm.

PERFECT PECAN PIE



Perfect Pecan Pie image

Pecan pies can be overwhelmingly sweet, with no real pecan flavor. And they too often turn out curdled and separated. What's more, the weepy filling makes the bottom crust soggy and leathery. The fact that the crust usually seems underbaked to begin with doesn't help matters. We wanted to create a recipe for a not-too-sweet pie with a smooth-textured filling and a properly baked bottom crust.We tackled this pie's problems by using brown sugar and reducing the amount, which helped bring out the pecan flavor. We also partially baked the crust, which kept it crisp. We found that it's important to add the hot filling to a warm pie crust as this helps keep the crust from getting soggy. In addition, we discovered that simulating a double boiler when you're melting the butter and making the filling is an easy way to maintain gentle heat, which helps ensure that the filling doesn't curdle.

Provided by @MakeItYours

Number Of Ingredients 18

Serves 8
Chop the toasted pecans by hand or the best texture; a food processor will grind them too small. The filling should be added to the pie shell right after it comes out of the oven. Therefore, start step 5 about 20 minutes after the pie shell goes in t
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/4cup (6 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
1tablespoon sugar
1/2teaspoon table salt
3tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening
4tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 - 5tablespoons ice water
Filling
6tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1cup (7 ounces) packed dark brown sugar
1/2teaspoon table salt
3 large eggs
3/4cup light corn syrup
1tablespoon vanilla extract
2cups whole pecans (8 ounces), toasted and chopped into small pieces

Steps:

  • FOR THE CRUST: Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter and shortening over dry ingredients and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, 10 to 15 seconds. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
  • With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together. Shape dough into ball with hands, then flatten into 4-inch disk. Dust dough lightly with flour, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
  • Roll dough on lightly floured surface into 13-inch circle and transfer to 9-inch pie pan, preferably glass. Press dough into corners and sides of pan, being careful not to stretch dough. Trim edges of dough to make 1/2-inch overhang. Tuck overhanging dough under so that folded edge is flush with rim of pan. Flute edge, (see illustration 1).
  • Chill shell until firm, about 1 hour. Prick sides and bottom with fork and line entire shell with heavy-duty aluminum foil, pressing foil firmly against shell and extending it over fluted rim (illustration 2). Prick foil with fork (illustration 3) and return shell to refrigerator while oven is heating.
  • Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, pressing once or twice with mitt-protected hands, if necessary, to flatten any puffing, until crust is firmly set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until bottom begins to color, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, brush sides and bottom with egg yolk, and return to oven until yolk glazes over, about 1 minute longer. Remove from oven, and set aside while preparing the filling.
  • Lower oven temperature to 275 degrees. Place pie shell in oven if not still warm.
  • FOR THE FILLING: Melt butter in medium heatproof bowl set in skillet of water maintained at just below simmer. Remove bowl from skillet; mix in sugar and salt with wooden spoon until butter is absorbed. Beat in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla. Return bowl to hot water; stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130 degrees. Remove from heat; stir in pecans.
  • Pour mixture into warm shell; bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pie to rack; let cool completely, at least 4 hours. Serve pie at room temperature or warm, with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
  • TO MAKE AHEAD: The pie can be stored at room temperature, wrapped tightly in foil, for up to 2 days. If you prefer to serve the pie warm, cool the pie thoroughly so that it sets completely, then rewarm it in a 250-degree oven for about 15 minutes.
  • Technique
  • Crusts for Pecan and Pumpkin Pies
  • After pressing the dough into the pan and trimming it, flute the edges with your fingers.
  • Cover the dough with a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, pressing it against the crust.
  • Use a fork to prick holes through the aluminum foil on the bottom and sides of the pan.
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