Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
Growing up in Texas, I suffered from a quandary. I love pecans, and I did not much like pecan pie. I wondered why pecan pie did not taste more like pecans, and why it did not contain more pecans. In researching this recipe, I discovered that at a certain point, a corn syrup company used a pecan pie recipe on their label in order to move more product, resulting in a widespread epidemic of intensely sweet, soulless “pecan pies” which are really more like butter tarts with some pecans involved. This recipe addresses that problem.
Before the days of industrial food, the home cook was faced with few options about how to make a pie out of something. Fruit is pretty easy; it just melts. With nuts, the choice here is essentially to make a quiche. A minuscule amount of flour is used to ensure that the filling is fudgy rather than custardy. Once cooled, the pie may be served with whipped cream. Alternatively, some like to top the pie with meringue, or to serve it warm with ice cream.
The original recipe this one is based on came from a church cookbook of my aunt’s, and was contributed by a fellow teacher, whom I was told would be glad to know her recipe is being passed on; I hope she wouldn’t mind that I’ve cut the sugar in half. I think that it might be possible to cut the sugar in half again, but I have mostly eliminated sweets from my diet, so what little I have has a lot of impact. Originally, the total sugar was 1/2 c granulated plus 1 1/2 c brown.
Our pie dough recipe: youtu.be/PEakukC4wgI
Makes enough for 8-16 people, or one 9” pie.
Equipment:
• 9” pie tin lined with raw crust
• large measuring cup/mixing bowl
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup pecan pieces plus 1/4 cup pecan halves for the top, optionally
1 cup brown sugar packed
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 ea eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Chop up the cup and a half of pecans for the pie filling, if need be. They don’t need to be tiny, but not being whole will make the pie easier to cut.
3. Line the pie pan with crust, if need be. If using a deeper 9” pie tin, like mine, let the crust just rest at the rim, making no effort to anchor it. The filling will only come halfway up, and the crust will shrink while the filling puffs, meaning that the finished pie will have excellent proportions.
4. If the kitchen is really warm, let the shell rest in the fridge to keep it from melting.
5. In the mixing bowl or large measuring cup, combine the sugar, water, flour and salt. If you wish to add any sort of undetectable dietary fiber to reduce the glycemic impact of all this sugar, this is the time and place to add it.
6. Blend all these ingredients together really well.
7. Add the eggs one by one, ensuring that each is well-incorporated.
8. Add the milk and vanilla, and combine thoroughly; bubbles are not especially desirable, so avoid whisking and aeration in general.
9. Place the pie tin with pie shell inside onto a baking sheet, and spread the chopped pecans evenly into the shell.
10.Pour the egg mixture over the pecans carefully, so that their distribution remains even.
11.If desired, tile the top of the pie with pecan halves.
12.Place the pie into the center of the oven and bake for 10 min at 400F and then reduce the temperature to 350F for 35-40 more minutes. For me it was done in 35 but my oven seems to run a bit on the hot side perhaps.
13.Allow the pie to cool completely, then keep refrigerated. It can survive perhaps 36 hours at room temperature, if you are baking a pie for the next day. In humid environments, it is probably better to cool the pie and then cover and refrigerate it.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
Growing up in Texas, I suffered from a quandary. I love pecans, and I did not much like pecan pie. I wondered why pecan pie did not taste more like pecans, and why it did not contain more pecans. In researching this recipe, I discovered that at a certain point, a corn syrup company used a pecan pie recipe on their label in order to move more product, resulting in a widespread epidemic of intensely sweet, soulless “pecan pies” which are really more like butter tarts with some pecans involved. This recipe addresses that problem.
Before the days of industrial food, the home cook was faced with few options about how to make a pie out of something. Fruit is pretty easy; it just melts. With nuts, the choice here is essentially to make a quiche. A minuscule amount of flour is used to ensure that the filling is fudgy rather than custardy. Once cooled, the pie may be served with whipped cream. Alternatively, some like to top the pie with meringue, or to serve it warm with ice cream.
The original recipe this one is based on came from a church cookbook of my aunt’s, and was contributed by a fellow teacher, whom I was told would be glad to know her recipe is being passed on; I hope she wouldn’t mind that I’ve cut the sugar in half. I think that it might be possible to cut the sugar in half again, but I have mostly eliminated sweets from my diet, so what little I have has a lot of impact. Originally, the total sugar was 1/2 c granulated plus 1 1/2 c brown.
Our pie dough recipe: youtu.be/PEakukC4wgI
Makes enough for 8-16 people, or one 9” pie.
Equipment:
• 9” pie tin lined with raw crust
• large measuring cup/mixing bowl
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup pecan pieces plus 1/4 cup pecan halves for the top, optionally
1 cup brown sugar packed
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 ea eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Chop up the cup and a half of pecans for the pie filling, if need be. They don’t need to be tiny, but not being whole will make the pie easier to cut.
3. Line the pie pan with crust, if need be. If using a deeper 9” pie tin, like mine, let the crust just rest at the rim, making no effort to anchor it. The filling will only come halfway up, and the crust will shrink while the filling puffs, meaning that the finished pie will have excellent proportions.
4. If the kitchen is really warm, let the shell rest in the fridge to keep it from melting.
5. In the mixing bowl or large measuring cup, combine the sugar, water, flour and salt. If you wish to add any sort of undetectable dietary fiber to reduce the glycemic impact of all this sugar, this is the time and place to add it.
6. Blend all these ingredients together really well.
7. Add the eggs one by one, ensuring that each is well-incorporated.
8. Add the milk and vanilla, and combine thoroughly; bubbles are not especially desirable, so avoid whisking and aeration in general.
9. Place the pie tin with pie shell inside onto a baking sheet, and spread the chopped pecans evenly into the shell.
10.Pour the egg mixture over the pecans carefully, so that their distribution remains even.
11.If desired, tile the top of the pie with pecan halves.
12.Place the pie into the center of the oven and bake for 10 min at 400F and then reduce the temperature to 350F for 35-40 more minutes. For me it was done in 35 but my oven seems to run a bit on the hot side perhaps.
13.Allow the pie to cool completely, then keep refrigerated. It can survive perhaps 36 hours at room temperature, if you are baking a pie for the next day. In humid environments, it is probably better to cool the pie and then cover and refrigerate it.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
