Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie🎄🍴

• Active Time

  35 min

• Total Time

  5 hr (includes making pastry and cooling pie)

It’s impossible to go wrong with pecan pie—it’s a quintessential Thanksgiving dessert. And while you could choose variations like chocolate pecan pie bars, pecan-pumpkin pie, or pecan pie made with maple syrup or rum and espresso, we think this classic version is just about the best pecan pie recipe you can get. It starts with a traditional buttery pie crust recipe, then adds on plenty of nutty, crunchy pecans and gets a little freshening verve from an addition of orange zest.

The filling calls for light corn syrup, which is mostly flavorless and lets the nuttiness of the pecans shine. If you prefer you can substitute an equal amount of dark corn syrup, which gets its darker color and more robust flavor from molasses (brown rice syrup is another great choice). We like pecan halves in our pie instead of chopped pecans because the bigger pieces give the pie a more satisfying crunch.

The prep time for this pie—including forming the crust—is just over 30 minutes. And you’ll only dirty the pie pan, plus one medium sauce pan and one medium-to-large bowl, so cleanup is a breeze.

Ingredients

8 servings

Pastry dough

¾ stick unsalted butter

1¼ cups packed light brown sugar

¾ cup light corn syrup

2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon grated orange zest

¼ teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

2 cups pecan halves (½ pound)

Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (for serving; optional)

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F with a baking sheet on middle rack.

Step 2

Roll out pie dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a ½-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and lightly press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (or freeze 10 minutes).

Step 3

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in corn syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in corn syrup mixture.

Step 4

Put pecans in pie shell and pour corn syrup mixture evenly over them. Bake on hot baking sheet until filling is set, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool completely.