TMc’s Pecan Pie (no corn syrup!)

So…I’m not a pie baker. Don’t get me wrong – I love to *eat* pie. I just prefer to eat pie that somebody else has baked. For nearly my entire life, I thought that Mrs. Smith made all the pies, and that was that. Also, standard fruit pies, all the time – love me some fruit pies (cherry, peach, apple, etc.). I actually thought that I disliked pecan pie until I came up with this one for my father-in-law.

This recipe has no corn syrup in it. I know, I know, there are people out there gasping in horror! But I really dislike that corn-syrupy texture you get with “traditional” pecan pie. I found a no-corn-syrup version on allrecipes.com back in 2011 and customized it to be my own. It comes out looking different than the standard, but you can fix that if it bothers you but adding some pecan halves to the top of the pie filling.

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TMc’s Pecan Pie (no corn syrup!)

Based on a recipe from the allrecipes.com site named "Pecan Pie V." I made a few changes to ensure that I get a pre-made deep-dish pie shell full enough not to look parsimonious. Give this one at least 12 hours to solidify and meld flavors nicely before serving.

Prep Time30 mins

Course: Dessert

Author: TMc

Ingredients

• 1 Deep-dish pie shell (pre-made or your own scratch version, just ensure it's deep dish)
• 1 cups Light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, melted & cooled (1-1/2 sticks, or 12 ounces)
• 2 Large eggs
• 1 TBSP All-purpose flour
• 1 TBSP Milk (I usually use 1/2 & 1/2)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 TBSP Rum (optional – I use a nice golden Anejo for this)
• 2 cups Chopped pecans
• 20-30 Pecan halves (optional – for the top, for more of a "traditional" visual)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Dock your pie crust lightly, then blind-bake it for 10 minutes
• Pull out pie crust and set aside, leave oven on but reduce temp to 325 F
• Beat eggs until foamy in a large bowl
• Add melted butter and mix well
• Add flour and sugar and mix well
• Add milk, vanilla, and chopped nuts and mix well
• Pour filling into blind-baked pie crust, smooth out
• Place pecan halves (if using) on top of pie in your pattern of choice
• Bake pie in center of oven at 325 F for 45-50 minutes (keep an eye on it, cover your crust edges if needed to keep them from getting over-browned)
• Pull and cool, uncovered, for several hours
• If you are serving soon, you can leave it out safely for up to 18 hours – otherwise, I'd cover it and put it in the fridge

Notes

• If you look up the original I based this on, you will see I dropped the baking temps and adjusted the times to work best in my oven.
• You can tell it’s done by watching the surface – it puffs up around your top pecans and starts to crack when it’s time to pull it.
• If you end up with any extra filling (sometimes I do because all pie crusts are not created equal), just put that filling into a standalone big muffin tin or something and bake – this is delicious with ice cream over it!