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This easy Homemade Pecan Pie is so sweet and delicious from the dark brown sugar, honey and pecans. Add the filling to my All Butter Pie Crust and this pie is a little piece of heaven on your plate.
There is nothing much better than this pie! Crunchy pecans, gooey sweet filling in a flakey, buttery crust... yes, I'll eat the whole pie to myself it is that good! Not only is this pie delicious, it is so easy to make. I don't use corn syrup either, I use honey. I like the flavor better, especially combined with dark brown sugar. It takes like caramel and molasses had a baby. So good, so sweet and incredibly sensational.
This post was originally posted on 11/18/2020 and updated on 11/11/2021.
Homemade Pecan Pie Ingredients
- Pie Crust
- Salted Butter
- Dark Brown Sugar
- Honey
- Eggs
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Pecan Halves
Substitution Suggestions:
- Pie Crust: I like to use my recipe for All Butter Pie Crust, but any recipe will work as well as a store bough pie crust. Whichever you prefer.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar really is the key to the extra richness is this recipe, but you can use light brown sugar as well.
- Honey: The honey mixed with the dark brown sugar gives a great caramel flavor to the pie. If you can't have honey, dark corn syrup can be substituted.
How to Make Pecan Pie without Corn Syrup
- Prepare the pie crust and press it into a 9 in pie plate or use a store bought crust. Chill the crust until ready to use.
- Over medium heat, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan and then add the brown sugar and honey. Heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges, but DON'T boil. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Next, whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract and salt until smooth.
- Add the pecans in an even layer to the prepared crust.
- Pour the filling over the pecans, rearrange any pecans if needed to make it look extra pretty.
- Loosely cover the pie with aluminum foil. Bake the pie in a 350°F preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Then, remove the foil and bake the pie for another 35-45 minutes until the edges are set, the crust is golden brown and the center is set but jiggles just a little bit, like jello would.
- Cool the pie completely before serving. While the pie cools, the center will set and thicken more, this step is essential. I also like to chill pecan pie first and then serve the pie slightly chilled with whipped cream or ice cream.
How to Make Butter Pie Crust for Pecan Pie
- In the food processor add the flour and salt and pulse it a few times.
- Next add the butter and pulse just until it looks like very course crumbs. You want the butter to be the size of peas.
- Next add the egg and 4 tablespoons of the ice cold water and pulse a few times to combine. At this point the dough will be starting to form, but there will still be a lot of dry flour visible.
- Add another 2 tablespoons of water and pulse a few times until the dough starts to form and clump together. If there is still a lot of visible flour or the dough is not forming, add ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse just a few times after adding. I usually end up using 6-7 tablespoons of water. The dough will be slightly crumbly.
- Dump the dough out on a piece of plastic wrap and form it into 2 discs then wrap it individually. Chill the dough for at least an hour.
- Get out that pastry mat and sprinkle on some flour. If you don’t have a pastry mat you can use your counter, flour it well so the dough don’t stick. Roll the dough starting from the center and rotating several times, into a 12 inch diameter circle, the crust will be about ⅛ inch thick.
- Gently place the dough into a pie plate. Roll the dough that is hanging over the edges under and rest it on the edge of the pie place. Now you can crimp using your index finger and thumbs. Or you can simply roll or fold the dough and leave it for a rustic look. No need to prick the crust for this pie. Set the crust in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Add the extra crust to a freezer safe bag and freeze it for later. Or make 2 pies and freeze the extra baked pied!
These are the basic steps for making the all butter pie crust, there is a lot more information on making the perfect pie crust in my Butter Pie Crust Recipe blog post. Head there and check it out if you need or want more tips and tricks!
How to Store and Freeze a Whole Pecan Pie
Store the pecan pie tightly covered in the fridge. This pie works well when made a day or two in advance.
To freeze pie: Once the pie is baked and completely cooled, wrap the pie tightly in plastic wrap. I do 3 layers of plastic wrap top to bottom around the entire pie. Then label and date it, and freeze. The pie will last 2-3 months in the freezer.
To thaw pie: Thaw the pie overnight in the refrigerator. Do not thaw on the counter, thawing at room temperature will create a soggy crust from the release of excess moisture. Thaw in the fridge!
How to Tell When Pecan Pie has Finished Baking
- The edges will be set and almost glued to the crust.
- The center will only be slightly jiggly like jello. It should not look runny.
- Give the pie a gently shake, if there is no liquid oozing out the sides, it is done. If there is, keep baking.
- The crust will be golden brown. If it looks to be getting to dark, cover loosely with foil again.
More Pies and Holiday Desserts to Enjoy!
- Pumpkin Pie
- Chocolate Pudding Pie
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
- Apple Crisp Pie
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Crispy Candied Pecans
- Easy Sugared Cranberries
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting
- Sugar Cookie Bars
- Pumpkin Pie Bundt Cake
Homemade Pecan Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Butter Pie Crust
- 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 large egg
- 6-8 tablespoons ice cold water
Pecan Pie Filling
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups pecan halves
Instructions
Butter Pie Crust
- Add flour and salt to food processor, pulse a few times.
- Add cold cubed butter and pulse until course crumbs appear.
- Add egg and 4 tablespoons of cold water, pulse until it starts to form a dry crumbly dough.
- Add another 2 tablespoons of water to form a slightly crumbly dough that is clumping together. If needed add another 1 tablespoon at a time to form the dough.
- Dump out dough and form into 2 even discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Add the extra pie crust to a freezer safe bag and freeze it for later.
- Roll out dough into a 12 inch circle about ⅛ inch thick.
- Place dough in pie plate, roll and crimp edges. Place crust on baking sheet and chill crust until ready to use.
Pecan Pie
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Whisk in the dark brown sugar and honey.
- Heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan, but don't boil.
- Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Whisk in eggs, vanilla extract and salt.
- Add pecans to pie crust in an even layer.
- Pour filling mix over pecans and rearrange any pecans to make it look pretty.
- Loosely cover the pie with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake another 35-45 minutes until the edges and center are set.
- Cool completely, chill, and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
- Store tightly covered in fridge.
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