Brown Sugar Pecan Pie, adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, is chock-full of pecans with the most luscious, rich, and buttery filling. If you follow these keys to success, your Pecan Pie will turn out perfectly every time.
Key to Success #1 – Use Quality Pecans
One of the most important aspects of a Pecan Pie is the pecans.
You can use whole pecans or break them into pieces, but make sure you use nice, high-quality pecans.
I get my pecans from a local pecan store.
I like to get the Pawnee variety but they always have several other pecan varieties that look good too.
Regardless of the variety of pecans that you get, it’s always a good idea to sift through your pecans and make sure they don’t have any spots on them or any remaining pieces of shell stuck on them.
I know it sounds basic but it’s so important!
Key to Success #2 – Cook It Low and Slow
For this Brown Sugar Pecan Pie, you’ll want to start cooking your filling on the stove top before you pour it into your pie crust.
Be sure to cook the filling on medium-low heat and stir it continuously so that your filling get silky-smooth.
The brown sugar in the filling really adds a nice richness.
I like to use light brown sugar but you can use dark brown sugar if you’d prefer.
This recipe uses less sugar than most pecan pies so that the pecan flavor can really shine through.
Key to Success #3 – Protect Your Crust
I really don’t like overcooked crust. I think the crust on Pecan Pie gets a bad rap for often being overcooked but I have a great tip for you!
Tip! Put a pie shield on your crust for the first 25 minutes of baking.
If you don’t have a pie crust shield, you can easily make one with aluminum foil!
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to make the aluminum foil pie crust shield: How to Protect a Pie Crust From Burning.
Cover the edges of the pie for the first 25 minutes.
After that time, you can gently remove the pie shield and let the pie continue to bake.
This will allow the middle of your pie to set while keeping the crust from getting overly browned and tough.
Check your pie after it’s been in the oven for a total of 45 minutes. If the center jiggles, it needs more time in the oven.
Let it go another 10 minutes then check again. In my oven, this pecan pie needs about an hour to fully cook.
Be sure to bake your Brown Sugar Pecan Pie far enough in advance that you can let it cool completely before cutting it.
You can give it a few minutes in the refrigerator to let the filling firm up.
Tip! Always use a serrated knife to cut Pecan Pie.
Slowly saw through the pecans then press down through the custard to cut through the crust.
This will allow you to cut a beautiful slice of pie that’ll impress your guests.
While you’re at the store, be sure you get plenty of pecans because you’re going to want to make two of these delicious Pecan Pies.
And if you love brownies, try our easy Pecan Pie Brownies recipe.
Save this Brown Sugar Pecan Pie recipe to your favorite Pie Board or your Pecan Desserts board.
Brown Sugar Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 eggs large
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Soften pie crust according to package directions.
- Press softened pie crust into pie plate, Roll edges under then flute with your fingers or crimp with a fork. Use a fork to gently poke holes in bottom of pie crust. Place crust in freezer for 5-10 minutes while preparing the filling.
- In small saucepan on medium-low heat, melt butter. Remove from heat and add brown sugar. Stir to combine. In separate bowl, whisk together eggs, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla extract.
- While stirring constantly, slowly pour the egg mixture into saucepan with the butter and brown sugar. Return saucepan to medium-low heat and continue stirring 3-5 minutes until all sugar is melted and filling is warm (about 130 degrees.) Remove from heat.
- Remove crust from freezer and pour pecans into pie pan. Pour filling over pecans making sure pecans are well-covered. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45-60 minutes until middle is set.
Stormy
Thursday 9th of December 2021
Can this pie be made ahead of time and Frozen? I have so much baking to do for the holidays...
Jennifer
Thursday 9th of December 2021
You can make the pecan pie a day or two ahead, but I would not recommend freezing it.