Pecan pie is my favourite. I rarely make it because I have to special order the corn syrup, and also the people we celebrate Thanksgiving with every year always make a Southern pecan pie (with no corn syrup) so it feels redundant to have two. But since I can’t eat the other pie (which is made with gluten), I usually have to give up my most delectable dessert.
Well not this year, baby!
If you feel like you haven’t heard from me in awhile, that’s partially true. But I wrote a post about our time in Vienna here, and it didn’t go out to e-mail subscribers because of a glitch (an extra character in one of the photo titles). So if you want to see some photos of that beautiful city, get caught up on my life and read what I think about legacies, you can do so here.
Back to pie. For the gluten-free crust, I use a flour mix (Schar, or in this case Dove’s Freee. If I were in the States I’d be using Bob’s Red Mill). I also used a brown flour GF mix, which has beet fiber in it to make it more whole-grain.
I like mixing GF dough in the Cuisinart because you don’t get your fingers all sticky, especially since you need an egg to make this work. You put 2 cups of flour, a half-cup confectioner sugar, 125 grams of butter, an egg and a scant teaspoon of large grain sea salt. The salty crystals make the pie crust taste good. If you don’t have large grain, put a half-teaspoon.
When you roll out the dough, it’s better to put parchment paper under the crust and over it. The one underneath will carry it to the pie pan without breaking it, and the one above you can remove and reuse for something else.
Remove the extra crust, but leave enough to crimp the edges. It looks like this.
My recipe makes enough crust and filling for a deep dish pie, but I only have a normal sized pie pan. So I used the remainder to make pecan bars. Basically the same thing, but in a different format.
So you have your crust, and now you need to roast your pecans (only 2 cups, though you’ll need more for the top). Just roast a tiny bit so it releases a perfumed roast nut flavour. About 6 minutes in 350°F should do the trick. Chop those up.
While you’re making the rest of the filling, bake the crust at 350°F for about 5-8 minutes until its hot to touch, but not brown. The filling consists of three eggs, which you’re going to want to beat before adding a cup of corn syrup, 5 tablespoons of softened butter, a teaspoon of vanilla, a half-teaspoon salt and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix all that together, along with a cup of sugar.
Now we need to talk about the sugar. It you want a pie that sets more easily (less runny) and is really carmelized, I recommend using all white sugar. If you want something that has a softer texture, you can use half-white and half-brown. That’s what I used for this recipe and the pie was a little runnier when warm than when I use all white. But you’ll see what it looks like in the last picture. It’s got this velvety flavour and texture in the end when served.
Mix in those chopped pecans and fill the pie crust. Here’s where the French in me comes out. Have a cup or two (depending on whether you have a larger pie dish or not) of pecan halves so you can make this really cool concentric decoration on top. This is the kind of thing the French like to do to make their patisserie beautiful. Though, of course, they don’t make pecan pie.
It’s really pretty, isn’t it?
Pour it into the warm pie crust and bake for 45 minutes at 350°. My oven is not reliable so I turned it to 325°F and had to bake it longer. You want the middle to be a little quivery, but not completely runny. If it is, you can put it back into the oven, covering the pie so the pecans don’t burn on top. You can also try turning off the oven and keeping it in there for 15 Minutes. Don’t be afraid to cut into it along one row of pecans to test, then putting it back in for 10 minutes at a time, low heat and covered.
And there’s your pie.
And there it is again.
Happiness on a plate.
- Crust:
- 2 cups gluten-free flour mix
- ½ cup confectioner sugar
- 125 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
- 1 egg
- 1 scant teaspoon large grain sea salt (or ½ teaspoon regular)
- Filling:
- 3-4 cups pecans
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 cup sugar (all white, or half white, half brown)
- 5 tablespoons softened unsalted butter (70 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)
- Roast 2 cups pecans for 6-8 minutes until fragrant. Set a timer so you don't burn them because it goes quickly. Set aside the remaining pecans.
- Put all crust ingredients in the cuisinart and mix.
- Put parchment paper on the pastry board, then flour it, and place the dough on top.
- Put more flour on top of that and another piece of parchment paper to roll out.
- Remove the top parchment paper and slide the crust into the pan, keeping the bottom paper.
- Remove the extra crust and cut the extra parchment paper so it's neat. Crimp the edges.
- Put the crust in the oven for 8-10 minutes so it's hot but not brown.
- Chop the roasted pecans (2 cups).
- Mix all the remaining filling ingredients together, adding the pecans at the last minute.
- Pour into warm pie crust.
- Take the remaining unroasted pecan halves and place them in a concentric circle on the pie filling.
- Bake for 45 minutes until the middle is quivery, but the pie is mostly set. Put it back in the oven (lower temperature and cover with aluminium foil) for 10 minutes at a time if the pie is too runny.
- Let cool for an hour and a half and serve.
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