By Genevieve Ko
- Total Time
- 2 hours, plus chilling
- Rating
- 4(1,022)
- Notes
- Read community notes
All the richness of pecans, buttery and crisp in the cookie crust, candied in the gooey filling, run through this pie. In this take on a Thanksgiving classic, standard pie dough is swapped for pecan sandie dough. It’s not only tastier with its nuttiness, it also doesn’t require rolling. You can simply pat it into the pan and into a round for the top. For a toastier flavor and a little more crunch, bake the pecans first in a 350-degree oven until fragrant and a shade darker.
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-inch pie
- ¾cup/80 grams pecans, lightly toasted if you’d like
- 1⅔cups/209 grams all-purpose flour
- ¼cup/34 grams confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
- ¼teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- ½cup/114 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, plus more for the pan
- 1large egg, beaten
- 1½teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2ounces/56 grams dark, milk or white chocolate
- 1cup/350 grams dark corn syrup
- ¾cup/165 grams packed dark brown sugar
- 3tablespoons/42 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3large eggs, at room temperature
- 1tablespoon rye or other whiskey (optional)
- 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- 1½cups/160 grams finely chopped pecans, lightly toasted if you’d like
For the Crust
For the Filling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Make the crust: Pulse the pecans in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt, and pulse until the nuts are very finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until fully incorporated, then add the egg and vanilla, and pulse just until the dough comes together in large clumps.
Step
2
Butter the bottom and sides of a standard (not deep-dish) 9-inch pie plate. Take about two-thirds of the dough (300 grams) and press into an even layer against the bottom of the plate and up the sides to form a ⅓-inch-thick crust along the sides. The top of the dough should extend just over the inside edge of the rim. Refrigerate until firm. Meanwhile, position 1 rack on the lowest level of the oven and 1 near the top. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Step
3
While the oven heats, prepare the remaining one-third of the dough (about 165 grams). Pinch off a 1-inch ball of dough and refrigerate it in case you need to patch any cracks in the crust. Press the rest of the dough into a round disk on a sheet of parchment paper. If it is very sticky, refrigerate it until it’s easy to roll. If it isn’t too sticky, place a piece of plastic wrap over it and roll it into a 7-inch round. You also can pat it into a 7-inch round if you don’t have a rolling pin. Freeze on the parchment on a baking sheet until firm but not extremely hard.
Step
4
Cut the dough into 4 even strips, then cut 4 even strips at an angle, starting the cuts from the end points of the first set of strips. You want to create 2 diamonds in the middle and 8 triangles with curved edges surrounding them. (Or get creative and cut whatever shapes you’d like.) Refrigerate until firm.
Step
5
Line the dough with a sheet of crumpled parchment paper. (Crumpling helps it lie flat against the dough.) Fill the lined dough to the top with pie weights, such as dried beans. Bake on the lowest rack until golden at the edges and dry, about 25 minutes. Remove the parchment with the pie weights and return the empty shell to the oven. Bake until golden brown at the edges and set on the bottom, 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool while you prepare the filling. If there are any cracks in the dough, gently press pieces of the reserved dough into them. Be sure to patch everything, but you don’t need to bake the shell by itself again.
Step
6
Make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk the corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, eggs, rye (if using), vanilla and salt until smooth. Stir in the pecans. Pour the filling into the crust and bake on the lowest rack until set, 40 to 45 minutes, tenting with foil if the top or crust get too dark. It may still wobble a bit but shouldn’t jiggle.
Step
7
Meanwhile, lift the refrigerated dough shapes off the parchment and place them back down, spacing them 1½ inches apart. Bake on the upper rack while the pie bakes until golden brown at the edges, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool completely. (The pecan sandies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
Step
8
Cool the pie completely. (The whole pie can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days before topping.)
Step
9
Melt the chocolate (in a microwave-safe bowl stirring every 20 seconds or in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water). If you’d like, dust the tops of some or all of the cooled pecan sandies with confectioners’ sugar. Generously spread melted chocolate on the bottoms and arrange the shapes on top of the cooled pie. Let the chocolate set. Serve immediately or let stand at room temperature for up to 8 hours.
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1,022
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Cooking Notes
IEK
Folks should look up the difference between corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup. Unless you have a corn allergy, corn syrup like Karo isn't any worse for you than molasses, cane syrup, agave, honey, etc.
Laurie
I’ve been using maple syrup instead of corn syrup in pecan pies. Delicious.
lola
On my list for this thanksgiving!! I’d like to suggest that, instead of dark corn syrup, that brown rice syrup be used. I’ve ditched the corn strips completely in favor of this. The brown rice syrup flavor is wonderfully rich and deep but not at all too much. And it’s a lot healthier!
Chantal
Brown rice syrup is not healthier than corn syrup. They are both glucose essentially. Corn syrup is not the same as high fructose corn syrup. If anything, brown rice syrup can have high amounts of arsenic and could be worse!
Fliegan
I made this tonight. Pecan pie is already very sweet, and I was worried that a sweet crust would be too much. I was right. We couldn’t even taste the chocolate on the bottom of the sandies in the top of the pie. I think a more traditional pie crust is better. I decided to do a different design for the top - I cut the 7” round into 16 small wedges, so that the cookies wouldn’t get ruined when slicing the pie. I put powdered sugar an every other wedge to make the design a bit interesting.
Jared
I strongly recommend subbing bourbon and maple syrup for the rye and dark corn syrup.
John F.
This sounds, and looks, great--I want to try it.But, when I do, I'll use Lyle's Golden Syrup, a cane syrup with a mellow taste like butterscotch. Light corn syrup is too sweet, & dark corn syrup is too assertive. I use Lyle's whenever I make pecan pie.
Sue
Ooo, what's the difference between a wobble and a jiggle?!
bethany H
I wish we were able to add photos to our notes so that we could see everyone’s version. They should really make that a thing
Dawn
Step 2 explains to pat the dough into the pie plate; i.e., like a cheesecake crust or shortbread. Which makes me wonder if a springform pan might work in lieu of a pie plate?
Sandie
In step 9 where it says to spread the melted chocolate on the cookies...skip that part.
Mark
As a novice baker, and one who is visually/spatially challenged as well, I really wish there was a video to show how to cut the top diamond.
Margie
How in the world do you cut this beautiful thing? I suppose one could lift off a cookie to serve alongside a wedge of pie? Hmmm…or cut right through the maze? There should be a hidden prize in this, maybe a chocolate poker chip? What a unique presentation!
Jon
Brilliant! So glad I make a “test” version of every thanksgiving dessert. We’ll be having this tonight!
Ernie
Try cane syrup rather than corn syrup in this recipe. It makes a delicious difference.
Regina
This pie crust was delish! I am gonna try to make cookies with it. My problem was that my diamond cookies for the top broke when I tried to attach them...next time I will make the circle smaller and roll the dough thicker--maybe 1/3"? I used Melissa Clark's honey/maple syrup/browned butter recipe for the filling. Yum! Next time I will use carmel to attach the diamond cookies on the top. The chocolate caused cognitive dissonance for me.
Audra
Turned out great—lots of nuts to gooey sugar ratio(so if you are just after the sugary goo, find another recipe). Definitely toast the nuts first; I did it while the oven was hot from blind-baking the crust. Do make the crust tall as recommended—I just went to the top of the pan and some of the filling leaked under the crust and made it impossible to get a slice out neatly in places. I didn’t add the chocolate to the bottom of the cookies and just took them off to slice. Will make again.
Lisa
I'm a fan of maple syrup & Lyle's Golden Syrup, but now I make pecan bars with them. There's just too much sweet "goo," between the pecans & the crust, in a pie! I don't know why people are stressing about the diamond shapes that top the pie! Just cut 7" rounds from parchment, & have your kids use rulers to help figure it out. No kids to help? Follow the photo to copy the lines onto the parchment. Then cut the pattern into pieces to guide marking the cutting lines on the dough circle.
Sarah
I couldn't find any corn syrup near me so used molasses instead - it was DIVINE. I don't like overly sweet things so I cut down the amount of molasses and sugar to less than half. Still perfect. I'm not the best with pastry so the decoration on the top looked weird because the diamonds were too small. But the taste more than made up for it.
Nicole G.
This is going to be a new classic on our thanksgiving table. Everyone said it was the best pecan pie they’ve ever had. I made exactly as the recipe stated and it turned out perfectly!
nan
Can I make the crust the day before, do the filling et al the next day?
Heather E
I've made this a few times now, it's now a family request. But I am always left wondering in reference to the bake time, what's the difference between wobble and jiggle in the reference to doneness?!?
Bennett
So I e made this twice now. At Thanksgiving I was told it was a “work of art” and “the best pecan pie I’ve ever had”. So I made it again. This time I removed the entire pie from the pan, and pre-cut the pie with an electric knife along the shapes of the cookie tops before “gluing” the tops on. I also cut the cookie tops that stretch all the way across the pie in half. I placed the finished pieces in a rimmed round plate to keep the pieces from falling backwards. Thumbs up!
KT Rush
I put a layer of chocolate chips on the top of the crust before putting in the filling. Wow! I agree that you should use great bourbon (2T) and forget the melted chocolate on the top pieces. Did nothing and wasted chocolate.
ST
Make this in tart shell (11” I think) - the large one. Add chocolate ganache drizzle on top, especially if cookie top doesn’t get used again
Amanda
I successfully made this gluten-free and dairy-free and it was delicious! I’m always a fan of press-in crusts as opposed to rolled crusts as they are much friendlier gluten-free. I used my favorite King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour blend and my favorite Miyoko’s vegan butter. The pie was beautiful and tasty and did not suffer without gluten or dairy in the least.
Marybeth Allen
I have made many pecan pies in the past because it's my husband's favorite. I made this one for a dinner party and it received a rave review from everyone especially the husband...."best ever " he said. The pecan shortbread crust was easier than I had anticipated, but I rarely use the processor to make pie crust; maybe I should more often!? I substituted bourbon (Maker's Mark) for rye , used milk chocolate for the cookie bottoms, ( I don't like dark) and got creative with the "shapes" .
Lauri
The pecan pie filling is really good- I made it with Lyle's Golden Syrup and lightly roasted the pecans as suggested, and it was just delicious. But the crust and cookie part seemed kind of silly- I discovered through making it that I really like plain old pie crust with pecan pie. The cookie decorations on the top had no benefit- were not so good as cookies.
tealeigh
This was so good! I liked the dark corn syrup - it was like mild molasses. I followed the recipe except for the melted chocolate - I just brushed corn syrup on the back of the cookies. They weren't "cemented" on, but sticky enough. For cutting the strips, I sliced the 3 strips, then just rotated the knife about 45 degrees and cut 3 more. It was pretty close to the picture! Everyone loved it.
casey
I drew out the cuts on paper in advance so I knew what to do when I cut the crust. I am saving the paper circle with my recipe.
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