I am making Pecan Pie for the very first time. I cannot tell from the recipes whether or not the nuts are cooked before going into the pie. What say you, O Dope? Roast/Toast or Raw for the pecans? I’m voting no on the salt.
I’m not an expert, but I think they are put in raw and float to the top. When they get to the top, they are exposed and get roasted by the oven. Some fillings are thicker and the pecans don’t float. If that’s the case, you may need to roast them first. However, I’ve had my raw pecans stay at the bottom and it’s still good.
I’ve never heard of roasting pecans.
They burn easily. I’ve had several pieces of pecan pie that had slightly scorched pecans.
Pecan pies are easy to make. Just don’t have the oven too hot.
Covering with foil is a smart way to keep from buring the crust or pecans.
Yeah, you want the raw pecans in the baking aisle, not any kind of roasted or salted ones. The pie will basically toast them nicely and coat them in sugary awesomeness.
Actually you can toast the pecans in a skillet before using them in cookies, and they do taste a little better, but you have to be careful or as noted they can burn. I don’t know if it makes much difference for a pie.
I often toast the nut pieces for cookies or cakes, hence my wondering. It sounds like not for this pie.
Thank you all!
You can use roasted pecans, or ‘roast’ them yourself in the microwave oven. Spread two cups of pecans on a plate,and microwave for one minute. Stir/mix them with your fingers and spread them out again. Microwave an additional minute. If they aren’t aromatic enough, nuke them a little longer. Put the filling into the pie crust. After the pecans have cooled a little bit, put them on top. Some will sink (or be forced down) and some will float.
South Georgian pecan grower here (most of us are)- the pecans put into a pie are raw. Baking cooks them. Absolutely no roasting of the nuts is needed other than in the baking pie.
Best recipe
ANN LANDERS PECAN PIE
1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup shelled pecans
3 eggs
1 dash vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 (9-inch size) unbaked pie shell
Mix all ingredients (except shell) well. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes. Cool.
Thanks for this. I might try it for Christmas Eve. If I do I’ll report here how it is.
I’ve always used the recipe straight off of the Karo syrup bottles, and they turn out great.
Ingredients
1 cup Karo® Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked OR frozen** deep-dish pie crust
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.
Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes (see tips for doneness, below). Cool for 2 hours on wire rack before serving.
**To use prepared frozen pie crust: Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven as directed. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on preheated cookie sheet.
RECIPE TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when done. For easy clean up, spray pie pan with cooking spray before placing pie crust in pan. If pie crust is overbrowning, cover edges with foil.
NUTRITION TIP: To reduce calories, substitute new Karo® Lite Syrup for the Karo® Light or Dark Corn Syrup.
High Altitude Adjustments: Reduce sugar to 2/3 cup and increase butter to 3 tablespoons. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
VARIATION: coarsely chopped walnuts may be substituted for pecans to make a walnut pie.
I’ve seen crushed pecans and halves. How to the halves float to line up so well? I thought that the pecans were placed in the top of the pie.
That was my experience when I tried making one for the first time recently. My filling was not liquid.
I burned the top of my pie, by the way, so the suggestion of a foil covering for at least part of the time may be a good one.
I’ve made so many of these pies over the years.
As has been pointed out by a grower expert upthread, no need to pre-roast or toast your pecans. They cook nicely in the hot pie filling.
I don’t know how others do it, but I stir broken pieces into the filling before I pour it into the pie crust, then hand-arrange whole pecans on the top in circles. I give each whole pecan a little shove so it is coated with filling. The circular decoration will stay put on top of the pie and the broken bits remain below in the filling. Pretty and tasty!
I prefer the Ann Landers version, FWIW. The salt adds a nice foil and the brown sugar gives a depth of flavor I miss with the Karo Syrup version. But they’re both good – they’re pecan pie!
Thanks, Aspenglow.
Mrs. Plant (v.3.0) will remove the pecans and eat the filling and crust. I do not object to this, as I eat her pecans as well as mine.
My filling is liquid. Use pecan halves, bit ‘bits and pieces’. Most of the nuts will sink into the filling, and the rest will flat and ‘line up’ on top. After about 30 minutes or so of baking, wrap the edges with foil to prevent the crust from burning.
Pecan was my dad’s favorite pie and I can’t remember the last time I had it. I wonder if it could be made diabetic-friendly by substituting agave syrup for the corn syrup and sucralose for the sugar.
Forgot to add that I use a graham cracker crust. That and the brown sugar seem to go well with the nuttiness of the pie.
Hey, thanks. Doesn’t seem right to not have any syrup, though; I’m gonna try my idea of the agave. That stuff contains about a third of the sugar in Karo.
Interesting concept. Let us know!
Forget that, don’t let us know. Just invite us over for a taste. 