This pecan pie has an enhanced buttery taste from butter extract. It also uses a stovetop cooking technique to precook the filling before baking the pie in the oven. Buttery and delicious, you will love this pie!
A Favorite Pie
The most popular pie at my house for Thanksgiving is pecan! I always bake one, even if adding new desserts to the menu. And this particular recipe is everyone’s favorite! It is buttery and sweet with toasted pecans on top. I will share some tips for making this delicious dessert!
Prepare the Crust
To keep the crust from becoming soggy from the filling, I prebake the crust. You can use a prepared refrigerated crust for this pie or make your favorite to use. First, place the pie dough into a pie dish. Then dock the dough by pricking holes in it with a fork.
Cover the Crust Edges with Aluminum Foil
Make a Pie Shield
To prevent the crust from over-browning, use a pie shield made from aluminum foil. It is easy to make a shield if you do not already have one.
- Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil that will cover the top of the pie.
- Fold it in half.
- And then fold it in half again.
Cut the Folded Foil to Make a Pie Shield
After you fold the aluminum foil, follow these steps.
- Cut off the corner, leaving behind a chunky “L” shape.
- Open the aluminum foil to reveal a hole.
- Pinch each side of the foil to modify the size and make it smaller if it is too big to fit the crust.
- Refold the foil and cut it again if the hole is too small.
- Save this shield to use for other pies. With its versatile shape, you can use it for different sizes of pie dishes.
- If it becomes dirty, wipe it with a wet sponge or paper towel.
Make the Filling
Make the buttery pie filling on the stovetop while the crust cooks in the oven. Before adding the eggs, let the heated butter mixture cool for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then slowly pour in the eggs, whisking the entire time. If you are worried about cooking the eggs, temper them by adding a small amount of the hot butter mixture and whisking. Then whisk the eggs into the butter mixture.
Add the Filling to the Cooked Pie Crust
Stir the pecans into the cooked filling and pour the filling into the prepared crust. All the pecans will float to the top of the pie. Use chopped pecans or whole ones. You can even place whole pecans into patterns, as shown below. For the best look, turn all the tops facing upward.
Add a Baking Sheet and the Pie Shield
Place the pie dish on a baking sheet to catch any spills should the pie boil over. The baking sheet also makes it easy to remove the pie from the oven without breaking the crust while handling the hot pie dish.
Then add the pie shield to the pie, covering the crust and the outer nuts. Leave the center of the pie exposed to ensure it cooks properly. Pinch and fold the pie shield to make a smaller hole to cover the outer nuts. Covering them helps to keep the outside of the pie from overcooking and becoming hard.
Serve Room Temperature
Serve this pie at room temperature to make cutting easier. You can also freeze this pie if you want to make it ahead of time. Then bring it to room temperature before serving it.
I hope you enjoy this buttery pecan pie!
Other Pecan Recipes
If you like this dessert, then you might also like these recipes:
The Best Buttery Pecan Pie
Equipment
- pie shield (see Recipe Notes for instructions on making one)
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon butter extract
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 ¼ cups raw pecans, halves or chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the crust in a pie pan and dock (prick) it with a fork. Place a pie crust shield on the outer crust and bake for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat. Add the sugar and corn syrup and stir until the sugar melts. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
- Add the butter extract and eggs to the cooled butter mixture. (See Recipe Notes for instructions on tempering the eggs.) Stir to mix well. Stir in the pecans.
- Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Add the pie shield and bake for 50 minutes. Cool the pie to set the filling.
Notes
How to Make a Pie Crust Shield (refer to photos in post)
- Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil that will cover the top of the pie.
- Fold it in half.
- And then fold it in half again.
- Cut off the corner, leaving behind a chunky “L” shape.
- Open the aluminum foil to reveal a hole.
- Pinch each side of the foil to modify the size and make it smaller if it is too big to fit the crust.
- Refold the foil and cut it again if the hole is too small.
How to Temper Eggs
Temper the eggs before adding them to the butter mixture. Tempering helps ensure that the eggs don’t cook into small pieces and ruin the filling.- First, break the eggs into a bowl and whisk them.
- Add a tablespoon or two of the warm butter mixture to the eggs, whisking the entire time.
- Then add the eggs to the butter mixture, whisking well.