Maple and Brown Sugar Pecan Pie

Honestly, I've never been a big fan of traditional pecan pie. I've wanted to like it. It seems yummy with the buttery crust, pecans, and sweet filling; but every time my dad would pick one up at the store, I would always find myself disappointed by the excessive amounts of that jellied overly-sweet corn syrup filling. This pecan pie recipe, however, has become one of my favorite dessert recipes of all.

I adapted it from this Trisha Yearwood pecan pie recipe that calls for brown sugar and butter rather than a ton of corn syrup. I also tripled the amount of chopped pecans that go into the filling. It's loaded with pecans, as pecan pie should be, and a crispy almost meringue-like coating on the top.

You can use it to make an 8 or 9-inch pie or a few dozen mini pies. I have to say, I'm partial to the mini pies. The larger pie cooks a bit differently, yielding more liquid in the filling. The mini pies however, turn out with more of a nut filling, more crust (who doesn't love more crust?).

INGREDIENTS

*one 9-inch pie crust (or use two 9-inch crusts to cut out two dozen round mini crusts) For homemade crust, try this basic pie crust recipe with step-by-step instructions.

For the Filling:

• 1 & 1/2  cups light brown sugar packed
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups chopped pecans
• 1 stick / half cup of melted butter
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp liquid maple flavoring 
• 1 cup pecan halves (for top of pie)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine the brown sugar and eggs in a large bowl until creamy. Then add remaining filling ingredients and combine.

3. Pour into pie shell or mini pies. *If making the mini pies, use a standard one-cup measuring cup or large mug to cut out the mini pie shells and place them into mini muffin tins.

4. Top mini pies with a single pecan half or the full-size pie with enough to cover the top, arranged in a circular pattern; start at the center and work your way outward.

5. Bake at 325 for about 60 minutes if single pie and 45-50 minutes for the mini pies. If you're making a single large pie, it will be runny in the center (and very hot!) when ready and will firm up upon cooling. If the pecans on top are crispy and the crust is a nice golden brown by 55-60 minutes, then it's done. You can leave it in a little longer if the crust isn't browned and crispy. Enjoy!

More Pie Recipes to Try

Salted-Caramel Apple Pie

Banana Cream Tart

Fried Apple Hand Pies