Grammie’s Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie is so simple to make and a delicious holiday pie the whole family will love! The sugar filling is loaded with pecans and nestled in a flaky crust and you can easily make it a day or two ahead of time!

Grammie’s Pecan Pie

About a year ago, my mother passed along some of my Grammie’s old recipe cards. Among them was her recipe for a Kentucky Pecan Pie, something she had made every year at Thanksgiving, and something I had never tried.

JUST TAKE ME TO THE PECAN PIE RECIPE ALREADY!

If you’d rather skip my (very helpful, I think) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to this deliciously easy Best Ever PECAN PIE Recipe – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

I prepared the pecan pie filling as if it was just an everyday recipe. I poured it into the crust, and then popped it in the oven.

It was just another recipe.

Or at least it was until I opened the oven about halfway through and the amazing aroma racked me with grief.

I stood in my kitchen silently sobbing and fought every urge not to just sit down on the floor and let it all out.

In fact, I’m having a hard time writing this now, days later, through tear-soaked eyes.

I wasn’t crying because the pecan pie had failed, I was crying because it was just like hers. It was hers, and she’s not here to enjoy it with me.

The fragrance of the rich brown sugar, warm pecans, and flaky crust sent me instantly back to my childhood. To Thanksgiving with my crazy-big family and a table lined with more pies than anyone could ever eat, always baked to perfection.

I could see myself walking around the corner into the kitchen to sneak pieces of extra pie crust my grandmother had baked up with cinnamon and sugar.

I’m pretty sure she always knew what I was doing while she was back to mashing the potatoes.

But not once at Thanksgiving did I try her pecan pie and now, what I wouldn’t give to have not been so picky and to have shared a piece with her then.

And as I stood there, I came to realize, that somehow all these years later, she was actually sharing a piece of herself with me. It was then that my grief transformed into thankfulness.

I’m so thankful that some of her recipes had ended up in my hands almost seven years after she had passed and that even though I hadn’t gotten to share a piece of this pie with her, we must have split a million loaves of her banana bread when I was a child.

And most importantly, I know my passion for baking was born in her kitchen and it’s something that will always connect us.

So once the pie was done, I did what anyone would do and I drove to my Nana’s to share a piece with her. Then I took half the pie to my mom’s so she might feel that connection once again as well.

I feel like this recipe found me at the right time, I don’t want anymore missed moments. I want to be present in my family so that years from now I can smile back on a shared plate of pecan pie.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the things that don’t matter, but I encourage you to slow down and take in the things that do.

So I hope you all find some time this holiday season to bake together, play together, and eat together. Just BE together, I promise you’ll be so glad you did.

My Grammie’s Kentucky Pecan Pie is a bit different than others because it uses all brown sugar instead of granulated which really lets the pecan flavor shine.

She also always cooked part of the filling on the stovetop before combining everything and adding it to the pie crust. Most pecan pies don’t use this method and I’m honestly not sure why she did it, but I do know that you don’t mess with perfection.

My Grammie always made her pie crust from scratch, but it’s something I have never been good at and it’s one of her recipes I still haven’t been able to find. So feel free to use your go-to pie crust be it homemade, refrigerated, or frozen!

How To Make Pecan Pie:

I always thought pecan pie was hard to make, but it’s actually really simple, follow the steps below for a perfect pie!

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your crust in a 9-inch pie dish and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine syrup, sugar, butter and cook over medium heat until the butter has melted, stirring frequently.
• In a small prep bowl, stir together the water and cornstarch and then add it to the butter mixture along with the vanilla and salt. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and remove from heat.
• Add the eggs to a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat just until frothy, about 1 minute.
• Slowly add the butter mixture to the mixing bowl while beating the mixture on medium speed to incorporate the two together and to prevent the eggs from cooking.
• Add in the pecans and mix to combine and pour into the prepared pie shell.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, check halfway through and if the crust is starting to brown, loosely cover with aluminum foil or a crust guard.
• Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

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This post was originally published in November 2015 and was updated in October 2018 with new photos and a slight recipe adaptation.

Kentucky Pecan Pie

This Kentucky Pecan Pie is a family recipe that's softer than most with a great balance of sugar, pecans, and crust.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pecan pie

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Cooling Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 559kcal

Author: Rebecca Hubbell

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 cup pecan pieces

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your crust in a 9-inch pie dish and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine syrup, sugar, butter and cook over medium heat until the butter has melted, stirring frequently. 
• In a small prep bowl, stir together the water and cornstarch and then add it to the butter mixture along with the vanilla and salt. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and remove from heat.
• Add the eggs to a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat just until frothy, about 1 minute. 
• Slowly add the butter mixture to the mixing bowl while beating the mixture on medium speed to incorporate the two together and to prevent the eggs from cooking.
• Add in the pecans and mix to combine and pour into the prepared pie shell.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, check halfway through and if the crust is starting to brown, loosely cover with aluminum foil or a crust guard.
• Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 290mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 5.8% | Vitamin C: 0.3% | Calcium: 7% | Iron: 10.5%

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