Pecan Pie Without Corn Syrup

This is a classic pecan pie but made without corn syrup. It’s sweet and gooey with a perfect pecan crunch, encased in buttery, flaky pastry.

Pecan pie is a firm family favorite. The best pecan pie recipe combines a sweet and gooey filling and an abundance of toasty pecans. It’s all enclosed in a flaky, buttery crust. This recipe is made without corn syrup.

A little history

Many pecan pie filling recipes contain corn syrup, especially Karo corn syrup but this is not a must for a traditional pecan pie.

The first pecan pie printed recipes were in cookbooks from Texas back in the 1880s which was before Karo corn syrup was created. Corn syrup pecan pie surged in popularity when Karo corns syrup began printing a recipe for pecan pie on the back of their cans of syrup, around 1930. From there it became very popular to use corn syrup in pecan pie, especially the Karo brand.

So, for those who don’t want to use corn syrup this recipe is made without corn syrup and tastes amazing.

The filling

The filling for this pecan pie is sweet but not cloyingly so. There is a mixture of chopped pecan nuts and whole pecans on top of the pie. This brings a great variation in texture throughout the pie that really compliments the gooey custard filling.

The chopped pecans bring a softer crunch than the toasted pecans on top.

The flaky crust

You can use a store-bought pie crust, or make your own.

The flaky layers in a pie crust are made using cold fat that is cut into flour and bound together with ice-cold water to create a thick pastry dough. When the pastry is baked, the water in the fat evaporates and creates little pockets of air throughout the pastry.

This is an all-butter pie crust recipe. It makes a very tender crust with excellent flavor.

Tips for perfect pie crust

• Use an all-purpose flour with a low level of protein of 10% or a pastry flour which usually has around 8-9% protein.
• Work the dough as little as possible. The kneading dough also encourages gluten development. In this recipe, the dough is rolled into layers instead of kneading.
• Don’t over hydrate the pastry by adding too much water. The gluten is developed when water reacts with the protein in the flour. Ensure you don’t add too much. The pastry dough should have just enough water so that it holds together easily when pressed but it shouldn’t be sticky.
• In the same regard, if you add too little water the dough will be crumbly and you won’t be able to roll it out without it breaking.
• Add some acid to the dough. An acid like lemon juice or vinegar helps to break down the gluten bonds that are developed.
• Let the dough rest. Once the pastry is mixed, let it rest in the refrigerator so the gluten can relax. This is going to help with rolling the pie crust and avoid shrinking in the oven.

Ingredients

Find the ingredients amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need.

The homemade pie crust

• Butter. You can use salted butter or unsalted butter. If using salted butter, the added salt component in the recipe can be slightly adjusted.
• Flour. All-purpose flour or pastry flour.
• Salt
• Sugar – Optional but together with the salt it enhances the crust flavor
• Lemon juice or vinegar (white vinegar or apple cider vinegar). This helps inhibit the gluten formation in the crust and keep it tender.
• Ice cold water

The pecan filling

• Pecan halves – Some of the crunchy pecans will be left as halves to top the pie but the majority will be chopped into pieces.
• Large eggs – eggs bring the custard base.
• Soft brown sugar – Sweetness and a touch of molasses flavor. You can also use dark brown sugar for a richer flavor.
• Granulated white sugar – Sweetness
• Vanilla extract or vanilla paste – A perfect flavor compliment to the pie
• Salt – A flavor enhancer
• Butter – Melted butter brings a bit of richness
• All-purpose flour – just a tablespoon of flour to help the pie filling set

Equipment

You will need a 9-inch pie plate. This recipe is using a glass pie dish which is useful to check that the bottom of the crust is baked when the is removed from the oven.

Method

The pastry

Begin by chopping the butter into small cubes. Add the cubes to a bowl and place them in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to ensure it’s cold.

To a large mixing bowl or to the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar, and salt and mix them together. Add the cold butter cubes to the flour.

Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into small pieces into the flour, or use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour or pulse it a few times in the food processor. The end result should be like coarse bread crumbs with a few pea-sized butter pieces in the mix. If the butter is melting at any point, place the bowl in the refrigerator.

Pour the lemon juice or vinegar over the dough and some of the ice-cold water. Drizzle it in slowly, about a tablespoon worth at a time.

Note, that the pictures below are of a double batch of the pie dough.

Pulse the food processor or use your hands to combine the dough and add in as much chilled water as needed. Add any extra water in slowly, a tablespoon at a time. It should hold together easily when pressed but not be sticky. If the dough is crumbly, add a bit more water.

If the butter has softened or the dough is warm, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes before continuing with the next step.

Laminating

On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rough 10inch/25cm rectangle. There’s no need to measure it perfectly, just lengthen it to around 10 inches.

Fold the bottom ⅓ of the dough up to the middle, then fold the top ⅓ of the dough over top to make a pamphlet shape.

Turn the dough a quarter turn, roll the dough and repeat this process once more.

Once finished rolling, use your cupped hands to gently shape the dough into a flat disc.

Wrap the dough up tightly using compostable plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap. Chill it in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Shaping

Once chilled, roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch circle. Drape it over a 9-inch pie pan. Trim off any excess dough with scissors or a sharp knife but leave about 1/2 an inch excess all around.

Tuck this excess dough under and flute the edges by pushing an index finger from one hand into the dough edge in between the thumb and index finger of the opposite hand. Continue this all around the dough edges. 

Place the shaped pie crust in the fridge while the filling is made.