Classic Southern Pecan Pie
The corn syrup pecan pie: eggs, light and dark corn syrup, butter and toasted pecans in a flaky par-baked crust, baked until puffed and just set and crowned with pecan halves.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
The pecan is American long before the pie: Wikipedia says archaeological evidence in Texas suggests Native Americans used pecans more than 8,000 years ago, and the word comes from an Algonquin word, pakani. The pie in its famous form is young. Karo's own history page says the company introduced Karo light and dark corn syrups on May 13, 1902, and its 1930s entry, headed "Pecan Pie is Born", says that "Down South, a new use for corn syrup is born", without naming anyone. The story many people repeat, that a sales executive's wife invented it, is the company's story, and food historians have since found older pies. Rebecca Sharpless, a historian at Texas Christian University, wrote on the UNC Press blog in 2022 that she had once repeated the Karo-employee story and was "dead wrong": a 1925 First Baptist Church of Dallas Sunday school cookbook already prints a pecan pie with dark Karo, credited to Mrs. H. W. Woodruff, Karo pecan pies were on sale in Memphis and Shreveport by about 1929 to 1930, and a cookbook published in New Orleans in 1900 has a pecan pie made with "Louisiana syrup" and calls Slidell "the original home of pecan pie". Even so, Wikipedia credits Karo's makers with popularizing it, notes that neither Fannie Farmer nor the Joy of Cooking printed it before 1940, and says it became closely tied to Southern culture in the 1940s and 1950s.
🇺🇸 This one is American
The corn syrup pecan pie: eggs, light and dark corn syrup, butter and toasted pecans in a flaky par-baked crust, baked until puffed and just set and crowned with pecan halves.
🇬🇧 The original
The British original is the mince pie: a small, sealed pastry of dried fruit, suet and spice that once held real minced meat. See the British Mince Pies recipe.
📖 Origin story: Who Invented Pecan Pie? → 📖 Origin story: Why Is It Called Chess Pie? →
Why it works the kitchen science
Two syrups
Light corn syrup gives the clean, glassy set, and dark corn syrup brings a little molasses flavor without making the pie taste burnt.
Toast low, bake hot
Pecans are oily and scorch fast, so King Arthur toasts the chopped ones at 325°F first, then bakes the pie hotter so the halves on top roast in the oven.
🧰 You'll need 9 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
Appliances
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Tools
Supplies
Step by step
- Step 1
Whisk the flour and salt, cut in the shortening until it looks like small peas, then cut in the butter until it is in fingernail-size flakes. Mix in the ice water 2 tbsp at a time with a fork until the dough holds together when squeezed. Fold it over itself 3 or 4 times, pat it into a disk 3/4 inch thick, wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Heat the oven to 400°F. Roll the dough to a 13-inch circle, fit it into a lightly greased 9-inch pie plate at least 2 inches deep, trim to a 1-inch overhang, tuck it under and crimp. Refrigerate 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Line the crust with foil or parchment and fill it with pie weights, pushing some against the sides. Bake 10 minutes, lift out the foil and weights and let the crust cool. Lower the oven to 325°F.
- Step 4
Spread the chopped pecans on a baking sheet, sprinkle them very lightly with salt and toast 10 to 15 minutes at 325°F, until fragrant. Let them cool, then raise the oven to 375°F.
- Step 5
Beat the eggs, both corn syrups, sugar, salt, melted butter and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the toasted pecans, pour the filling into the crust and arrange the pecan halves over the top.
- Step 6
Bake at 375°F about 45 minutes, until the filling is puffed and the center looks fairly set, with only a slight wobble when you nudge the plate. If the crimp darkens too fast, cover it with a foil ring after 25 minutes.
✓ What it should look like - Step 7
Cool on a rack at least 3 hours; the puffed center sinks as it cools, which is normal. Slice, then refrigerate leftovers.
Classic Southern Pecan Pie
Serves 10 · one 9-inch pie · 1 hr 30 min total
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1/4 cup (46 g) vegetable shortening
- 4 tbsp (57 g) cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1/4 cup plus 1 to 2 tbsp ice water
Filling
- 1/2 cup (57 g) chopped pecans, plus a pinch of salt for toasting
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (163 g) dark corn syrup
- 1/2 cup (163 g) light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 8 tbsp (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (113 g) pecan halves, for the top
Equipment: Oven, 9-inch pie plate, Rimmed baking sheet, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Whisk, Rolling pin, Parchment paper, Aluminum foil
Method
- Whisk the flour and salt, cut in the shortening until it looks like small peas, then cut in the butter until it is in fingernail-size flakes. Mix in the ice water 2 tbsp at a time with a fork until the dough holds together when squeezed. Fold it over itself 3 or 4 times, pat it into a disk 3/4 inch thick, wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Roll the dough to a 13-inch circle, fit it into a lightly greased 9-inch pie plate at least 2 inches deep, trim to a 1-inch overhang, tuck it under and crimp. Refrigerate 10 minutes.
- Line the crust with foil or parchment and fill it with pie weights, pushing some against the sides. Bake 10 minutes, lift out the foil and weights and let the crust cool. Lower the oven to 325°F.
- Spread the chopped pecans on a baking sheet, sprinkle them very lightly with salt and toast 10 to 15 minutes at 325°F, until fragrant. Let them cool, then raise the oven to 375°F.
- Beat the eggs, both corn syrups, sugar, salt, melted butter and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the toasted pecans, pour the filling into the crust and arrange the pecan halves over the top.
- Bake at 375°F about 45 minutes, until the filling is puffed and the center looks fairly set, with only a slight wobble when you nudge the plate. If the crimp darkens too fast, cover it with a foil ring after 25 minutes.
- Cool on a rack at least 3 hours; the puffed center sinks as it cools, which is normal. Slice, then refrigerate leftovers.
Adapted from King Arthur Baking, "Pecan Pie" by Susan Reid (updated July 1, 2022), one 9-inch pie at least 2 inches deep. We follow its crust, 10-minute blind bake, toasted pecans and 45-minute bake as written; King Arthur suggests 10 slices because the pie is so rich, and we use that as the serving count. The 3-hour cooling time and the foil ring are ours (King Arthur says only to cool completely). History from Karo's own history page, Rebecca Sharpless on the UNC Press blog (November 16, 2022) and Wikipedia, all linked in the Story. King Arthur Baking. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- King Arthur suggests cutting 10 slices instead of 8; it is a very rich pie.
- Warm a single slice for 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave if you like it soft, and serve it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Prefer an all-butter crust? King Arthur's page links all-butter and no-roll crust options.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- A Karo sales executive's wife invented pecan pie. Disputed: Wikipedia relays the company's account of a 1930s "discovery" by a corporate sales executive's wife; Karo's own page names no one, and Rebecca Sharpless found a 1925 Dallas recipe with dark Karo and a 1900 New Orleans recipe with cane syrup (UNC Press blog, 2022).
- The French invented pecan pie in New Orleans. Disputed: Wikipedia says "some have stated" it, citing a 2005 book; no early French recipe is given.
- The earliest pecan pie is from 1886. Disputed wording: Wikipedia says no recipe earlier than an 1886 pecan custard pie in Harper's Bazaar has been found, but that is a cream pie, not this one.
- Pecan pie is from Alabama in the early 1800s. Disputed: Wikipedia says that claim "does not appear to be supported by recipes or literature".
- Pecan pie is a Southern dish. Documented as a 20th-century association: Wikipedia, citing James McWilliams's "The Pecan" (2013), ties it closely to Southern culture in the 1940s and 1950s.
Every other holiday pie
Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie Without Corn Syrup
Pecan pie the way it was made before corn syrup took over: a smooth custard of brown sugar, milk, eggs, butter and a splash of vinegar, with toasted diced pecans inside and halves roasting on top.
Southern Lemon Chess Pie
The South's pantry pie: eggs, sugar, butter, lemon and a spoonful of cornmeal baked in a par-baked crust until the top turns into a thin, crackly sugar crust over a soft, tart custard.
Southern Buttermilk Pie
A tangy Southern custard pie: plenty of buttermilk, eggs and yolks, a little cream, butter and vinegar, baked low to 180°F in a fully baked crust, then flashed in a hot oven for a golden top.
Kentucky Chocolate Walnut Pie with Bourbon
Kentucky's chocolate and walnut pie: a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate in a blind-baked crust under a brown butter, bourbon and brown sugar filling packed with toasted walnuts.
Apple Cranberry Lattice Pie
A Thanksgiving fruit pie in two layers: cinnamon apples on a bed of pecans, topped with cranberries cooked down with sugar, orange juice and zest, under a golden lattice.
Indiana Sugar Cream Pie (Hoosier Pie)
Indiana's eggless pie: sugar, heavy cream, butter and vanilla cooked into a thick custard on the stove, poured into a fully baked crust, chilled until sliceable and dusted with nutmeg.
Pennsylvania Dutch Shoofly Pie
The Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast pie: a wet-bottom molasses filling lightened with baking soda and boiling water, under a spiced brown sugar crumb top, in a flaky sour cream crust.
Easy Pecan Pie Bars
Pecan pie for a crowd with no rolling pin: a press-in brown sugar shortbread crust topped with chopped pecans in a quick honey, butter and brown sugar caramel, baked in one 9 by 13-inch pan.
Gooey Butter Pie with Oat Cookie Crust
A dense, gooey butter and brown sugar filling thickened with egg yolks and milk powder, in a crust of crumbled homemade oat cookie, baked briefly and frozen until it slices like soft caramel. Inspired by Milk Bar's Milk Bar Pie; not official.
British Mince Pies
Britain's Christmas pies: small sweet shortcrust tarts filled with a week-old mincemeat of beef suet, raisins, currants, peel, grated apple, citrus, spice, brandy, rum, port and sherry, with sugared star or round lids.
Canadian Butter Tarts
Canada's own tart: flaky little pastry cups in a muffin pan, filled with a runny, just-set mix of brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, eggs and a dash of vinegar, with raisins or without.
Quebec Tarte au Sucre (Brown Sugar Pie)
The French Canadian sugar pie: a thick, custardy filling of brown sugar, cream, butter, flour, egg and vanilla in a deep-dish crust, topped with braided or woven pastry strips and baked until the center barely jiggles.
English Treacle Tart
Britain's golden syrup tart: soft white breadcrumbs soaked in golden syrup, brightened with orange, stem ginger and a spoonful of black treacle, baked in a blind-baked wholemeal pastry case.
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