Craig & Kathleen Claiborne's Mississippi Pecan Pie Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Fall

by: Food52

October29,2015

5

8 Ratings

  • Serves 8 to 10

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes


This is Craig’s mother's recipe, shared in an early New York Times cookbook. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and has a less jiggly filling than most. In short, it’s perfect. Recipe adapted from the New York Times Cookbook recipe. —Food52

  • Test Kitchen-Approved
Ingredients
  • For the crust
  • 3 cupsall-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoonsalt
  • 1/4 teaspoonbaking powder
  • 16 tablespoonsunsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoonsshortening, well chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 5 to 8 tablespoonsice water
  • For the filling
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cupsdark corn syrup
  • 1/4 cupunsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cupbrown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 1/2 cupspecan pieces
  • 1 teaspoonvanilla
  • 1 cuppecan halves
Directions
  1. For the crust
  2. Using a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, and salt together to sift.
  3. Add the well-chilled butter and shortening. Use short rapid pulses until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal and no pieces of butter larger than a pea remain.
  4. Add half of the water (approximately 3 tablespoons) and pulse 5 or 6 times. The dough will be crumbly, but should begin to hold together when a small amount is picked up and pressed together. Sprinkle on more water, a teaspoon (or 2, if doubling to make the two crusts) at a time, with 2 to 3 quick pulses after each addition, adding just enough water for the dough to hold together easily when pressed into a ball.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press together into a ball, then flatten into a disk about 6 inches in diameter (make two disks if doubling). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  1. For the filling
  2. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
  3. Roll pastry into a 10-inch pie plate, cover with waxed paper and pie weights.
  4. Reduce heat to 375° F. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove weights and bake 2 to 3 more minutes until crust is golden brown.
  5. Remove pie crust and reduce heat to 350° F.
  6. Brush pie shell with egg white.
  7. In a small saucepan, mix corn syrup and brown sugar. Boil over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
  8. Beat eggs and add syrup. Then add melted butter, chopped pecans, and vanilla. Pour into shell, and arrange pecan halves on top.
  9. Bake at 350° F for 40 to 50 minutes, until the center is set. (Cover with foil if pie starts to brown before the center is set.)

Tags:

  • Pie
  • American
  • Nut
  • Pecan
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Thanksgiving

See what other Food52ers are saying.

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9 Reviews

This is the recipe my mother has made for Thanksgiving year after year. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful classic on Food 52.

Megan C. December 20, 2020

Made this year (2020) for Thanksgiving. Only changed to “salted” butter. Wonderful.

TKM C. November 21, 2018

Lovely! When it cools, it sets. Dont make a crust, buy it and use the filling!

Patty J. December 30, 2017

This pie was amazing. I grew up in Texas and we always used light Caro Syrup so I used that instead of dark. Truly amazing.

cooking44 December 18, 2017

I've made this pie for years. The filling is Claiborne's, the pie crust is not. Everyone loves this pie.

Susan P. December 8, 2017

I'm from Mississippi. Always put pecans on top of bottom crust, then pour in filling. The pecans float to the top covered in the syrupy goodness and the pecans don't burn. The pie will be jiggly when done. It sets up as it cools. Remember it is sugar! Sugar turns to liquid when boiling hot!

Donna V. November 22, 2017

I just pulled the pie out of the oven for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast. It is beautiful. Added 5 minutes to the cooking time covered the crust for the last 15minutes of cooking time and covered the top of the pie for the last 10 minutes. Followed the filling recipe and I added 1.5 TBS bourbon 90 proof and 1 tsp champagne vinegar. Will circle back with feedback on the adjustments made.

Donna H. November 6, 2016

16 tablespoons = 1 cup. Don't measure 16 tablespoons, what a complete waste of time.

Courtney C. November 26, 2015

This just came out of the oven and it looks delicious (I'll follow up to let you know how it tastes). However, I had some difficulty with the instructions - some of the timing seemed off. For example, I had to bake my crust much longer than was suggested. The pie itself also took longer to bake than was noted. I had to take the pie out before the custard was set as well (after 50 minuted in the oven though), as the pecans on top were beginning to burn. I checked another version of this recipe and it notes that the pie should be taken out when the filling is still jiggly, which differs from the instructions above. I'll let you know tomorrow if it set properly. I'm excited to try it!

Craig & Kathleen Claiborne's Mississippi Pecan Pie Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Are chopped pecans the same as pecan halves? ›

does it say 1 cup chopped pecans, or 1 cup pecan halves, chopped. These are different measurements. The tiny pieces of chopped pecans will fill up he space more densely, yielding a heavier “cup”, if one were to weigh it, than the 1 cup of the large pecan halves.

Does Joanna Gaines have a pecan pie recipe? ›

One such gem is her surprising twist on classic pecan pie. The recipe itself is pretty basic, spare one unexpected ingredient: ancho chile powder. “It's funny how a small tweak to a classic recipe can make it seem completely new and exciting,” Gaines writes.

Why is my Karo pecan pie runny? ›

A pecan pie is essentially a custard pie, and a liquid center is almost always the result of underbaking. The Karo Classic Pecan Pie recipe calls for baking the pie for 60 to 70 minutes at 350 degrees. In some ovens, however, the pie can take 75 minutes or more.

What do Southerners call pecans? ›

Common Pronunciations

puh-CON (or puh-KAHN): A variation on the above pronunciation that's used in southern areas of the U.S. like Alabama and the Carolinas. PEA-can (or PEE-can): This pronunciation is favored in New England and areas of the eastern coast of the U.S.

How many pecans does it take to make 1 lb? ›

For a pound of nutmeat, you will need 2½ pounds of in-shell pecans. In order to help you maintain the highest quality pecan meats, we have developed the following guide to help you understand the best way to handle and store your pecans.

Does Marie Callender make pecan pie? ›

Southern Pecan Pie 4.5 out of 5 stars, average rating value. Read 782 Reviews. Same page link. Indulge in a true Southern classic, brimming with a sweet and luscious filling topped with plenty of crisp pecan halves and pieces in our signature extra-flaky, made-from-scratch pastry crust.

Does Sara Lee make pecan pie? ›

With Crunchy Toasted Pecans. CORN SYRUP, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), EGGS, VEGETABLE OIL (PALM, SOYBEAN), SUGAR, PECANS, WATER,, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS: SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, CARRAGEENAN. This pie is FULLY BAKED ...

Does Patti LaBelle have pecan pie? ›

Patti LaBelle's famous sweet potato pie has been known to cause spontaneous singing, so when we learned about Patti's new Sweet Potato Pecan Pie, we had seriously high hopes.

Is light or dark Karo syrup better for pecan pie? ›

Light and dark corn syrup can be used interchangeably in almost every instance, with slight flavor variances. In a pecan pie, for example, light corn syrup will contribute sweetness and a hint of vanilla, but that's about it. Dark corn syrup, in addition to sweetness, will add color and a more robust, toasty flavor.

Can I leave my pecan pie out overnight? ›

You can only keep it at room temperature for two hours. Since pecan pies contain eggs, they have more chances to get bad and make you sick. So, if you have kept your pies in the fridge, put them back within two hours. On the other hand, store-bought pies contain preservatives that keep them from spoiling.

What is the primary thickening agent in pecan pie? ›

Butter: Butter gives this pie richness and a delicious depth of flavor. Cornstarch and water: Two teaspoons of cornstarch and a tablespoon of cold water work together to help thicken the filling. Eggs: Whole eggs help bind the filling together and add welcome moisture.

Can you overcook a pecan pie? ›

Yes, you can overcook a pecan pie.

A pecan pie is likely overcooked or has been in the oven too long if the top turns black or the filling starts to crack. Overbaking your pie can make it sticky or crunchy, causing the filling to become tough, hard, and difficult to eat.

How do you keep pecan pie crust from getting soggy? ›

Blind Bake

The most common way to ward off a soggy pie crust is by a process called blind baking. Blind baking means you pre-bake the crust (sometimes covered with parchment or foil and weighed down with pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up) so that it sets and crisps up before you add any wet filling.

What is the jiggle pie test? ›

when it's in the oven on the wrap, just give the wrap, like, a little bit of a shake. And if you see the whole pie jiggles, this way, it's not like Jurassic Park. where it ripples from the center. The whole pie shakes, and that's when you know your custard pie is done.

How much is 1 cup of chopped pecans? ›

Pecans 1 cup halves = 99 g = 3.5 oz 1 cup chopped = 128 g = 4.5 oz | Baking conversion chart, Baking conversions, Baking chart.

Should you measure the pecans before chopping or after? ›

If it's before the ingredient, you do that before measuring. If it's after the ingredient, you measure first, then prepare it. So “1 cup of pecans, chopped” means you measure the pecan halves, then chop them. But “1 cup of chopped pecans” means you chop them until you have a cup of chopped nuts.

What does roughly chopped pecans mean? ›

Coarsely chopped nuts are cut into 1/4-inch or larger pieces. Chopped or medium-chopped nuts are cut into 1/16- to 3/8-inch pieces. Finely chopped nuts are cut until they're just a bit bigger than grains of salt.

Can I substitute chopped walnuts for chopped pecans? ›

You'll find pecans in desserts more often than walnuts. Walnuts work very well in savory recipes, and their slight bitterness and crunchy texture can liven up everything from oatmeal to salads and pasta. Overall, you can use pecans and walnuts interchangeably in recipes.

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