Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie

The pecan pies of today bear little resemblance to their 19th-century inspiration. Could we recreate Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie without using modern-day processed corn syrup? Many traditional syrups (cane, sorghum) produced a great pie, but we had to mail away for those ingredients. In the end, combining maple syrup with brown sugar and molasses replicated the old-fashioned versions perfectly. We started the pie at a high oven temperature and then dropped the temperature to ensure the bottom crust was crisp and golden brown.

Serves 8 to 10

Regular or mild molasses tastes best in this pie. Use your favorite pie dough or our Single Crust Pie Dough recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1cup maple syrup
1cup packed light brown sugar
1/2cup heavy cream
1tablespoon molasses
4tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2teaspoon Salt
6large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 1/2cups toasted and chopped pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell (see note), chilled in pie plate for 30 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat sugar, syrup, cream, and molasses in saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Whisk butter and salt into syrup mixture until combined. Whisk in egg yolks until incorporated.

2. Bake Pie: Scatter pecans in pie shell. Carefully pour filling over. Place pie in hot oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until filling is set and center jiggles slightly when pie is gently shaken, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool pie on rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate until set, about 3 hours and up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature before serving.