Maple Pecan Pie

Maple might be one of my favorite flavors of all time. Especially in the fall, when it just feels right, you know? I was feeling like having a pecan pie, so I decided to try and infuse it with some maple, because that seemed like it would work.

I added maple to both the crust and the pie itself, and I have to say it works incredibly well. Try this – I think you’ll agree!

Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Crust

2 ¼ cups pecans
2 T dark brown sugar
2 T maple syrup (the real stuff)
1 T water
2 ¼ T butter, melted
1 t vanilla

Filling

2 cups, pecans (halves), divided
3 eggs
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup maple syrup (once again – the real stuff)
3 T corn syrup
6 T butter, softened to room temperature

Directions

First the crust. Take your pecans and crush them in a food processor.

Move the pecans to a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients – dark brown sugar, maple syrup, water, butter and vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Press the crust into a 9” pie pan.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Take the crust out of the oven and move to cool on a wire rack. It’s ok if the crust doesn’t seem 100% baked – it’s going back into the oven once it gets filled.

Now on to the pecan pie filling.

Take your pecans and spread them out on an unlined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 8 to 10 minutes, until they are completely browned. As always, be careful to watch so they don’t burn. When the pecans are done, take them out of the oven, let them cool on the sheet and enjoy how amazing your kitchen will smell.

Next, take the eggs and dark brown sugar and mix together until well blended. Add in the maple and corn syrups and mix again, then add in the butter and mix until everything is smooth and well blended.

Next, take 1 cup (half) of your toasted pecans and chop into small pieces (you can also do this ahead of time). Use a knife here, not a food processor – you don’t want them to be dust, just smaller pieces. Add these cut up pieces to the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.