Pecan Pie Cookies Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pecan pie so hard? ›

Bake the pie too long and the filling will become rock hard after cooling. Don't bake the pie long enough and the filling will ooze all over the place and the pie will fall apart. There are three okay ways to kind-of tell when your pecan pie is done but only ONE foolproof way to tell when your pecan pie is done.

Brush the surface of the unbaked crust with a beaten egg or egg white mixed with water before adding the filling. As the pie bakes, the proteins in the egg will form a moisture barrier over the crust and provide a layer of protection.

Pecan pie is a delightful concoction of pecan nuts mixed with a rich, caramelly filling made from eggs, butter, corn syrup, and sugar. The earliest pecan pie can be traced all the way back to the late 1800s, but it really peaked in the early 20th century when Karo™ syrup printed a pecan pie recipe on its bottles.

Yes. Because pecan pie is an "egg-rich" pie, the USDA recommends you store it in the fridge after it has cooled. Unless you plan on serving the pie within two hours of baking, it shouldn't stay out at room temperature.

All-purpose flour is an easy solution, as you're sure to have it in your pantry. Since it's lower in starch, you'll use more of it than you would higher-starch thickeners. Quick-cooking tapioca makes filling bright and clear, but also gives it a stippled and somewhat sticky texture.

Pecan pie has a somewhat similar set of issues—the filling can crack, the bottom can be under-baked, the filling can seep under the crust, and the nuts can be soggy. Like the pumpkin pie, the filling will crack if the pie is over-baked or cools too quickly.

Cook pecan pie too much and it'll crack and be dry. Underbake it and it will be watery and runny. You want to cook pecan pie to an internal temperature of 200°F. Use a digital thermometer to make this easy.

Once you hit the sweet spot where it looks done, take your slightly jiggly pecan pie out of the oven and place it on a wire cooling rack. The filling continues to cook and will fully set as the pie cools, so giving a pie plenty of time at room temperature before serving is important.

Pumpkin Pie: This one is our winner! When in doubt, choose pumpkin pie. In competition with those mentioned above, it offers the fewest calories, and least fat and added sugar. It's also loaded with vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B12, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, phosphorous, calcium, and iron.

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 eat pecan pie that was left 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.

Chef and Certified Master Baker Genevieve Meli, lecturing instructor in baking and pastry at the Culinary Institute of America, said that she wouldn't refrigerate pecan pie. According to Meli, pecan pie will be able to be safely eaten for two days left out of the fridge.

If going by the USDA rules about "egg-rich" pies, you should still refrigerate a pecan pie from Costco. Some pies contain preservatives, including the Costco pecan pies (though their pumpkin pies claim to be preservative-free.)

Keep the dough ingredients cool

But if that fat starts to melt and mixes with the flour, it can start to develop gluten, which can lead to a tough crust. To prevent this, keep everything as cold as possible. Some bakers go so far as to put ingredients and equipment in the fridge or freezer before making pie crust.

It may be running too cool and not be sufficiently hot for the custard magic to take place. Employ the pie-shield solution to save whatever dessert is already in there, and then get yourself a reliable oven thermometer to ensure proper preheating in the future. After all, consistency is everything in baking.

Like the pumpkin pie, the filling will crack if the pie is over-baked or cools too quickly. But unlike pumpkin pie which has pumpkin puree to give it structure, pecan pie filling is mostly just sugar, corn syrup and eggs, so the tendency to soufflé and fall is even greater.