Bake Up An Old Fashioned Maple Pecan Pie

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Are you looking for an Old Fashioned Pecan Pie? Like the kind your grandmother probably made? I’m talking about a Maple Pecan Pie that your family will riot over!

Thick pecan pie filling redolent with maple syrup, dark brown sugar, and just a tiny hint of vanilla topped with crispy baked caramelized pecans in an all-butter pie crust. It doesn’t get better than this!

One slice of a maple pecan pie as seen from the side.

How to Use Maple Syrup in a Pecan Pie

You can’t JUST swap it out straight across for corn syrup in a regular Karo Pecan Pie Recipe. If you just add a bunch of Maple Syrup to a pecan pie it’s going to be a runny mess of a pie. Ask me how I know! LOL

Slice of Maple Pecan Pie No Corn Syrup on a cutting board with the rest of the pie on parchment paper.

Recipe testing is the answer! I started with my favorite pecan pie recipe and tested it from there. A couple of revisions and here we are with a Maple Pecan Pie that is perhaps better than the OG corn syrup-free pie.

Why is this pie crust blind-baked?

I chose to blind bake the crust after reading up about adding a LOT of liquid to a pecan pie. It seemed the one big problem bakers were having was a soggy bottom. We DON’T want soggy bottoms!!

One suggestion I kept seeing over and over was to blind bake or pre-bake the pie crust so it was somewhat set when the liquid went in. I tried that and it worked so well I never had a leaky crust in ANY of my trials.

How to keep your pie crust from slumping or shrinking

One thing you want to remember is to keep your pie crust COLD until RIGHT before you pop it in the oven. So preheat the oven once it’s hot THEN pull the dough out of the fridge, ease it into the pan, top it with foil/parchment, and whatever you’re using to blind bake, beans, or pie weights.

Moving QUICKLY is key, you want a COLD dough going into a HOT oven so it bakes right. If you have warm dough going into a warm oven you’re more likely to have a crust that slumps down INTO the pie pan.

If your crust seems to shrink it either went in the oven WARM and slipped down the slide. OR possible your crust was pulled and tugged into shape in the pan and THAT caused it to shrink up.

Be careful if you put your pie dough in a non-metal pie pan and decide to chill it before putting it in a hot oven. When you put it in the HOT oven that can cause it to explode. I’ve heard lots of things about Pyrex NEVER breaking but it’s just not true, it can explode in the oven when exposed to radical temperature differences. Some people STILL do it but unless my pie pan is metal I don’t chill the pan and dough together before putting it in a hot oven.

Maple Pecan Pie without corn syrup on a plate.

What do you need to make this Maple Pecan Pie?

a regular pie pan, no deep dish needed!
one pie crust, can be store bought, preformed and frozen, or a homemade pie crust
foil OR parchment paper for blind baking the crust
pie weights OR dried beans for blind baking the crust
pecans
maple syrup
dark brown sugar
flour
salt
eggs
melted butter
vanilla OR an *optional* splash of whiskey

Frequently Asked Questions about Pecan Pie

Can I make Pecan Pie without Corn Syrup?

YES, YOU CAN! You’re in the right place. My Original recipe OR this one as well as my Mini Pecan Pies(linked below!) are ALL corn syrup free.

Do I HAVE to make my own pie crust?

NO, you can use any pie crust recipe OR PREMADE pie crust

Do I chop the pecans before I measure them?

No, I add them as pecan halves. If you’re making Mini Pecan Pies OR Pecan Pie Bars, then chop them AFTER you measure them.

Can I make this a day before we want to eat it?

Yes, make the pie and let it cool. Then you can put it in the fridge.

Why is my Pecan Pie Filling soupy?

Either your recipe isn’t a good recipe, OR you perhaps mismeasured something. One more thought on that, your pie may be warm and until it’s cooled completely pecan pies are a little mobile in the pan!

Our OTHER Favorite Pies

Classic Crumb Topped Apple Pie

Old Fashioned Pecan Pie

Elegant Apple Tart

Apple Pie Dessert Charcuterie Board

Mini Pecan Pies

Old Fashioned Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe

Mini Pecan Pie

Yield: 8 slices

Maple Pecan Pie

Tons of maple flavor is what you'll get in this Maple Pecan Pie. This may be our favorite pecan pie recipe yet!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

Single Pie Crust, use my recipe, your recipe, OR store bought
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
good pinch of salt
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled slightly
1/3 cup real maple syrup
2 eggs
1 TBSP milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup pecan halves

Instructions

preheat oven to 375˚
dust the bottom of a regular not deep-dish pie pan with flour, lay pie crust in pie pan, don't stretch it out to make it fit, ease it in
lay parchment paper or foil over the crust cover with 2 cups dry beans or peas or use pie weights
blind bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes while you prepare the filling
to make the filling combine the brown sugar, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl
use a whisk or your hands to get it well combined and get out any lumps of brown sugar
add the eggs, milk, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla to the bowl
stir by hand with a spatula to combine everything, no need to beat but so stir it well to get it smooth and make sure the eggs are well combined
add the pecans and stir to coat
when the pie crust has baked at least 15 minutes remove it from the oven, remove the parchment or foil and the pie weights or dried beans
stir the pie filling one more time to make sure it's combined and pour it into the prebaked pie crust
bake for 40-50 minutes until the pie is dark brown, and the center is no longer jiggly
if you notice the pie crust is getting too brown early on cover it with foil