I’m from the South. But I’ve spent enough time up North to know a good thing when I see it. Maple syrup that actually comes from a tree is one such thing. The dark, runny intense flavor of maple syrup that you can get in western Massachusetts, where my mom lives, is hard to beat. In late winter, we line up in the early morning at Gould’s Sugar House in Shelburne, Mass for pancakes, bacon, and pickles, all doused in precious maple syrup.
Now, Pecan pie is a Thanksgiving tradition, and rightly so. The pecan is the state tree of Texas, but they’re ubiquitous across the south. Pie is the south’s solution to any abundant produce, and hence was born pecan pie. But I’ve always felt like it needs a little something. So one day, I tried using maple syrup instead of corn syrup. Magical. The pie is a little looser than its corn syrup counterpart, but you can control for that by adding just a little corn syrup or corn starch.
Does this make me a carpetbagger? Maybe. But in the immortal words of Percy Sledge, if loving this pie is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Maple Pecan Pie
3/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup corn syrup (or all maple syrup if you’re feeling daring)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) pecans
1 unbaked pie crust (recipe below — try making your crust, it’s deceptively easy!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pie crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon sugar (optional, I always leave it out because filling, not crust, should be sweet)
7 tablespoons ice water, roughly
Cut each stick of butter into eight pieces and keep at room temp. Mix the flour and optional salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter. Using a mixer, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture. The mixture should resemble coarse meal with small pieces of butter, size of small peas, remaining visible. Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water over the flour-butter mixture, and blend. Repeat with an additional 2 tablespoons water. At this point, you may have to add more water. I usually use about 6-7 tablespoons of water with regular all-purpose flour, but if you use pastry flour, you’ll need less water. If you use wheat flour, you’ll need more. When a handful of dough squeezed together holds its shape without crumbling, you’ve added enough.
Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide into two pieces, flatten a little into thick disks and wrap each up in plastic wrap. If the butter has gotten warm, refrigerate for a few minutes. Dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Place the chilled dough in the center of the work surface, and dust the dough and the rolling pin with flour. Position the rolling pin on the center of the disk and begin rolling the dough. Give the disk a quarter turn, and roll again. Continue turning and rolling until you have about an 1/2 inch thickness. You can turn the dough as you roll to keep it from sticking to the table. Lightly butter the pie plate. Lift the crust quickly and place it over the pie pan, readjusting until it’s centered. Trim any excess dough with a paring knife, or kitchen shears, leaving about an inch overhang. Fold the dough under to reinforce the edge, and push it into the pan. Your other disk makes another crust: you can make two pies or freeze it (if you were making a pie that needs a top crust like apple, your second disk serves that purpose.)
Filling:
Mix together syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla, then stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust. Bake on center rack of oven for about an hour: pie is done when center feels firm when you poke it.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, or if you’re an innovator, try pumpkin ice cream. Go on, break the rules.
