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I tried 3 pecan-pie recipes from famous chefs, and one had the best crust I've ever made

Nov 15, 2022, 03:37 IST
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I made pecan pies using recipes from Guy Fieri, Ree Drummond, and Ina Garten.Paige Bennett
  • I tried recipes for pecan pie from celebrity chefs Ree Drummond, Guy Fieri, and Ina Garten.
  • Fieri's recipe used a store-bought crust, and Garten's crust recipe was amazing.
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There's something so comforting about a slice of warm pecan pie.

I've never made it but I recently decided to test recipes from celebrity chefs Ree Drummond, Guy Fieri, and Ina Garten.

Here's how it all went:

Drummond takes a classic approach to pecan pie

Ree Drummond's pecan-pie recipe uses pantry staples.Paige Bennett

The Pioneer Woman makes a pretty classic pecan pie, complete with sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup.

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Both the crust and filling require salted butter. Her recipe requires a cup of pecans, whereas the others require at least two.

The crust required the most work

I had to use my hands to mix everything.Paige Bennett

This crust requires cutting the butter and shortening into the flour with a dough cutter.

I don't own one, so I worked the fats into the flour with my fingers until it became pebbly.

I was worried the dough would fall apart.Paige Bennett

The dough was crumbly by the time I worked in all of the ingredients. I was worried it would fall apart when it was time to roll it out.

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I let it chill in the fridge for about an hour.

The filling only required a cup of pecans.Paige Bennett

The filling was much easier to make. I whisked the ingredients together in a bowl and chopped the pecan halves into smaller pieces, which went into the unbaked crust.

For the filling, I simply mixed all the ingredients together.Paige Bennett

The crust held together fairly well as I rolled it out and transferred it to a pie pan.

The crust was simple to make.Paige Bennett

Aside from making the dough, this recipe was easier to follow than I anticipated.

I poured the filling into the crust.Paige Bennett

I baked it for 30 minutes with foil then 20 minutes without the covering.

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The pie was jiggly in the center but the crust started to brown. I covered it in foil again and let it bake for another 15 minutes, which was perfect.

The center was a bit jiggly at first.Paige Bennett

It was slightly soft in the center and the crust was golden. I let it sit and cool for about four hours after taking it out of the oven.

I was impressed at how good this pecan pie tasted

Ree Drummond's pie was delicious.Paige Bennett

This pie held together well as I pulled it out.

It was gooey inside but super crispy and caramelized on top.

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The center was gooey.Paige Bennett

The rich and comforting flavor was very sweet and it tasted mostly like brown sugar. The crust was buttery and a bit crispy and the top was extra crunchy.

Fieri's recipe takes a helpful shortcut with store-bought crust

Guy Fieri's recipe uses a shortcut.Paige Bennett

I was shocked to see no surprises in Fieri's Southern pecan-pie recipe.

Instead, he opts for traditional ingredients and a sheet of store-bought, refrigerated pie crust.

The filling includes a lot of pecans chopped into different sizes

I whisked all the ingredients together for the filling.Paige Bennett

The pie was ready to pop in the oven once the crust thawed out.

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I diced a cup of pecans into a fine chop and a rough cut. I left another cup of nuts untouched for the decorative topping.

I filled the crust with pecans and filling.Paige Bennett

I whisked together the filling ingredients and added in the roughly-chopped pecans.

I rolled out the crust and pressed it into a pie pan. Despite buying a 9-inch crust, it didn't cover my pan so I couldn't neatly press it into a crimped design.

I pressed the pie crust into the pan because I didn't have enough.Paige Bennett

I baked it uncovered for about 10 minutes. After the crust cooled, I added the finely-chopped pecans to the bottom.

I poured in the filling and arranged the whole pecans on top.

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It browned nicely.Paige Bennett

It needed to sit in the oven for another 40 to 50 minutes, so I covered it with foil to prevent it from burning.

The topping looked great but the store-bought crust didn't work out

The crust wasn't doing it for me.Paige Bennett

The arrangement on top was a really nice touch. The crust, unfortunately, was overbaked and wasn't thick enough for the hefty filling.

The filling was very gooey and sweet, so the crunchiness from the pecans made a great contrast.

Next time, I would leave the nuts off the top.Paige Bennett

The pecans on top tasted somewhat acrid because they weren't covered in the sugary filling.

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I'd swap in an easy, homemade crust instead of store-bought, and I'd probably leave off the nuts on top.

Garten opts for a unique, flavorful filling

Ina Garten uses orange zest, maple syrup, honey, and bourbon.Paige Bennett

The Barefoot Contessa's recipe for maple pecan pie includes a buttery, perfect crust and filling with orange zest, maple syrup, honey, and bourbon.

I was surprised there wasn't any sugar in this recipe but there were a whopping 2 1/2 cups of pecans.

I made Garten's crust with a food processor, and it turned out amazing

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I mixed the wet and dry ingredients together.Paige Bennett

I started by pulsing the food processor a few times to mix the dry ingredients, then butter and vegetable shortening until it looked like small pebbles.

I poured in cold water until the dough formed a ball. Then I put it on a floured board, rolled it, and wrapped it in plastic wrap. It sat in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Like the other recipes, the filling was easy to make — although it required a long list of ingredients.

Once the wet ingredients were whisked together, I mixed in pecans.

I added in pecans.Paige Bennett

The dough was easy to roll out and didn't fall apart. I seamlessly transferred it from the board to the pan.

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The pie was easy to transfer.Paige Bennett

The edges were easy to crimp, too.

I poured in the filling and baked the pie for about 40 minutes. I added foil to prevent the edges from burning, then put it back in the oven for 15 minutes.

This pie reminded me of an old-fashioned cocktail and I loved the crust

The bourbon and orange zest made this pie stand out.Paige Bennett

I couldn't wait to try this delicious-smelling pie. I cut into this pie when it was warm, so it fell apart.

The filling reminded me of an old-fashioned cocktail thanks to the bourbon and orange zest. The maple and honey were also welcome additions.

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This pie had the most delicious crust.Paige Bennett

This pie had the best crust I've ever made. It was buttery and so easy to prepare, so it will be a go-to crust recipe for me.

This filling had the most pecans of all the recipes, but I think a cup and a half would have worked out better.

Garten's recipe didn't quite hit that classic pecan-pie flavor I was expecting.

I loved all the pies but Drummond's was my favorite

All the pies had tasty aspects, but I loved Drummond's the most.Paige Bennett

Garten's crust turned out amazing and I loved the unique flavors she added.

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Although I wasn't happy with the crust on the pie I made using Fieri's recipe, the filling was enjoyable. Drummond's recipe was my favorite of the bunch. The crust wasn't as delicious or flaky as Garten's, but I did like it a lot.

In the future, I would combine Garten's crust and Drummond's filling to create my ideal pie.

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