Pumpkin-pecan pie

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This old-fashioned shortening crust recipe produces a flaky, golden, beautiful pie crust. The pumpkin filling is rich, deeply spiced, and not too sweet. I added caramelized pecans on top for a special touch, and their crunch and sugary coating truly take it to another level.

The crust can easily be made ahead and kept in the fridge in plastic wrap, or even rolled out and frozen inside a pie shell until you're ready to use. Filling and pecan topping can also be made a day ahead.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword baking, dessert, doughnuts, fall, gluten free option, pecans, pumpkin, squash, Thanksgiving, vegan option, winter

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Cooling time 30

Servings servings

Calories 477kcal

Author Ksenia Prints

Ingredients

For crust:

250 ml all-purpose flour (1 cup)
2 ml salt
125 ml shortening (½ cup), room temperature
1 egg small, or ½ large egg
15 ml cold water (1 tablespoon)
7.5 ml white vinegar (½ tablespoon)

For pumpkin pie filling:

1.5 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 cup rich cream
¼ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup white sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅓ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice
1 pinch ground cloves
2 small slightly beaten egg or 1.5 medium, or 1 large

For caramelized pecans topping:

100 grams of pecan halves
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

To make the crust, combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut room-temperature shortening into flour with two knives until mixture is uniform and shortening resembles large peas. Do not overwork.
Beat egg, water and vinegar together. Pour evenly over the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined and all of the mixture is moistened.
Without overworking it too much, shape dough into a ball and lightly flatten into a circle of about 10 cm. Wrap and chill for 15-30 minutes (or longer, if making ahead).
Preheat the oven to 425F. While the dough is chilling, mix all filling ingredients together (pumpkin, cream, sugar, eggs, and spices).
To prepare pecan topping, heat a pan on low-medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and allow them to melt slightly. Add pecans to pan, mix gently with spatula to ensure even coating, and let cook for about a minute. Remove from heat, transfer to a plate and let cool down (do not touch pecans as they're very, very, very hot and you'll get a nasty burn. Trust me).
When the crust has cooled and you're ready to bake pie, cover your working area with a sheet of parchment paper. Dust the rolling pin and the parchment paper lightly with flour. Place dough on parchment paper, and cover with another sheet of parchment paper.
Rolling on top of the parchment paper, roll out dough to a uniform thickness with light, even strokes. Roll out a circle about 1 inch larger than an upside-down pie plate, to about ½-inch thickness.
Remove the second sheet of parchment paper, and transfer the dough into a prepared pie plate. Remove the remaining sheet of parchment paper, and patch up any resulting holes.
Fill the pie shell with filling. Arrange cooled caramelized pecans on top.
Brush the edges of the pie with an egg wash (one egg whisked with two tablespoons of water). Cut strips of aluminum paper and try to wrap those around your pie edges to prevent burning. Bake in a 425F on the lower rack of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 45 minutes in the middle rack, until an inserted knife comes out mostly clean but the pie still has some jiggle in the middle.
Serve with sweetened whipped cream, maybe flavored with 2 tablespoons of bourbon.

Video

Notes

Can you make this into a Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Pie?

Yes - I have done this many times over the years. For a vegan pecan pumpkin pie, use coconut cream in the filling and omit the eggs. The shortening crust is mostly vegan - and omitting the egg, or using an egg replacement, is totally fine (it’s one of the reasons I love it!).

Can you make this into a Gluten Free Pumpkin Pecan Pie Recipe?

Yes, that’s how I eat this pie these days. Just use a gluten free pie crust like my all-butter low carb pie crust, my gluten free yogurt and olive oil dough recipe, or this paleo, grain-free flaky pie crust.

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