Pecan Pie Cookies | Julie Blanner (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pecan pie cracking? ›

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.

A pecan pie is essentially a custard pie, and a liquid center is almost always the result of underbaking. The Karo Classic Pecan Pie recipe calls for baking the pie for 60 to 70 minutes at 350 degrees. In some ovens, however, the pie can take 75 minutes or more.

Crimp the crust to have a high rim that will act like a dam to stop overflowing filling. Check your oven for being level, so whatever filling that escapes the slashes will be distributed evenly instead of going to one side of the pie.

To avoid this, make sure to allow your pie to cool down completely before chilling. When your pie is done baking, shut the oven off and leave the pie inside with the oven door slightly ajar (you can prop it open with a wooden spoon). Let the pie slowly cool in the oven just like a meringue.

Yes, you can overcook a pecan pie.

A pecan pie is likely overcooked or has been in the oven too long if the top turns black or the filling starts to crack. Overbaking your pie can make it sticky or crunchy, causing the filling to become tough, hard, and difficult to eat.

If the filling is flowing in a wavy movement from the center to the edge, your pie isn't set quite yet. Wait for the moment when the center of your pecan pie gives you just a little jiggle, like the stable but slightly wiggly movement of Jell-O when you give it a gentle shake.

Once your pecan pie is cool, loosely wrap it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. To preserve its texture and shape you want to avoid wrapping it too tightly. A cooled and lightly wrapped pecan pie can be refrigerated for up to four days, which means you can bake your pie well in advance of when you plan to serve it.

The cracks we've observed in the shell have appeared both along the suture (middle nut above right) and 90 degrees to the suture (top nut above right). We even found a pecan cracked both ways (bottom nut above right). All of these cracks were created by a sudden expansion of kernel following the September down pour.

Those cracks you see in your pie are the result of overcooked eggs, eggs that have tightened up so much, in an uneven way, that they've created fissures in the filling.