This is the pecan pie people sneak a slice of before dinner — rich, buttery, gooey, caramel-sweet, and full of toasted pecans. Simple ingredients, classic flavor, and a flaky crust that makes it absolutely irresistible.
🧂 Ingredients
For the Filling
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
¼ cup (4 Tbsp) melted butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups pecan halves
For the Crust
Use a homemade flaky pie crust for the best results. You can find my recipe here: LINK:FlakyHomemadePieCrustRecipeLINK: Flaky Homemade Pie Crust RecipeLINK:FlakyHomemadePieCrustRecipe
(A store-bought unbaked 9-inch crust works in a pinch, but the homemade one really makes this pie shine.)
🔪 Instructions
1. Prepare the crust.
Press your unbaked pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp or flute the edges. Keep chilled while you mix the filling.
2. Mix the filling.
Whisk together the corn syrup, sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
3. Add the pecans.
Fold in the pecan halves until everything is evenly coated.
4. Assemble and bake.
Pour the filling into your prepared crust.
Bake at 350°F for 55–65 minutes, or until:
the top is golden and set,
the edges are firm,
and the very center still has a gentle wobble.
5. Cool completely.
Let cool at least 2 hours so the filling fully sets and slices cleanly.
💡 Tips for the Best Pecan Pie
If the crust edges brown too quickly, tent them loosely with foil.
Toast the pecans in a dry skillet for 3–5 minutes for deeper flavor.
For a slightly less-sweet pie, swap ¼ cup of the sugar for brown sugar.
This pie slices beautifully when made a day ahead.
🕯️ Bringing Life Note
A flaky crust really is the foundation of the perfect pecan pie. If you haven’t tried my homemade version yet, this is a place to make it shine. Rich, buttery filling + crisp, tender crust = pure holiday comfort.
There’s something comforting about the simplicity of an old-fashioned pie. This one, baked as a thank-you for our FedEx driver, quickly earned a place among our family favorites. It’s buttery, sweet, and smooth — the kind of dessert that tastes like home.
📜 Ingredients
(Makes one 9-inch pie)
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons fine cornmeal (optional for a touch of tradition)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
4 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
👩🍳 Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place your unbaked crust in a 9-inch pie dish and crimp the edges.
Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, cornmeal, flour, and salt.
Add butter and eggs. Stir in melted butter until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each.
Finish the filling. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla. The mixture will be thin — that’s normal for chess pie.
Pour and bake. Pour filling into the crust. Bake 45–55 minutes, or until the center is just set and the top is golden with a delicate sugary crust. (If the crust browns too quickly, cover edges loosely with foil.)
Cool completely. Let the pie rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before slicing. It continues to set as it cools.
🍴 Serving & Storage
Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Store covered in the fridge up to 4 days.
💡 Notes & Variations
No brown sugar? Use 1½ cups raw sugar (or 2¾ cups if doubling the recipe) and add a teaspoon of molasses for deeper flavor.
Lemon Chess Pie: Add zest and juice of one lemon.
Chocolate Chess Pie: Add 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder with the dry ingredients.
Maple Chess Pie: Swap ¼ cup sugar for maple syrup and reduce buttermilk slightly.
❤️ From Our Kitchen
This pie started as a simple thank-you — a small way to show appreciation to someone who carries heavy boxes to our door year-round. But after one bite, Tim and I decided it won’t just be a thank-you pie anymore. It’s officially part of our family favorites list.
When summertime rolls around and the days start heating up, one thing that helps make up for the sticky discomfort is peaches.
Now, I like peaches. I like them fresh, sliced with a little brown sugar and milk. I like them in muffins, in oatmeal, in cinnamon rolls… and did I mention fresh?
But around here, if we have peaches, there’s one thing that always gets requested: peach cobbler. Sometimes I think I could make it every single day and no one would complain. I doubt I’ll test that theory—but I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to talk me into it. 😊
What makes peach cobbler so special—at least to me—is that it’s basically summer in a pan. You get the soft, bright flavor of peaches, the warmth of nutmeg and cinnamon, and the rich depth of vanilla, all paired with the buttery crunch of the buttermilk topping. It’s practically unbeatable.
And in our house, everyone has their favorite part. The kids go for the fruity pockets. I like a solid mix of topping and fruit, especially with those sweet drippings you get when you’re last to serve and scraping the pan. And Tim? Tim always gets a corner or edge piece—the one with the well-browned, butter-crunchy topping I make just for him.
Now, I had thought that I had my perfect peach cobbler recipe all figured out and set in stone. I use buttermilk, never regular milk, for the topping. The peaches always get freshly grated nutmeg, none of that store-bought ground nutmeg. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you can’t get a good cobbler by using slightly different ingredients. I’m just saying that if I tried it, I think my family would accuse me of fraud or something.
The last peach cobbler I made, though, threatened to change some of my “set in stone” ways. You see, we didn’t have enough buttermilk. And I didn’t even have any regular milk to stretch it with. So I gathered up my courage and tried something I wasn’t positive would work. I added enough sour cream to get the buttermilk to the amount I needed and hoped for the best.
When I pulled it out of the oven and dished it up, I asked Tim his opinion of the substitution. He said it wouldn’t work as a substitute, but I had to start doing it that way from now on. Success!
So, in honor of summer, peaches, and Tim’s crunchy-corner approval, here’s my go-to peach cobbler—with a slightly unexpected twist.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place the butter in an 8×8* baking dish and place it in the oven to melt while you prepare the topping and fruit.
In a bowl, combine the sliced peaches with the sugar, vanilla, and spices. Set it aside to let the juices develop.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the buttermilk and sour cream until just combined. The batter will be thick.
Once the butter is completely melted, carefully remove the dish from the oven. Drop the batter by large spoonfuls over the hot butter. Do NOT stir. It’ll look messy, but that’s what you want.
Gently spoon the peach mixture over the batter. Again, no stirring!
If desired, sprinkle the extra tablespoon of sugar over everything for a slightly crispy finish.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and cooked through. Let it cool slightly before serving.
Best served warm. Great with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream, our family’s favorite.
Recipe Notes
If you want to double this recipe, it still works great. Just use a 9×13 and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.
Home canned peaches work great too, but you might want to drain some of the liquid off them before adding the other ingredients.
My family likes the spice a little more than some people, so feel free to use less nutmeg and cinnamon if desired. And I’ll be honest, I never measure the vanilla, nutmeg, or cinnamon. I go by what smells right, so these measurements are estimates.
A great variation is to add some raspberries to the peaches for pops of color and tartness.
Whether you serve it warm with ice cream or sneak a bite cold from the fridge the next morning (guilty), I hope this cobbler brings your people to the table the way it always does mine.
Bringing Life 