My Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie recipe has a perfectly gooey center, an all-butter flaky pie crust, tons of toasty pecans, a hint of bourbon, and uses absolutely no corn syrup! If you’re a pecan pie lover (and a corn syrup hater!) you will absolutely love this pie recipe.
Love classic pecan pie flavors but still hate corn syrup? Try my Pecan Pie Bars! If you want to mix things up even more, try my Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie (also with no corn syrup!).
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You’ve Never Had a Pecan Pie This Good
Hot take: I’ve always thought pecan pie was a bit bland (I’M SORRY). The flavor, to me, has always been a bit one-note but this maple bourbon version takes pecan pie to a new level!
The flavor combination of the toasty pecans, the almost butterscotch-like filling, the rich maple syrup, the bourbon, and the hint of cinnamon are just unreal. Combine that with the flaky, buttery crust and you’ve got yourself a truly special pecan pie.
The best part? We skip the corn syrup completely! Not only does it have zero flavor beyond being ungodly sweet, but it just freaks me out a bit. Instead, we build the pie filling base with brown sugar, butter, and heavy cream (think sticky toffee pudding syrup vibes!) and mix that up with maple syrup, bourbon, and eggs to make an incredibly rich and flavorful pecan pie filling.
Jenny’s Tips for Perfect Pie Making
Always partially blind bake your crust when it’s a single crust pie. Now, this doesn’t apply to double crust apple/fruit pies, but partially blind baking your crust is the difference between a sturdy pie and a soggy pie bottom. It’s an extra step but makes all the difference!
Use the right pie weights. Not all pie weights are created equally! While you can spend money on metal or ceramic weights, I find that small dried beans (like navy beans) work best or a combination of beans and rice. They’re cheap and can be used over and over again and do a great job of weighing the crust down as it blind bakes.
Use the right type of pie pan. Part of all the testing that went into my all-butter pie crust recipe was to test different types of pie pan to see which baked up best. By far and away, metal is the best and most consistent. Ceramic was the absolute worst and does not conduct heat evenly. Glass can get too hot too quickly and cause the butter to leak from the crust, so I recommend using a metal pie pan.
Don’t over-bake your pie filling. This is especially important when you have a filling that contains eggs. When baking pecan pie, you want the filling to be set but still have a slight jiggle in the center. It will continue to set as it cools!
Helpful Cooking Tools
Key Recipe Ingredients
full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Pie Crust. I am 100% team homemade all-butter pie crust! Yes, it’s more work but MY GOD it is so flaky and good. If you’re not confident in your crust making, you can use a single layer store bought pie crust.
- Butter. Mixing butter with the brown sugar creates a toffee-like flavor that’s so good!
- Maple syrup. Use pure maple syrup here, not pancake syrup.
- Heavy Cream. The cream adds richness and fat to the filling. This is a good thing! It also lends backbone to the filling since we aren’t using corn syrup.
- Eggs. Make sure your eggs are room temperature when making the filling so that they incorporate more easily.
- Brown Sugar. I like using light brown sugar, but you could also swap in dark brown sugar for an even richer flavor.
- Cinnamon. A hint of cinnamon adds the perfect bit of spice.
- Vanilla bean paste. You could swap in extra vanilla extract but vanilla bean paste is readily available and adds a richer vanilla flavor.
- Pecans. Make sure to toast your pecans before adding them to the pie for flavor and texture. I use a mix of whole and chopped pecans–whole pecans for decorating the top of the pie.
- Bourbon. Any brand will work here!
How to Make Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Bake the toffee syrup. If you’ve ever made sticky toffee pudding, the filling was inspired by the toffee syrup! Since we aren’t using corn syrup, I wanted something flavorful for the base of the pie filling. You start by melting butter and whisking that up with brown sugar until it’s bubbling. Then, whisk in the heavy cream and the maple syrup, bourbon, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and let that cool. I like to do this step first.
- Blind bake the crust. We are team “NO SOGGY PIE BOTTOMS” in this house and so I always partially blind bake my crust. You will line the docked crust with parchment and fill it with pie weights or a combination of small-format dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the weights, and bake for another 5. This gives your crust a head-start and makes it super flaky without ever getting soggy.
- Toast the pecans. This is such an important step! Pecans have been sitting in their packaging in the store for who knows how long and giving them a quick toast gives them fresh life. It brings out the flavor and also keeps them from getting soggy in the pie filling.
- Whisk up the filling. Once your maple bourbon mixture is cool (it really does have to be cool so that it can thicken slightly and not cook the eggs), whisk in the eggs until smooth. Then, fold in the chopped pecans. Pour the filling into the partially baked crust and arrange pecans halves on top in a decorative layer (optional!)
- Bake the pecan pie. The trick here is to bake the maple bourbon pecan pie until it’s set, but the center jiggles a little. This keeps the filling extremely creamy. Resist the urge to over-bake! If you’re concerned, the internal filling temperature should read about 200°F on an instant read thermometer.
How to Make This Pie Head of Time
Bake the pie according to the directions and let it cool completely. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, then slide it into a ziplock bag (this helps prevent freezer burn!). Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
Crust: You can make the crust up to 2 days in advance and store it in the fridge. You can also make and freeze the crust up to 1 month in advance. Just let the crust defrost overnight in the fridge.
You can also make this maple bourbon pecan pie up to three days in advance, wrap it in plastic wrap once it’s cooled, and store it in the fridge. It like to bring the pie to room temperature before serving.
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
More Delicious Pie Recipes
Best Ever Pumpkin Pie
Coconut Key Lime Pie
Salted Chocolate Pie
Halloween Hand Pies
Sweet Potato Pie Bars
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Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie Recipe (No Corn Syrup!)
Ingredients
- 1 recipe all-butter pie crust
- 2 cups chopped pecans, plus pecan halves for decorating the top
- 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 3 eggs, room temperature
Instructions
- Roll out the pie crust. Roll the pie dough out to between 1/4 and 1/8th inch into a large round on a lightly floured surface. You should end up with a 12-13” circle. You shouldn’t need much flour, if your dough is sticking, you likely added too much water. Lay the pie crust into a pie pan, pressing it into the edges, trim the excess, and crimp the edges if desired. Use a fork to dock the pie crust all over and transfer the pie crust to the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat an oven to 400°F.
- Partially blind bake the crust. Place the chilled pie crust on a baking sheet. Line the pie crust with crumpled parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or beans all the way to the top of the crust so that it doesn’t shrink or slump. Bake for 15 minutes, then gently remove the parchment and pie weights and bake 5 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let the pie crust cool.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- Toast the pecans. Lay the chopped pecans out on a small baking sheet and toast for 6-8 minutes, until fragrant. Set them aside to cool.
- Make the filling base. In a small stainless steel saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and whisk for 1 minute, until the sugar looks melted. Pour in the cream and bring to a gentle simmer for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the maple syrup, bourbon, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into a heat-proof bowl and let it cool to room temperature. You can speed this process up in the fridge, but make sure to stir every few minutes to keep the mixture from seizing.
- Finish the filling. Once the maple mixture is cool enough, whisk in the eggs until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the pecans until well combined, then pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Use a fork to make sure the pecans are evenly distributed. Use whole pecan halves to decorate the top, if desired.
- Bake. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the filling is set but still very slightly jiggly in the center. Look for an internal temperature of around 200°F. Let the pie cool for 2-3 hours before serving. You can chill the pie for a couple of hours as well.
Storage Instructions
- Wrap the cooled pie in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. To freeze, place the wrapped pie in a freezer-safe ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before serving.
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