When making a new recipe I like to see how many steps I can skip without negatively impacting the end result. This pie is a perfect
example of not only skipping a few steps, which I’ve deemed as unnecessary 
, but also substituting (most of) the refined ingredients for whole ones. I replaced the white flour with whole-wheat flour and the corn syrup with maple syrup, but I do admit I left in the chocolate chips and some of the brown sugar because it certainly is okay to indulge in such treats in moderation! Just top a warm piece of the finished pie with some homemade vanilla ice cream and you’ll be in love with this super delicious and non-intimidating dessert as well.
If you’re looking for treats that would be okay to eat during the 10-day pledge (meaning without chocolate or brown sugar!) then check out this link for ideas: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-resources/#dessert
Unbaked Whole-Wheat Pie Crust
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup melted butter, preferably unsalted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup 100% pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups pecans, chopped or whole
- ¾ cup “dark” chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a pie pan mix together crust ingredients thoroughly including flour, salt, butter, and milk. Squeeze the dough into a ball to make sure there is enough moisture. If it crumbles into pieces too easily then add another splash of milk.
- Shape the crust by thinning it out with your fingers/hands until the pie dish is evenly covered (pictured above). Feel free to make the edges look “fancy” with a fork.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake until pie is set, about 20 – 25 minutes.
- Let cool for 5 or 10 minutes before serving.
We think it is best topped with a little vanilla ice cream!
do you think the crust would work with earth balance shortening sticks instead of butter? daughter cannot have dairy.
Hi Emily. We typically substitute coconut oil for butter. ~Amy
I love Pecan Pie… It’s my favorite at this time of year. If you were making the crust gluten free how would you make it?
Hi Michelle. We have not tried this with a gluten free crust. Here is an alternative recipe: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/pecan-pie-without-corn-syrup-grain-free-paleo/. ~Amy
Can the butter in this recipe be substituted with coconut oil and the milk substituted with almond milk? And do you think this recipe would work if the eggs were replaced with flaxseed and water? My daughter can’t have dairy or eggs.
@jennifer: The eggs are what thicken the pie similar to a custard so something like corn starch would be used to thicken the pie. While tinkering with the recipe would work in the long run it might be easier to use a vegan pecan pie recipe such as:
http://hellyeahitsvegan.com/best-vegan-pecan-pie/
or
http://www.myvegancookbook.com/recipes/recipe.php?id=92
Hi Jennifer. We use butter and coconut oil somewhat interchangeably in our baking, so I think that will work. As for the eggs, that is a very large ingredient to substitute in this recipe and I am not sure how well it would work. ~Amy
Hi Jennifer. We use butter and coconut oil somewhat interchangeably in our baking, so I think that will work. However, with the almond milk and the flax eggs as well, those are quite a lot of changes/substitutions to make in one recipe and I can’t predict how it might turn out. ~Amy
I would love to know the nutritional info for this, if possible! Sounds amazing!
Hi Gabi. We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. We want people focusing on eating real foods/more whole foods and less on numbers. Here are some posts which help explain our philosophy: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/ and http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/. There are many tools available online which can help calculate nutrition detail for recipes
[...] Shortcut Chocolate Pecan Pie [...]
Could you suggest round about how many people this would serve or can you say what size pie pan you used so I can have a better idea? I want to serve this as dessert for my Thanksgiving dinner, it looks and sounds amazing. Thanks!
Hi there. Depending on how you slice it, it should serve 6-8. ~Amy
I don’t know if you’ll see this, as this is an old post and I’m not sure how that all works but… I’m not sure if I’m late to the party or I’ve discovered something few people have realized. Given your efforts to skip steps, I thought you might appreciate it. What do you do with those huge jack-o-lantern pumpkins? I used to bake them, wring them out, puree them and freeze them in cup size packages for baking. Huge time investment. I just tried it in pizza crust, pumpkin zucchini (turned 2 kinds of pumpkin) bread, and pumpkin beer bread… you don’t have to pre-cook or puree the pumpkin. I used a hunk of raw pumpkin with the skin removed and I grated it and replaced the pumpkin puree with it in the beer bread. I replaced the zucchini in the other bread and just added it to the pizza crust. I think it works even better than zucchini at creating a really moist, nice texture for the breads. I’m not sure how much it changed the pizza crust, but it didn’t hurt it. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try it with something like pumpkin pie, where there’s not a bread texture to maybe hide it, but I’ve got so much pumpkin sitting in my fridge right now I might have to.
Hi there. I responded to your email before I saw your post!
~Amy
Would using coconut palm sugar work just as well as brown sugar do you think?
Hi Naomi. Texture and consistency will be very similar but keep in mind that it is less sweet. ~Amy
Hiya,
This sounds and looks amazing! Any chance you would know what I could substitute the whole wheat with if I wanted a whole wheat option? BTW– I have about 10 bottles of vanilla beans and vodka in my kitchen! I love it! Thank you for sharing the vanilla extract recipe! It will make a unique Christmas gift! Love this blog!
San
Hi Sandra. Here is a wheat free pie crust from Deliciously Organic: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/apple-pie-grain-free-paleo-gluten-free/. You could try it with this recipe. ~Amy
Hi– I just saw one of your above comments on the gluten free option! Thanks!
Where have you been all my life?? LOL. Seriously, though — does the maple syrup add any maple flavor to the pie? Also, real maple syrup is super pricey. Have you had success with another lower-cost option?
Love, love, LOVE your mission. You are helping SO many people. Thanks very much!
Hi Margaret. It adds flavor but it does not taste maple-y. We only use 100% real maple syrup. We know it costs more than the artificial stuff but it is so worth it. You can find it priced better at larger grocery chains. ~Amy
Would spelt flour work for the crust
Hi Melissa. We have not tried that substitution but I think it would. ~Amy
Trying to bake some things ahead of time for Thanksgiving. Thoughts on baking it Tuesday or Wednesday? Should i just reheat in the oven, or is it better fresh from the oven?
Hi Meg. While I don’t think there is anything as yummy as a fresh from the oven pie, I think baking and reheating would work just fine. ~Amy
I have this recipe in the oven now. However, my chocolate isn’t melting. Have I done something wrong? I followed the instructions exactly and it’s been in 25 minutes.
Thanks!
Hi there, Bonnie. Did it turn out? ~Amy
Has anyone tried to blind-bake this crust? If so, how long, and does it turn out? This crust is so easy, I’d like to use it for every pie I make!
Hi Vonda. We have not tried. If you do, please share your results with us. ~Amy
On the night before Thanksgiving, I blind-baked it (filled w/dry beans) for about 15-20 mins. at 350 degrees with the edges covered with foil. It turned out perfect! I used the crust to make a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day. It looked and tasted like I spent hours on it–this is definitely my new “go-to” pie crust recipe!!!
In response to the high price of maple syrup – our local Costco carries organic 100% Maple Syrup that we purchase and use to make our water kefir.
Can you leave the chocolate chips out or would that not work well?
Hi Melissa. That is a pretty big ingredient and we have not tried subbing for it. ~Amy
The flavor of the pie was fine but I must warn – this is A LOT of nuts. I felt like my pie was all nuts and chocolate, no other filling. So this was not my preference for pecan pie. I like a more traditional type with some filling I guess? some other people who had it tonight liked it But some agreed too many nuts. Just FYI.
[...] when you have leftover chicken (or turkey) to use. It is so yummy! I used the pie crust recipe from 100 Days of Real Food, except I cut the amount of salt in [...]
I was looking forward to all that goo and unfortunately too many pecans take it over. But I will say it’s not a bad substitute. As someone else said earlier I agree that it does need to go in for another 10 mins because it was still liquified on my end.