Keep Pecan Pie Crust From Burning (And Know When It Is Done)

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A slice of homemade pecan pie being lifted out of the pie dish, showing the flaky golden crust and gooey pecan filling

Pecan Pie is one of the simplest Thanksgiving desserts you can make, but it has one frustrating habit: the crust can turn dark long before the gooey center is ready. Our Pecan Pie, rated 4.97 stars by more than 4,400 readers, handles that with a sheet of aluminum foil. About halfway through baking, check on the pie, and if the crust is getting too brown, tent a piece of foil over the top.

The pie spends about an hour in the oven, and the crimped edges are the thinnest, most exposed part, so they brown first. How you tent the foil matters. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray first, then shape it so it sits high over the pie without touching the filling. The crust edges stay golden, the filling keeps baking underneath, and nothing sticks to the foil when you lift it off. It takes less than a minute and protects the pie everyone has been waiting for all week.

How to tell when pecan pie is done

Unbaked pecan pie filling poured into a crimped homemade pie crust in a glass pie dish, ready for the oven

This recipe starts the pie in a hot 425 degree F oven for 10 minutes, then lowers the temperature to 350 degrees F for about 50 more minutes. To check it, gently shake the pie dish. The outer edges should look set and the center should not be overly jiggly. If it still wobbles a lot, give it another 5 to 10 minutes and check again. The shake test is more reliable than the clock, since every oven runs a little differently. When in doubt, bake it a little longer; an underbaked middle is what leads to a runny slice.

The recipe is written for a standard 9-inch pie dish; if yours is larger, make 1 ½ times the recipe. Then comes the hardest part, which is waiting. Let the pie cool completely for several hours before cutting, or bake it 1 to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. The filling is just sugar, a little brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, eggs, vanilla, salt and pecans, poured into our easy homemade pie crust. If your crust has ever turned out tough, these pie crust mistakes are worth a quick read before you bake. Serving a big crowd? Pecan Pie Bars give you the same buttery, nutty filling in easy-to-share squares, and our Chocolate Pecan Pie is a fun twist for chocolate lovers. Round out the dessert table with a classic Apple Pie and a jar of homemade Caramel Sauce for drizzling.