Easy Crustless Gluten-Free Pecan Pie

December 5, 2009 · Filed Under Friday Foodie Fix, Holiday Food Fest, Progressive Dinner, Thanksgiving, breakfast, crustless, dairy free, dessert, easy, flourless, gluten free, recipe 

This post is linked to Diane’s Friday Foodie Fix—Pecans. Check out the other recipes there and add one of your own. FYI—Diane’s secret ingredient next week is chocolate. You know you won’t want to miss that one for sure!

Pecan Pie 022-2

Reader Mary C. wanted to convert Erin’s ($5 Dinners) Almond Pecan Pie to a crustless one the other day. (We had a discussion in comments on my Crustless Pumpkin Pie recipe post.) In my research for Mary, I came across this crustless pecan pie recipe at Cassandra’s blog, Delightfully Gluten Free. It didn’t call for any flour at all! Even though I hadn’t made pecan pie in years, I immediately added the recipe to my baking plans for Thanksgiving. (I adore pecans, but usually just snack on a few throughout the week.) This pie came out perfectly, so I thought you might enjoy adding this crustless version to your crustless pie repertoire.

Admittedly, this recipe does have a lot of sugar in the form of granulated sugar and the corn syrup. Frankly, I was surprised I even had corn syrup in the pantry, because I don’t remember the last time I used it. I used the last of it in this recipe and next time I’ll make the pie using honey and probably coconut oil instead of butter. I’ll let you know how it goes. This version is a crowd pleaser though—a classic pecan pie, just without the crust. Not a single Thanksgiving guest noticed there was no crust on this pie (or the other two I served). They are just so good; a crust is not needed and, of course, that makes them gfe.

Pecan Pie 026

Easy Crustless Pecan Pie
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
6 eggs
2 tbsp butter (or non-dairy substitute), melted
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecans

Mix all ingredients in greased pie plate. Bake in a preheated 325-degree Fahrenheit oven for 45 minutes.

Pecan Pie 031-1

Shirley’s Notes: Cassandra said her mother has been making this pie for years, but the source of the recipe is unknown. The original recipe said you could mix ingredients right in the pie plate, but I mixed all in a bowl and then poured into greased pie plate.

 

holiday-food-fest

Are you wondering what is going on next week? Well, there’s the Holiday Food Fest, which continues on next Thursday right here at gfe—at my new Out and About page. The theme is Holiday Dishes:  Sides, Main Dishes, Soup … Anything Goes. I’m sure you’ll have something great that you’d like to contribute or just want to check back to get some new ideas that have already been kitchen tested by some of your favorite bloggers. If you’re still looking for holiday party ideas, be sure to check out last week’s roundup of Cocktails, Mocktails, and Appetizers (including awesome Honeyville giveaway!). My entries were Crab Ball and Reindeer Antlers Holiday Punch (note that the giveaway winners are up on that post!). 

Gluten-Free-Progessive-Dinner-Party

Now, let’s talk dessert some more. Please join the Gluten-Free Progressive Dinner Party crew next week for some wonderful dessert ideas for the holidays (including my optional, but admittedly irresistible, topping for this pecan pie). Diane, our lovely and gracious host, has planned five different categories of desserts for us. Five days of desserts … now you know that will be good! Read below for the categories and the bloggers who will be participating. (Incidentally, if you’re still pondering your upcoming holiday meals, I suggest you check out our Thanksgiving Progressive Dinner Party for some ideas. You can find all the links within my post for that dinner party here.)

 

Monday, December 7, Baked Desserts—Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, Alison of Sure Foods Living, and Ali of The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen.

Tuesday, December 8, Frozen or Chilled Desserts—That would be me, gfe, as well as Diane of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.

Wednesday, December 9, Chocolate Desserts—Karen of Cook4Seasons and Ali of The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen.

Thursday, December 10, No-Bake Desserts—Diane of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.

Friday December 11, Favorite Desserts—Melissa of Gluten Free For Good.

It’s snowing here! I absolutely love snow. Now that my post is done, maybe I’ll get in some baking  (Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies) and some holiday decorating while Mr. GFE and Huckleberry (one of our cats) both snooze away. Later, we’ll be heading out to attend a combination family birthday party/oyster roast. I’m taking some Reindeer Antlers to share. There’s probably just enough left of our latest batch for any who want to partake to have a small glass, so that will work out very well.

Holiday cheers to all!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Post a comment · 32 Comments
Tags: , , ,

Comments

32 Responses to “Easy Crustless Gluten-Free Pecan Pie”

  1. Pam on December 5th, 2009 4:42 pm

    Oh no….way to go Shirley….now you really have me in trouble…lol! Hubby luves pecan pie…will have to make for sure….thank you!

    Enjoy and hugs!

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 6th, 2009 1:34 am

      Hi, Pam–Making our hubbies happy is very important. I know it’s a sacrifice ;-) , but it’s really important that you make it. LOL

      xo,
      Shirley

      Reply
      • Pam on December 6th, 2009 4:38 pm

        ha ha ha!

        Hugs!

        Reply
  2. Lauren on December 5th, 2009 8:32 pm

    Honestly, I’ve never had pecan pie. Our thanksgiving pies are typically pumpkin, lemon meringue and apple. Or at least pumpkin and one of the others ;D. This looks great!

    Have a great Weekend Shirley – it sounds like there is a perfectly laid out couple of days ahead of you! Enjoy the party =D.

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 6th, 2009 1:38 am

      Lauren–First, I thought wow, no pecan pie ever … but it is largely a Southern thing in the U.S. I think. Your selections are hard to beat, but, I think you should give pecan pie a try. I’ll be interested to see what you think.

      Yes, busy and fun days ahead … hope you have something similar planned. :-)

      Thanks!

      Shirley

      Reply
  3. Kim on December 5th, 2009 10:39 pm

    Here you have me drooling over another one of your crustless pies! YUM!!! I love a good pecan pie! I think I am making several for Christmas now, though I will have 20+ different kinds of cookies after I am done with my “Cookie-A-Day” thing on my blog! LOL!

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 6th, 2009 1:45 am

      Kim–I hear you … I think we need to start inviting extra guests just so we have a good reason to make more pies! :-) I’m only partly joking …

      I’m just starting to check out the Cookie-A-Day recipes … very neat indeed for your readers (and those of others who are participating), but wow, keeping you busy. Those pecan shortbread cookies looked quite good!

      Thanks,
      Shirley

      Reply
  4. Jo (Quirky Cooking) on December 6th, 2009 7:16 am

    This recipe looks delicious – I think I’ll make it for Christmas, although I’ll use Rapadura instead of sugar, and honey instead of corn syrup. Do you use Rapadura at all? I love it! (See this link.)

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 6th, 2009 11:34 pm

      Hi Jo–Welcome to gfe! I will really look forward to hearing your report when you make this pie using Rapadura and honey. I embedded the link from your site explaining the differences between various sweeters in your comment. :-) I’d really like to make it next time using all honey. I’ll report back. I have never used Rapadura before. From reading your site, it looks like your source of Rapadura is not available to us in the States. Any update there?

      Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing such good info!

      Shirley

      Reply
      • Jo (Quirky Cooking) on December 7th, 2009 6:10 pm

        Hi Shirley, you can get Rapadura in the States, but I’m not sure where. Your best bet would be to check with Debra Lynn Dadd here: http://sweetsavvy.com/sweeteners/summary.php?id=Unrefined Cane Sugar – she in the US and uses Rapadura (also called ‘unrefined cane sugar’).

        Reply
        • Shirley on December 8th, 2009 10:53 am

          Jo–Thanks so much for sharing that link to Debra Dadd’s blog. I took a quick peek, but will go back and look more. I also appreciate the translation as to what we call Rapadura here in the U.S. (Rapadura sounds much better! LOL)

          What about Demerara sugar? How does that fit into the sweetner profiles?

          Thanks!
          Shirley

          Reply
          • Jo (Quirky Cooking) on December 8th, 2009 6:18 pm

            Hi Shirley,
            Demarara is still heated and crystalised, like raw sugar, but has some molasses still clinging to the crystals, so it is better than white sugar… but I much prefer Rapadura as it hasn’t been heated at all, and has HEAPS more vitamins and minerals – see the difference between sugar and Rapadura: http://www.daabon.com/australia/pdfs/Rapadura%20Specs.pdf

    • Shirley on December 6th, 2009 11:35 pm

      P.S. Forgot to say that I love your blog’s name and concept … quirky cooking should indeed rule for many of us. :-)

      Shirley

      Reply
      • Jo (Quirky Cooking) on December 8th, 2009 6:21 pm

        Thanks! I’ve been called ‘quirky’ a few times, so I thought it suited! :)

        Reply
  5. Iris on December 6th, 2009 10:26 am

    First, I love pecan pie! Maybe I’ll make this for Christmas. Second, I can’t wait to hear about your raw pie!

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 6th, 2009 11:42 pm

      Hi Iris–I bet you can make a splendid version of this pecan pie. :-) Stand by for gfe going raw with pie. ;-)

      Shirley

      Reply
  6. Marillyn @ just-making-noise on December 6th, 2009 3:38 pm

    Looks delicious! Thank you for your comment on my Coconut Custard Cake post :o ) We love the tree too.. so rich in history!

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 6th, 2009 11:50 pm

      Hi Marillyn–Thanks! Yes, I need to get some coconut flour so I can make your cake and so many other fab treats.

      Now I’m intrigued about your particular banyan tree … I love them. Incidentally, we were invited to Costa Rica once and didn’t go and have regretted it ever since!

      Shirley

      Reply
  7. Kim on December 7th, 2009 3:12 pm

    Hi Shirley,
    I love the idea of the crustless pie. We ususally use a GF oat flour pie crust, but I love the idea of a crustless pie for an oat-free version. I’m going to give it a try. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 8th, 2009 10:31 am

      Hi Kim–Welcome to gfe! If you look around, you’ll see that I’m quite fond of everything crustless. ;-) I’ll have to check out your site for your oat flour pie crust. :-) (I love the name of your site by the way … Welcoming Kitchen—a welcoming kitchen means so much to most of us here at gfe.) I’ve never tried oat flour. I seem to be one of those folks who can only do a small amount of even gf oats, but I do love the taste of anything with oats. I’ll be interested to see what you think of the recipe. Please let us know when you get a moment.

      Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I look forward to seeing you again. :-)

      Shirley

      Reply
  8. Diane-The WHOLE Gang on December 7th, 2009 3:29 pm

    This looks Diane proof. I’m going to make it to take to the in-laws for the holidays. They all love pecan pie and now I can have some too! Is there any substitute for corn syrup? If not it’s off to the store. Thank you for sharing this on Friday Foodie Fix!

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 8th, 2009 10:41 am

      Diane–LOL on the Diane proof! You need to give yourself more credit, dear! You must have had a bad baking experience earlier in life. A home economics teacher with a bad attitude, perhaps? You are a great cook, so that can extend to baking, too. :-)

      Re: subbing for corn syrup, Wendy commented that you can use maple syrup instead. Doesn’t that sound fabulous? It’s full of good stuff, too (which corn syrup is not).

      Please report back on how it turns out after the holidays. Thanks!

      Shirley

      Reply
  9. Wendy on December 7th, 2009 3:34 pm

    If you’d like to avoid corn syrup, please try making your pecan pie using maple syrup instead. I think you might like it as much as we do. I’ve never seen recipes that use honey, but you may be inventing a great variation. Try the maple syrup first, though. It’s heavenly.

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 8th, 2009 10:46 am

      Hi Wendy!–Welcome to gfe! Special thanks for the maple syrup suggestion. I’m sure that is divine and I still have some maple syrup that friends brought us from Vermont. :-) We’re partial to honey for many dishes because we keep bees. I’ve actually seen some pecan pie recipes online that use honey. Maybe I’ll have to bake two and then do a taste test comparison! LOL Better try that when I have a large crowd over though … like my support group. ;-)

      It’s going to be hard to get through the work day now because I’ll be thinking about the heavenly maple syrup version. And, oh, it would be so good with some of the honey cinnamon Grand Marnier ice cream I just made. Yum.

      Thanks so much, Wendy!

      Shirley

      Reply
  10. Alta on December 7th, 2009 4:17 pm

    Oh I love pecan pie! I’m wondering if you could also sub agave nectar for the corn syrup. I’ve done this in other recipes and it worked, so many it’ll work here too? Yum!

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 8th, 2009 10:51 am

      Hi Alta– :-) It’s hard not to love pecan pie. Some are cloyingly sweet though, but this one wasn’t. I’m betting that others have used agave in place of corn syrup. I bet you could google that and find some good “starting point” ideas, but if you’ve done it before, I think it should work. Worst case scenario … you’ll have a wonderful ice cream topping! ;-) Our local frozen custard stand makes a maple-nut sundae that people go bonkers over, so I’m imagining failed pecan pie in that way. Not a bad way to go. LOL

      Please let us know if you make it with agave how it turns out. :-)

      Shirley

      Reply
  11. Betsy on December 10th, 2009 11:48 am

    Wow I would have never thought of this pie without the crust. I have always separated the crust from the pie. I have never liked the texture of the crust after baking the pie. Thanks for the idea. I am new to your website but will be visiting often.

    Thanks for new ideas!!!

    Betsy

    Reply
    • Shirley on December 10th, 2009 8:29 pm

      Hi Betsy–Welcome to gfe! I have several other crustless pies here at gfe. Just click on the following links: pumpkin, coconut, and apple (that one’s a pour-over crust, but it’s one that’s lovely to eat). I am so glad you are enjoying my website. My approach is all about making things easy and not often using specialty products. I shop at a basic grocery store all the time. Shoot me an email or leave a comment on any post if you can’t find something you are looking for. :-)

      Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!

      Shirley

      Reply
  12. Shirley on December 8th, 2009 9:39 pm

    Hi Jo–Thanks for sharing the additional info! I sort of remembered from other reading that demarara wasn’t that great. That info sheet was amazing! Of course, it all makes sense. We keep bees and we would never dream of heating their honey to process it. We use an old-fashioned hand-cranked centrifuge to spin it out of the comb. :-)

    I like quirky. :-) Nice alliteration with Quirky Cooking, too. ;-)

    Thanks again very much for sharing the info!

    Shirley

    Reply

Leave a reply