This filling uses half the sugar of the original and is not at all cloying. Adapted from “The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook”; makes one 9-inch pie.
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 large whole eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons bourbon or dark rum (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecan halves
9-inch unbaked pie crust
Directions
Place a rimmed baking pan on lowest oven rack. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, butter, 4 eggs, corn syrup, maple syrup, salt, bourbon and vanilla. Stir in about three-fourths of the pecan halves. Pour filling into pie crust; arrange remaining pecan halves on top of pie.
Chill the pie for 30 minutes.
Bake 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees. Keep an eye on the crust — if it gets too brown, cover with foil. Bake until a knife tip comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
