Cream Cheese Pecan Pie
Recipe courtesy of Cooking with Paula Deen, November 2014
Servings 1 9-inch Deep Dish Pie
Ingredients
Cream cheese layer
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Buttery Pie Crust recipe follows
Pecan layer
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- Garnish: whipped topping caramel ice cream topping
Buttery Pie Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Pie
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- For cream cheese layer: In a large bowl, beat all ingredients with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture into bottom of prepared deep-dish Buttery Pie Crust.
- For pecan layer: Sprinkle pecans over cream cheese mixture. In a medium bowl, whisk together corn syrup and remaining 4 ingredients until smooth; slowly pour over pecans.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until center is set. Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with whipped topping and caramel, if desired.
Buttery Pie Crust
- In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With processor running, gradually add cream just until mixture forms a ball.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 15 seconds. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 12-inch circle, and fit into a 9-inch regular or deep-dish pie plate. Trim excess dough, fold edges under, and crimp as desired. Line dough with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove parchment and weights and let cool completely.
Notes
You might know this Cream Cheese Pecan Pie by another name, Mystery Pecan Pie. As the pie bakes and cools, the pecan and cream cheese layers blend together and “mysteriously" end up swapping their order in the pie plate. Be sure you use a deep-dish pie plate to accommodate the generous filling.
