True, Zooey Deschanel might be better known for relishing 500 Days of Summer. But recently, the actress, singer, songwriter, and producer—and her mom—have me seriously craving all the flavors of fall.
In case you missed it, when she’s not on set filming TV shows and movies like Elf, Almost Famous, and New Girl, a couple of Zooey’s hobbies match ours: cooking and baking. The celeb has her own spatula design that supports the hunger-fighting charity No Kid Hungry, she hosts the HBO Max series What Am I Eating, and she even co-hosted an Instagram cooking series in 2023.
Turns out, Zooey comes by her culinary passions honestly. Back in 2012, Zooey visited Rachael Ray’s talk show to share her mom’s pecan pie recipe; a dessert that Kelly Clarkson selected as worthy of her holiday table a few years ago. Feeling ready to pivot from spritz-fest to sweater weather, I decided to bust out my apron and give it a try.
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How to Make Zooey Deschanel’s Favorite Pecan Pie Recipe
Here’s how to make this family heirloom custard pie:
Make the crust. To a bowl, add all-purpose flour, salt, and cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces. Using a pastry cutter, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like bumpy sand. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, stopping when the dough comes together. Shape this pastry into a disk, cover it in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. (Psst…Here’s a refresher about why it’s so crucial to keep pie crust cold.)
Mix the filling. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine dark Karo syrup, beaten eggs, melted butter, flour, salt, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
Assemble and bake. After the chill time, unwrap the pastry and place it on a clean, flour-dusted surface. Using a rolling pin, press the crust into a ¼-inch-thick circle that’s about 12 inches across. Wrap the crust around the rolling pin, then unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press it into place, and crimp the edges if you like. Top the crust with a few handfuls of pecan halves, pour the filling on top, then drizzle with molasses. Bake for 15 minutes at 425°F, then lower the temp to 350°F and bake for 40 minutes more.
Tips For Making Pecan Pie
Although “easy as pie” is a common refrain, mastering how to make homemade pie isn’t always a cinch. The Deschanel’s pecan pie recipe is about as straightforward as they come, though, and can be cooling on your counter less than 2 hours from now.
If you, too, are in the mood to go nuts, here are a few things I learned during my testing (plus some bonus pointers from our Test Kitchen).
Customize your crust. Zooey’s mom’s holiday pie starts with an all-butter pie crust, which is prized for its rich flavor. Our Test Kitchen has also perfected a flaky shortening-based pie crust and a pastry that blends a bit of both. Feel free to choose from any of those three—or outsource and use thawed store-bought frozen pie crust to save time (and trim down on the mess).
Get nutty. The Deschanels call for “a mound of pecan halves,” or enough to fill the crust. But what does that mean, exactly? Our Test Kitchen normally measures 1 ¼ cup pecans, and that amount should work well here, too.
Take things over the top. After you’ve allowed the pie to cool to room temperature, I recommend slicing and serving it with a generous dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and/or a spoonful of caramel sauce.
The Verdict on Zooey Deschanel’s Mom’s Pecan Pie
When I initially stumbled upon this recipe, I was delighted to see that Zooey’s mom relies on a pecan pie formula that’s very similar to our Test Kitchen’s version—which is the one my Mom bakes every Thanksgiving. Since this was the case, I had high hopes for the finished product.
There are three key differences that set the Deschanel dessert apart from ours, though. Zooey’s family pie recipe calls for dark corn syrup instead of light corn syrup, brown sugar rather than granulated, and includes a final flourish of molasses just before baking. These three sweeteners team up to infuse the filling with robust, caramel notes and depth of flavor that make this pecan pie recipe stand out from any other I’ve tried.
Although I don’t think I’ll ever switch teams and choose pecan over apple when I have the choice of both, I can certainly see the appeal and ease of a custard pie like this, which involves no peeling, slicing, or pre-cooking fruit. When the time comes to bring pecan pie to the party, the Deschanels’ version will probably be my go-to.
Whether you’re a New Girl at homemade pie or have been baking them for decades of Thanksgiving menus, this easy pecan pie recipe makes the process as foolproof as possible.
Dining and Cooking