This No-Corn Syrup Maple Pecan Tart with dried cherries and dark rum is a twist on pecan pie for Thanksgiving and the winter holidays.
I originally developed this recipe for the 2011 Thanksgiving issue of EatingWell Magazine and shared it on November 8, 2013. I have updated the images and some of the text today.
I came up with the idea for this delicious tart in the summer (Typical life of a Recipe Developer is that you always seem to be cooking out of season). I remember bringing two variations I had tested to my mom’s summer cottage for the fourth of July. I wanted to get my family’s opinion about the amount of rum in it. Yeah, weird Fourth of July treat right? While everyone else was eating strawberry shortcake, we were having Thanksgiving pie.
Needless to say this No Corn Syrup Maple Pecan Tart with dried cherries was a hit even in the middle of the summer! It is just sweet enough, but not too sweet and the tart dried cherries balance out that sweetness perfectly and add a nice chewy texture that plays nicely with the meaty texture of the pecans.
Personally I would take a piece of a tart over pie any day. I love that the filling doesn’t overwhelm the crust. And believe me this crust is awesome and super easy. I doubled down on the pecans and used them in the crust and filling. All the ingredients for the crust are thrown in a food processor and then you just press the dough into the tart pan. No rolling required!
The filling is really just a little whisking and stirring to get it ready to be poured into the par-baked crust. Then you get to have a little fun arranging the pecan halves on top to make it extra pretty and holiday-table-worthy. The whole thing comes together in less than 30 minutes. And the final product will look and taste like you spent hours and hours in the kitchen.
How to make No-Corn Syrup Maple Pecan Tart
- Simple Whole-Grain Nut Crust – This crust couldn’t be easier to whip together and it is more wholesome than most because it is made with a heart-healthy line-up of whole-grain flour, nuts and canola. Just blend it together in the food processor and pat it into your tart pan. There is no rolling or chilling!
- Sweetened with Maple Syrup – The maple flavor in this tart totally rocks my world. Instead of corn syrup, which is found in many pecan pie recipes, I opted for my favorite natural sweetener, Maple Syrup. We make our own maple syrup, because we live in Vermont, and there’s nothing else to do in April and March. So it was an obvious choice for this recipe. But really it’s great because it adds flavor not just sweetness. If you can find it, choose Dark Robust, because it has the richest maple flavor.
- Pecans love to hang out with Cherries and Rum – Though I do love a traditional pecan pie, I really love the tart contrast of the cherries with the rich nut flavor. And a splash o’ booze just makes everything taste better!
So make sure to add this spectacular No Corn Syrup Maple Pecan Tart with dried cherries and rum to your Thanksgiving dessert rotation. You will be so happy that you did!
Don’t miss checking out a few of my other favorite Holiday dessert recipes…
double crust deep dish maple apple pie
gingerbread pumpkin cheesecake
maple cranberry crumb apple pie
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Pecan Pie gets a healthy make-over and is turned into a No-Corn Syrup Maple Pecan Tart with dried cherries. It has a Whole-grain nut crust, sweetened with natural maple syrup. Plus cherries and rum are added in for a fun twist on the classic.
Ingredients
2 cups pecan halves, divided
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 3 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, preferably organic
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- ½ cup maple syrup, preferably Grade A Dark Amber
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons dark rum
- ½ cup dried cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom on a baking sheet and coat lightly with cooking spray.
- Place ½ cup pecans and sugar in a food processor fitted with steel blade attachment. Process until the pecans are the consistency of rough meal. Add whole-wheat pastry flour, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and ¼ teaspoon salt and pulse until combined. Stir 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and canola oil in a small bowl. With the food processor motor running, drizzle yolk mixture through the feed tube and process until completely mixed in. Drizzle in water with the motor running and then pulse just until mixture clumps together.
- Turn mixture out into the prepared pan; spread evenly and press firmly into the bottom and up sides to form a thin crust. Prick all over with a fork and transfer to the oven. Bake, pressing down with the back of a fork only if it starts to puff, until dry and slightly golden along the edges, 10 to 13 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, rum, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, the remaining 2 eggs and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium bowl. Set aside ¼ cup of the maple mixture for glazing the pecans for the top of the tart. Chop 1/2 cup of the pecan halves and add to the medium bowl with the larger amount of maple mixture. Stir in the cherries. Mix the reserved ¼ cup maple mixture in a small bowl with the remaining 1 cup of the pecan halves for the pecans for the top of the tart.
- Remove the tart crust from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. While the crust is hot, brush the remaining 1/2 teaspoon flour over the crust with a pastry brush to fill in any holes or cracks. Spread the cherry and chopped pecan mixture in the baked crust. Arrange pecan halves decoratively over the top of the tart. Drizzle any remaining maple mixture over the tart. Bake the tart until it no longer jiggles when gently shaken, the top is lightly crackled and the filling is set-up, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely, at least 1 hour and remove the sides of the pan.
Notes
24 g Added Sugars, 43 mg cholesterol
Total time includes cooling time.
Nutrition
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 27 g
- Sodium: 135 mg
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4.6 g
Keywords: thanksgiving,pie,dessert,pecan pie,tart,maple,natural,cherries,rum
Here are the original images associated with this blog post.
This is my dream pecan pie recipe. (Even though it’s technically a tart!) I wonder if it would be good with bourbon, too.
Thanks so much Marygrace! That’s a really nice compliment. I think Bourbon would be so happy to be invited to this party!
This looks great. I don’t have any Canola oil, do you think I could use Coconut oil?
Thanks, can’t wait to try this.
Absolutely. It would be great, just melt it if it is solid.
This flavor combo sounds divine!
Thanks so much Deanna. How can you go wrong really when it comes to maple. ha ha.
Oh my!! Yum!! How could you possibly say no to this?!? Love the addition of maple syrup, cherries, and the rum! I would never have thought of that. Oh how I wish I could smell the pie baking in the oven… In other words, I must make this ASAP ^_^. Stunning photos, Katie!
Thank you Min. Yes the smell is pretty great. I hope you like it.
Loving this healthier version of pecan pie — plus — it’s totally gorgeous!!!
Thank you Rachel. Glad you stopped by.
WOW looks and sounds amazing…do you have nut facts for this? I think I’ll have to make for the thanksgiving table but my trainer may disagree! LOL
Yes, as a matter of fact. Because this was published in EW, they did the analysis. So this is what they printed for this recipe. Keep in mind it makes 10 slices. Here is info for each slice: 353 calories; 22 g fat ( 4 g sat , 11 g mono ); 65 mg cholesterol; 36 g carbohydrates; 20 g added sugars; 5 g protein; 2 g fiber; 136 mg sodium; 157 mg potassium.
I agree with you, Katie. I’m not a big fan of corn syrup either. I grew up in the South and pecan pie was everywhere this time of year. As I’ve gotten older and developed an appreciation for healthier foods and I love that you substituted maple syrup. I love this recipe! Thanks for sharing it!
My mom is from Texas (I think I have told you that before) so pecans are huge for me, and Pecan pie was always a part of the holidays for us. Did you ever have shoofly pie? She made that a lot too. Here in VT we have ‘sugar pie’ made with maple syrup. It makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it! lol!
I’ve never had shoofly pie before. That is so cool that you guys make your own maple syrup! It’s really my most favorite sweetener.
I don’t have a tart pan. Can I use a regular pie pan for this? It sounds delicious and I will use it for this Thanksgiving!
Hi Barb! Happy Thanksgiving. I haven’t tried it myself, but I can make an educated guess for you. The crust in this recipe is really meant for a tart pan, it is more like a cookie than pie dough. What you can try is use a recipe for a more traditional pie shell. And then use the filling and it should work okay. If you’re using a smaller pie shell (like in a metal or disposable pie pan) then the filling will fit. But if you’re using a 9-inch pyrex pie plate you’ll maybe want to have close to double the filling.
I made this with black walnuts that we harvested and cracked, and our own maple syrup. I used bourbon instead of rum, just because, and cheated by using a store bought graham cracker crust. It was a hit at a local fundraiser for our volunteer fire dept. Thanks!!
This looks like the absolute perfect dessert for Thanksgiving! Can’t wait to try it!
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I am not a huge fan of pecan pie because it is so sweet! Now I really want to try this, because I do love pecans!
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I absolutely love pecan pie but I hate the corn syrup too! I’ll definitely have to share this with my mom…she’s the pecan pie baker of the family 🙂
This looks perfect! I would take this over traditional pecan pie ANY DAY!
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What a beautiful tart! The presentation is stunning plus it’s got my favorite flavors.