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Walnut Pie Recipe with Maple ~ Extraordinary!

Walnut Pie Recipe with Maple ~ Extraordinary!

Everybody loves pie! And this walnut pie makes the saying “easy as pie” oh so true! It is quick, simple to make, and out-of-this world delicious! The maple syrup is a delicious alternative to the usual corn syrup that is often used. You can use dark maple syrup or light, just be sure it’s pure and not imitation.

It’s not too sweet, but just sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. Usually real cinnamon also gives a little spicy sweetness that is just so comforting. And if you ever want a change of pace, or don’t have walnuts, you can always swap them out for pecans, hazelnuts, or cashews. Consider doing a mix of walnuts and other nuts as well. 

Walnut Pie ~ Homemade Goodness in a Crust

The maple adds a twist to traditional walnut pies. While this recipe calls for rum extract, you can also use rum or omit it entirely. When I make it for my family, I substitute pure vanilla extract instead. If I bring it for a holiday or for book club nights, I’ll use real rum. 

I buy big bags of Kirkland Walnuts from Costco. Nuts are one of the Costco foods without palm oil I buy regulary. We eat their nuts all the time as snacks. Baking with walnuts and other nuts is a way to use them up while they are still fresh. 

This maple walnut pie takes just 10 minutes to prep if you are using a store-bought crust. I make my own pie crust from scratch with butter because we eat palm oil free. Prepared pie crusts from grocery stores typically contain palm oil because they are made with shortening. 

It takes about 40 minutes to bake. This means, in an hour, you can have baked a walnut pie from scratch! Learn how with these step-by-step directions. 

What You Need to Make This Recipe

  • 1 pie shell, 9 inch, frozen for 30 minutes or more
  • 2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon rum extract or dark rum – You can omit if you wish. Feel free to substitute with vanilla extract.
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon real cinnamon – I use Red Ape Cinnamon.
  • Pinch ground nutmeg

How to Make Walnut Pie

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put the rack in the middle of the oven with another rack below it.
  2. Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave or gently in a saucepan on the stove. 
  3. If you have whole walnuts, you can chop them or break them apart a bit. There is no need to put them in a high performance food processor. If you do, take care to just pulse them. Do not grind them into a powder. You want the walnuts to remain in pieces. 
  4. Take the frozen crust and center it in the pie tin or pie pan. 
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, rum extract (or the real stuff), vanilla extract, and butter. Incorporate the flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth.
  6. Take the pie crust out of the freezer and line the bottom of a pie tin with it.
  7. Place the chopped walnuts in the bottom of the pie shell. Spread them so that the bottom is evenly covered.
  8. Pour the liquid (maple) mixture over the walnuts.
  9. Put the pie on the middle rack in the oven. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below it in case the hot filling bubbles over.
  10. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. When you are about 20 minutes in, put a pie protector on the pie, or use foil to prevent the edges from being burned.
  11. Remove the pie from the oven. Place it on a rack to cool completely. Serve and devour this delicious, protein-packed pie.

Note: You can add a top crust as well. Place the top crust on the walnut pie filling. Cut some holes to vent. Flute the edges. Then set it in the oven to bake for 45 minutes.

Different Nut Variations

Truly, this pie is wonderful even if you swap out the walnuts for other meaty nuts. Some favorite combinations are pecans and walnuts as well as cashews and walnuts. You can also use hazelnuts. 

Serve as is or top with vanilla palm oil free ice cream. I also serve it to my kids with cut up apples. We like eating sliced green apples or other tart apples to balance the sweetness. 

Baking Homemade Instead of Buying Premade

My son has a palm oil allergy and palm oil intolerance. Palm oil has been in every single pie I’ve seen in grocery store bakeries. Even when I’ve called bakeries to ask about their pies, most all of them say they use shortening instead of butter for their pie crusts. Shortening most always contains palm oil.

Because of this, I learned to bake all of our desserts palm oil free from scratch. Once I learned some basic things — and mostly got all the the ingredients organized in my kitchen cabinet — baking became so much easier. 

Now I can make homemade pie crusts and pies in no time. I love this walnut pie is filled with nuts so it’s healthier than many other pies. The maple syrup gives it a sweet, rich flavor. 

Love all things walnut? Try these candied walnuts.

Desserts are sugary and delicious but no one says you can’t make them a little healthier, right? That’s why I love baking with walnuts, pecans, and almonds. Try this candied pecans stovetop recipe.

I also love baking with fruit. Incorporating fruit and nuts in desserts is easy. Try my old-fashioned peach cobbler. Another family favorite is this cherry pie recipe.

If you make this maple walnut pie recipe, leave me a note in the Comments. I’d love to know your thoughts. I’m so glad you are interested in baking at home. Not relying on processed desserts becomes easier once you get into the habit of baking. 

walnut pie
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Walnut Pie

This walnut pie uses pure maple syrup -- not imitation. It's a delicious alternative to the usual corn syrup often used in pies. You can use dark maple syrup or light. This recipe only uses a bottom crust but you can top it with crust if desired.
For a change from walnut maple pie, you can mix in other nuts or replace walnuts with pecans, hazelnuts, or cashews.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword homemade maple walnut pie, homemade walnut pie, maple walnut pie, maple walnut pie recipe, walnut pie, walnut pie recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 pie shell 9 inch, frozen for 30 minutes or more
  • 2 cups walnuts roughly chopped
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon rum extract or dark rum
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons butter melted
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch ground nutmeg

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put the rack in the middle of the oven with another rack below it.
  • Melt butter on stovetop or in microwave.
  • Lay pie crust in pie pan or tin.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, rum extract (or the real stuff), vanilla, and butter. Add in flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth.
  • Place the chopped walnuts in the bottom of the pie shell that you’ve prepared. Spread walnuts so that the bottom is evenly covered.
  • Pour the liquid (maple) mixture over the walnuts.
  • Put the pie on the middle rack in the over and a cookie sheet on the rack below it in case the hot filling bubbles over.
  • Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. When you are about 20 minutes in, put a pie protector on the pie, or use foil to prevent the edges from burning.
  • Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool completely. Serve.
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