Buttery Pecan Pie + Announcements
William and I have been away from the blog for several months now- but for good reason!
We have moved back to Alabama and into a new home. Going from a tiny, city apartment to a house with a yard is a wonderful lesson in time management! As anyone with a home of their own can attest to, there is always always always something that needs to be cleaned or fixed or mowed or paid for… this is what I get for wanting the ‘charm’ of an older home! While we absolutely love having our own home, we are perhaps missing our California maintenance man, Mario, a little too much! 🙂
We are also just finishing a kitchen renovation (yay!). We spend so much time in our kitchen, we knew it would need a little makeover!
And last, but certainly not least, we recently welcomed our first child, a baby girl. Ava Marie is the most beautiful baby, the reason for many sleepless nights, and she is already brightening our days with her precious smile. She is the light of our lives, and we are so excited to one day share our joy of cooking with her!
With so many changes it has been difficult to keep up with the blog. However, we are cooking up a storm and have several new recipes to post.
Since moving back, for the first time in several years William and I had the pleasure of spending the Thanksgiving holiday with my family here in Alabama. We knew we had to bake something for the event, and because we have discovered a couple of prolific pecan trees in our backyard, we decided to gather, shell, toast them for a nice pecan pie.
I found a recipe from one of my favorite cooking bloggers, Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. This pie is amazing, but not the easiest dessert to put together. However, it was so much fun and, despite being time consuming, so delicious that we will definitely be making it again–perhaps for the upcoming winter holidays! This recipe is part of a Thanksgiving series on the blog, featuring all vegetarian recipes. Other recipes in that series can be found here.
This pie has a salty crust and a bitter chocolate filling topped with sweet and gooey pecans! Enjoy!
Chocolate Pecan Pie
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 1/4 cups AP flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/4 cup cold water
For the filling
- 2 cups pecans
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup golden syrup *can be found on Amazon or at Whole Foods
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon bourbon
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
Instructions
Make the crust.
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Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
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Cut the butter into chunks and use a pastry blender or food processor to combine the flour and butter until mealy.
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Add the ice water (about 60mL) and work the dough to form a smooth ball.
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Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours.
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Roll dough out into a 13″ circle, and place it in a 9″ pie pan. Trim the edges and shape it to your liking. [See photos below.]
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Freeze raw crust for 20 minutes.
Toast the pecans
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pecans on a pan and bake them for 12 minutes, stirring frequently.
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Place toasted pecans in a large bowl to cool and increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
Par-bake the crust
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Take the crust out of the freezer and cover it with buttered tin foil. Fill with pie weights or dried beans/rice.
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Bake in the 400°F oven for 20 minutes.
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Turn off the oven and freeze the crust for another 15 minutes.
Prepare ganache layer
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In a small pot, over medium heat, combine the chocolate and heavy whipping cream until a smooth texture is achieved.
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Pour the chocolate mixture onto the crust and freeze for another 20 minutes.
Prepare the pecan filling
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Melt together the butter, dark brown sugar, golden syrup, and salt in a small pot (you’re welcome to re-use the one from the ganache). Let this mixture simmer for several minutes until it thins out and darkens in color.
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Next, add in the bourbon, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Pour this mixture over the toasted pecans and stir it all together!
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Let it rest for 10 minutes before stirring in the eggs. [You need the eggs to hold the filling together, but you don’t want them to curdle by stirring them into a mixture that’s too hot.]
Assemble and bake
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Once your filling is completed, remove the crust from the freezer and pour it over the chocolate layer of the pie.
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Bake the pie at 350°F for 45-50 minutes. The center of the pie should still look gooey, but it will set during cooling time.
