Dana-Pecan-Pie

I have been in Nashville for nearly three weeks and today I baked the first pie of the summer.
I just so love to bake. I can’t really explain it. I think it’s just the act of creating something that I know people will enjoy. Its like, no matter if you show up late, look like a slob, and are even uninvited… people will be glad to see you if you bring baked goods. Ha ha, so maybe I bake to ensure that I’ll be welcomed wherever I go. Or maybe not.
Well, for those of you who miss me (and me baking you things on a weekly basis!) I have decided to reveal my top secret recipe for my favorite pie. Here it goes folks, I hope you can enjoy it as much as I do!

Dana’s Favorite Chocolate Pecan Pie

Crust: I find that the one thing that will put a homemade pie into a category all its own is if the crust is made from scratch. Its worth the extra effort.

¾ Cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½ in. pieces
2 Cups all purpose flour
¼ Cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 Cup of ice cold water

Mix the dry ingredients, then use a food processor, pastry blender, or just your fingers to break up the butter and mix it into the flour. You’ll know that you are done with this step when the butter has changed from blocks of butter, into something more resembling flakes… I hope that makes sense.

When you get to this stage, its time to add the water. This part isn’t really a science. Just add a little water to the flour mixture at a time, then use your hands to try and get all of the flour-butter stuff to get some contact with the water. You’ll know you have added enough water when the dough can be molded into a ball without chunks falling off.
Then comes the fun part. Clean off a spot on the counter, sprinkle the counter, your rolling pin, and even the dough with more flour. Then roll the dough to about a 10 inch circle. This is when it’s important to remember that baking is a messy process. But so what? A damp cloth will clean up the flour when you are done. Just enjoy the mess!
People make up all kinda of techniques on how to get the dough into the pie pan. Seriously, I just pick it up and lay it in there as quick as I can. If it tears, I just mush it back together. No big deal.

Filling: This is my favorite thing about this pie. It is so simple to make! Fruit pies take forever to peel/slice/sautee/whatever! Just mix these ingredients together, and you are totally ready.

2/3 Cup granulated sugar
1/3 Cup butter, MELTED
1 Cup corn syrup (I use Light Karo syrup)
2 Tablespoons bourbon
½ teaspoon salt (I usually just throw in a ‘pinch’)
3 Eggs
1 Cup pecan halves
1 Cup semi-sweet chocolate

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, corn syrup, bourbon, salt and eggs with a hand mixer. Unless you happened to overheat your hand mixer in a terrible oatmeal cookie accident. In this case, its probably ok to just mix it as intensely as possible with a wisk or fork. Or whatever. It’ll be good… don’t worry!
Note: Adding the bourbon to this recipe makes it really stand out and have a depth of flavor that you don’t find in most chocolate-pecan pies. It really is the secret ingredient. That being said, it is an ingredient that has, sadly, been missing from most of my CPPs (Chocolate Pecan Pies) as of late. Only three more months till I can buy my OWN bourbon!
After you have that mixture of gooey-sugary goodness, you can then stir in the semi-sweet chocolate and the pecan halves. Once everything is stirred, just pour the filling into the crust, and put the whole thing into the oven at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes. The pecans will float to the top of pie when they are baked, so don’t worry about it!
I’ll let you know what kind of precautions need to be take when using a convection oven… that’s what we have here in the Cabin. It should be quite an experience.
OH and one more thing. This pie can easily be undercooked, and it looses some of its appeal when its looks gross. I wish I could be more specific, but basically, just remember: You can always put it back in the oven.
I hope everyone enjoyed this Blog about CPP as much as I did. Wow, I enjoying talking (and typing) about baking almost as much as I enjoy actually doing it. This could be a very good discovery!