Nothing says sweet holidays in Texas like a pecan pie. We test a perfect pecan pie recipe for you with a crust and filling that allows for three variations on the classic pecan pie. Recipe,
1½ cups chopped pecans
1 cup whole pecans
6 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup Steen’s Cane Syrup
(see note)
½ teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
¼ cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 prepared pecan pie crust
(recipe follows)
Instructions:
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Place the pecans on a baking sheet, keeping the chopped pecans and the whole pecans separate. Toast in the oven just until you can smell them, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the brown sugars, cane syrup and salt. Whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for about 20 minutes.
Add the egg yolks, cream and vanilla to the syrup. Whisk to combine.
Set the prepared pecan pie crust on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the chopped pecans into the crust, forming an even layer. Gently pour the filling over the nuts, trying not to disturb them. Place the whole toasted pecans in decorative concentric circles over the filling.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until nearly set. (The filling should still have some jiggle when it’s ready.) If the edges of the crust brown, cover them with foil. Let cool completely before serving. Note: If you can’t find Steen’s, substitute light corn syrup.
PECAN PIE CRUST
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cold butter,
diced
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Ice water as needed
Instructions:
Add the pecans to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the flour, sugar and salt; pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse several times to distribute it through the flour mixture. The dough should be crumbly but hold together if you pinch it.
Turn the pecan mixture out into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of ice water and knead briefly; repeat just until the dough comes together. Form a ball and wrap it with plastic. Refrigerate for one hour.
Grease a standard 9-inch pie pan. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for half an hour. Use a rolling pan to roll out a circle that’s about ¼ inch thick; it will be slightly larger than the pie pan. Drape the dough over the rolling pin to lift it up and center it over the pie pan, then let the dough settle all the way into the pan. Cut off any overhanging dough and smooth the edges. Crimp them if you’d like. Refrigerate the pie crust until ready to fill, or at least 20 minutes.
VARIATIONS Mexican Hot Chocolate Pecan Pie
Reduce dark brown sugar to ¼ cup. Add ½ Mexican hot chocolate tablet (such as Abuelita), broken into sections, to the saucepan and simmer with the butter, sugar and syrup.
Ginger Coconut Pecan Pie
Whisk ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger into the filling with the cream and eggs. Combine ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut with the pecans in a medium bowl, then add to pie shell before adding filling.
Old Fashioned Pecan Pie
Omit vanilla. Add 4 tablespoons bourbon, 10-12 dashes of angostura bitters and a pinch of finely grated orange zest. (A tiny bit of orange zest goes a long way here.) This variation may take a few extra minutes to bake because of the extra liquid.