|
 Photo
and recipe from
Cook's Illustrated, Holiday Baking, 2007,
by Bridget Lancaster.
There is plain pecan pie and there is this
souped-up version that the Southern people make for Thanksgiving dinner.
This is a delicious alternate to the classic pecan pie. Give it a try
and you'll see.
More great
Pecan Pie Recipes
and more of Linda's delicious
Pie Recipes.
Don't
forget to check
out my
Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Menu
which
includes this easy-to-make and very delicious Southern
Pecan Pie.
Pecan Praline Pie
Pie Crust (see recipe below)
8 tablespoons (1 stick or cube) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup firmly-packed dark brown
sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 large
eggs
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons bourbon (your choice)
2 cups whole pecans, toasted, cooled, and broken into small pieces*
* To toast the pecans,
spread them on a baking sheet and bake them until fragrant,
approximately 5 to 7 minutes (watch as they can burn easily). When the
pecans have cooled, use a rolling pin to gently break the pecans into
1/2-inch pieces.
Prepare and bake Pie Crust and set aside.
Lower oven temperature to 275 degrees F.
If the prebaked pie shell is not still warm, place it in the oven while
you prepare the filling.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat,
cook butter, brown sugar, and salt together until sugar is melted and
butter is absorbed, approximately 2 minutes. Remove the butter mixture
from the heat source and whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, until combined.
Whisk in the corn syrup, vanilla extract, and bourbon. Return the pan to
medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture is glossy and warm to
the touch, approximately 4 minutes. NOTE: Do not
overheat; remove pan from heat if mixture starts to steam or bubble.
Temperature should be about 130 degrees F. Remove pan from heat
and stir in toasted pecans.
Pour the cooked pie filling mixture into
the warm pie shell. Bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin,
when gently pressed, approximately 45 to 60 minutes.
The center of the pie should be set but still
wobbly; residual heat will finish the job. Remove from oven and
let pie cool completely on a wire rack at least 4 hours.
NOTE: Pie can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.
Serve pie at room temperature, accompanied
by whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Pie Crust:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting work surface
2 tablespoons firmly-packed dark brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick or cube) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch
pieces and chilled
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
In the bowl of your food process, pulse
flour, brown sugar, and salt until blended. Add the chilled butter
pieces and pulse until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse
cornmeal, approximately 10 to 15 (1-second pulses). Place crust mixture
into a medium-size bowl.
Using a rubber spatula, fold 3 tablespoons
ice water into the flour mixture, then press against side of bowl (if
mixture doesn't hold together, add up to 1 more tablespoon ice water).
Squeeze dough together and flatten into a disk shape. Dust with flour,
wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2
days before rolling.
When ready to bake, remove dough from
refrigerator and let stand until dough is malleable enough to roll out,
but still cool, approximately 10 to 20 minutes.
Roll dough on a lightly floured surface
into a 12-inch circle. Roll dough over the rolling pin and then unroll
it evenly into a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate. Fit dough into the pie plate
and flute edges. Refrigerate dough for 40 minutes, then freeze for 20
minutes.
While dough is chilling, adjust oven rack
to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees F.
When ready to bake the pie crust, line the
pie shell with two (2) 12-inch pieces of aluminum foil, fitting foil so
that it hangs over edges of crust. Distribute 2 cups pie weights (or
beans) over the foil. Bake pie crust until the dough under the aluminum
dries out, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the aluminum
foil and weights, and then continue to bake the crust until it is firmly
set and lightly browned, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pie
crust from oven and set aside.
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