Before this Thanksgiving, I don’t think I had ever had pecan pie. Over the past couple of years I learned that love pecans and anything that uses pecans–but no pecan pie. So I made a special request this Thanksgiving. I asked my husband to make pecan pie to bring to my aunt’s house where eat our Thanksgiving meal.
So, the day before the holiday, my husband is cooking up a storm. Pecan pie, pumpkin pie–wow! When he finished the pecan pie it looked beautiful! When my husband finally put the pecan pie out on Thanksgiving, I practically ran to get my self a piece. It was amazing! He made it with a maple syrup–and I could not get enough!
Come to find out, I wasn’t the only one who thought highly of this pie. There were many nice compliments given, one of which someone told my husband that he’s had a lot of pecan pies but it was the best he ever had!
Here’s the recipe:
For the Crust:
1 ¼ cups (175 grams) flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, chilled
1/8-¼ up (30 – 60 ml) ice water
For the Filling:
1 cup (215 grams) brown sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) Maple or golden syrup
1 tablespoon rum or bourbon
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
¼ (60 ml) cream
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups (150-200 grams) pecans, toasted
Directions
To Prepare the Crust, cut the butter into 1-inch cubes. Place in the freezer, along with the food processor bowl (if using) for 10 minutes. Mix the flour, salt and sugar. Add the chilled butter and knead into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add the ice water 2 tablespoons at a time just until the dough starts coming together. Pour into a large zip-lock bag and shape into a ball. Compress the ball into a thick disk and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to relax the gluten and help avoid shrinkage in the baking process.
To Start on the Filling While the Dough Rests, add the brown sugar, syrup, alcohol and butter in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and set aside to cool until tepid. Once the filling has cooled, add the cream, eggs and salt and whisk to combine.
To Shape the Crust, remove the rested dough from the fridge and use a sharp knife to cut three borders of the zip-lock bag, leaving the “zip” side closed. Lift the now open flaps and flour both sides of the dough. Close flaps and roll the dough to a 13-inch diameter. (Tip: Keep the dough between the plastic sheets to eliminate a sticky counter clean up!) Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart dish. Press into the corners firmly. (Tip: Press, don’t stretch the dough. Stretched dough will shrink while baking.) Preheat oven to 350F (180C) and place rack in bottom 3rd of the oven.
To Assemble the Pie, roughly chop 2 cups of the pecans and sprinkle inside the pie crust. Use more or less as necessary to fill almost to the top. Use reserved pecan halves to form a decorative border on top of the pie. Pour the filling mixture over the pecans. Bake 45-60 minutes, or until the filling is just set. (Tip: Use toothpick test.)
