Tutorial: Pecan Pie

I love the show Christine Cushing Live and the host and I have very similar food sensibilities so when she said she made a less sugary pecan pie than most, I knew I had to try it. You can find the recipe here. What I did not realize is that there is such a thing as a dessert not being sugar enough! As a result, I have added on a recipe to this post that I found for caramel sauce in the book Dining on a Dime Cook Book: 1000 Money Saving Recipes and Tips. It was exactly what this dessert needed so now I can whole heartedly recommend this pie which is a good thing because wow, did it take a lot longer than I was expecting!

I swore Christine made the dough in the food processor but it did not say to do this in the recipe but I am glad I saved time by doing it. The key to making the dough in the processor is to make sure not to over blend. On the left you can see the first stage of mixing completed. Little bits of butter and shortening throughout the floury mixture. On the bottom right you can see exactly where to stop adding cold water. By looking at the dough you know that it is wet enough to knead it together with your hands without falling apart. Normally I do all of this by hand but I was in a rush to finish making it before my husband came home from being away!

I have not blind baked a crust in a long time and forgot that it is a little time intensive. All blind baking means is baking it in the oven without the filling in it. This is a technique for open-faced pies so you make sure that the bottom of you crust is cooked all the way through. It involves “docking” the chilled dough with a fork and then protecting the dough with parchment or aluminum foil and adding weights to prevent the dough from rising up. I use my fancy brown rice that taught me there is no brown rice I will ever enjoy. At least it isn’t going to waste.

In the previous picture you saw how exaggerating my pie crust fluting looked but the dough contracts in the oven which evens it out a bit so go for it! Really crimp the sides and make it look pretty. From here you have to let the pie crust cool for a while which again took additional time I did not expect. I let the pie crust cool on the wire rack and made the filling which was simple enough, corn syrup, brown sugar, egg yolks… and of course pecans!

I was able to share this lovely dessert with friends yesterday for my friend Jen’s birthday and it went over very well. I wish I could remember Kelly’s exact words, maybe she will comment here and let you know the exact yumminess word she used, LOL. This is a beautiful dessert but as I said, it needs a little something extra so here is the caramel sauce I have tested and like because it is super easy, fast and cheap:

Caramel Sauce
1 egg yolk, beaten
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup of water
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan heal all ingredients until boiling stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Serve warm or cold. Makes 1/2 cup.

What a stunning dessert to make on a day when you want to fill it up with doing a little bit of baking here and there throughout the day. This is not a pie to be rushed! During baking or eating. It was the first pecan pie I have ever had and thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you might one day make it too!