Every year for thanksgiving I make two apple pies, one for my dads house and one for my mom’s. It’s a tradition I have been doing for years. I can’t even remember how young I was when it started, but I was definitely very young. It was before the time when I had too much of an ego to use store bought pie crust. Sometimes I wish I could go back to those days for convenience, because it saved time and the pies always game out great, but I just can’t. That durn ego. I’ve also made so many pate brisee crusts at this point at school that it’s basically a mindless task. It just requires of bit of cleanup (which the store bought does not..)
But anyway, this year I’m spending Thanksgiving with my boyfriend and his family, so I thought I would bypass the emotional drama of making apple pie and stick with classic pecan instead. My stepmom, Stephanie, always makes the pecan pie at my dad’s house, and it always comes out SO delicious. Of course, I still had to test and practice the recipe out at home just in case, using Steph’s pointers as a guide (since there aren’t a lot of pecan pie recipes online for some reason) I guess everyone uses the recipe on the side of the Karo bottle? I doctored it up a touch, and included Stephanie’s pointers, but most of the recipes I found are pretty much the same. Kinda like the puppy chow/muddies buddies recipe on the Chex cereal boxes. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, right?
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark or light corn syrup (we prefer dark)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 heaping or 2 Tbs all purpose flour
- 2 cups chopped or pecan halves
- 1 Tbs butter, melted (for the top)
- Pate Brisee (Pie Crust)
- 200 g all purpose flour (a little less than 1⅔ cups)
- 30 g sugar (about 2½ tablespoons)
- 5 g salt (about a teaspoon)
- 100 g unsalted butter (7 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1 egg
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Then gently pour onto your clean and dry work surface. (if you are using two knives, keep the flour mixture in the bowl)
- Using a bench scraper, but the butter into the flour until it resembles course meal.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and water.
- Make a well in the center of the flour, and pour the egg in the center. gradually collapse the flour walls onto the egg, and continue to cut the flour. (It will still be really dry at this point)
- Clump the mixture into a ball as best as you can, and press the dough forward with your palm and in sweeping motion. Then combine the dough into a ball again, rotate, and repeat. Continue to do this just until the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry, dip the tips of your fingers in water and blot the dough gently. (this can be done several times, but try to avoid it as much as possible) You don't want the dough to become too sticky, and you also don't want to overwork the dough, either
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least an hour or preferable overnight.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to about ¼ of an inch thickness.
- Roll the dough onto your rolling pin, and then roll it back out on top of the pie pan.
- Dock the bottom of the pie with a fork (optional) and then refrigerate for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F
- With a hand whisk, beat the eggs, and then add the sugar, followed by the corn syrup.
- Gently stir in the salt and butter.
- Pour the pecans in the pie crust and spread even on the bottom. Pour the filling on top.
- Pour the melted butter on top of the pie
- Cover the pie with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the pie from the oven, add your decoration and continue to bake for 30 - 40 minutes more, or until golden brown and the center no longer giggles when moved.
Awesome all around!!!xo