Pecan Pie - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Pecan Pie


Ingredients
  

Makes one 9-inch pie

  • 1 piecrust (recipe below)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup sorghum or corn syrup, or Lyle’s Golden Syrup
  • 1 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1 stick butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 cup chopped toasted pecans
  • 1 to 1½ cups perfect toasted pecan halves

Pie crust for a 9-inch pie

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 stick butter, cold (½ cup)
  • 4 tbsp ice water

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 425ËšF. Line a pie shell with the piecrust and set it on a baking sheet. Set aside in a cool spot.
  • Whisk the eggs in a bowl until well blended. Add everything but the pecans and whisk until well blended. Put the chopped pecans into the pie shell, then lay the whole pieces over them, arranging in concentric circles until the shell is covered. Whisk the liquid mixture again to blend, then slowly, carefully pour it over the pecans, filling the shell just up to the top of the pie plate (you may have some filling left over.) Place the entire baking sheet, with the pie on it, into the oven. Bake at 425ËšF for 10 minutes; then drop the temperature to 325ËšF and continue cooking for one hour. If the nuts begin to get too dark, tent the pie with aluminum foil.
  • When done (the pie should be firmly set), remove from the oven to a cooking rack. Let cool for as long as you can stand it, and serve with a generous pour of whiskey.

For the pie crust:

  • In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt thoroughly. Cut the stick of butter into small squares, about a half-inch big. Add them to the flour and, using clean, cold hands, toss them gently to coat. Working quickly, work the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mixture begins to look like large breadcrumbs. (it is better to leave some streaks of butter in than to overwork the dough). Sprinkle the water over the flour a tablespoon at a time, and then quickly stir it in with you hand. Use light, quick strokes to keep the dough cool.
  • Continue to combine until the dough hangs together; add more water if necessary, but try not to add too much—you want just enough water to make it possible to roll the crust out without it falling apart, but no more.
  • At this point, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you need it (take it out about 30 minutes before you roll it out). Or roll immediately: Lightly flour a clean, large work surface. Shape the dough into a puck and roll out into a circle until it’s about 1/8-inch thick. Brush any excess flour from the crust. Using the rolling pin, roll the dough over the pin lightly, brushing excess flour from the backside as you go; then transfer to the pie plate, draping it into the pan.
  • Trim the edges of the dough, leaving about an inch overhang. Then fold the edges under and crimp them. Refrigerate or freeze until needed.

is W&S’s editor at large and covers the wines of the Mediterranean and Central and Eastern Europe for the magazine.


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