Pecan Pie

Continuing with the dessert theme; I made a Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving dinner for my dad and I. Now, I wasn't always a big Thanksgiving dessert fan. Throughout the years, my families dessert menu consisted of Pumpkin pie (yuck), Apple pie,(double-yuck), and Pecan Pie. Growing up, I'm not sure I even ate dessert after our dinner. I've never been a fan of cooked apples, didn't care for the taste of pumpkin pie, and I don't think I even tried pecan pie. Eventually, I came around, and even though I still don't like cooked apples; I'm definitely a fan of Pecan and Pumpkin pies. This recipe is similar to the one my mother baked for our traditional Thanksgiving dinners. The recipe is from Joy of Cooking and the crust is from Cook's Illustrated. Unfortunately, I tad over-cooked the pie, but it still tasted great! If you want a traditional pie for Thanksgiving then I definitely recommend this Pecan Pie recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Crust:
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 pieces and chilled
4-6 tbsp ice water


Ingredients for Pie filling:
1/4 c butter (room temperature)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 c light corn syrup or molasses
1 to 1 1/2 c  broken peanuts or walnuts
1 tsp vanilla or 1 tbsp rum
1/2 tsp salt

For the Pie Crust
To make the pie crust, process the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor until combined. Scatter shortening on top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses.
Transfer the mixture into a medium bowl and sprinkle 4 tbsp of the ice water over the mixture.  Stir and press the dough together until it sticks together. If dough doesn't come together then add more water a tablespoon at a time until it does.
Get out a plastic sheet, and turn the dough unto the plastic sheet and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly and then refrigerate for about an hour. Before rolling out the dough, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling it out.)
Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured surface. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over the edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into the bottom with the other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs plate in place. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond the lip of the pie plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of pie using your fingers. Wrap dough-lined pie plate loosely in plastic and place in your freezer until the dough is fully chilled and firm, about 30 minutes, before using. Once pie is fully chilled, remove from the freezer and poke some holes into the dough using a fork. This will help it to not bubble up while cooking. Cook the pie for about 5 to 8 minutes. It will be fully cooked once the filling is poured into it. Remove pie from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Then, we'll add in the filling and cook for an additional 45 minutes.

For the filling:
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the light corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Fill the partially baked pie shell. Cover the edge of the pie plate with foil, so that the outer pie crust doesn't burn. I wish I had done this because my crust burned. The Joy of Cooking cookbook says to turn the oven up to 450 degrees, but I felt that was a bit too warm. I would set it to 425, instead. Let bake for 40 minutes until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the filling. Enjoy!