Chocolate Pecan Pie

By Peggio

I often prefer to use chopped chocolate in place of standard chocolate chips in recipes because in this case, the chips work a little better because they have less cocoa butter and make the pie easier to slice. But feel free to use either.

I don’t pre-baked the pie dough before adding the filling—I like the way to sticky filling fuses to the crust during baking. The generous dose of bourbon cuts the sweetness of the pie and if you choose omit it, expect the pie to be denser. You can swap out another liquor in place of it if you wish.

Ingredients

• The crust:
• One 9-inch (23cm) pie
• 1 1/4 cups (175g) flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 ounces (115g) unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1-inch (3cm) cubes
• 4 tablespoons (60ml) ice water
• The chocolate-pecan filling:
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (150g) packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup (200g) light corn syrup, rice syrup or golden syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons (30g) melted butter, salted or unsalted
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 2/3 cups (190g) toasted pecans, very coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup (120g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from davidlebovitz.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. To make the crust, mix together the flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. (Or use a food processor.)

2. Add the cubed butter and mix until the butter pieces are broken up and about the size of small peas.

3. Add the ice water and mix just until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

4. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch (30cm) round. Transfer the dough into a 9-inch ( cm) pie plate letting the dough ease into the pan, rather than pressing it in. Tuck the overhanging dough underneath the area above the rim of the pie plate, to create a double width of dough, then crimp the edges and refrigerate until ready to fill.

5. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC) and position the oven rack to the center of the oven.

6. In a large bowl, which together the eggs, brown sugar, syrup, vanilla, salt, melted butter, and bourbon.

7. Stir in the pecans and the chocolate chips then scrape the filling into the pie shell and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the filling puffs up slightly but still feels slightly jiggly and moist in the center.

Let pie cool completely before slicing.


Serving: Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream is a good accompaniment to pecan pie.

Storage: Dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to three days, or frozen for up to two months.

The pie is best eaten the same day although will keep for up to three days, at room temperature.