Pecan Sandie Pecan Pie

Time: 2 hours + chilling | Serves: 6–8 Nature: Slightly Warm | Flavor: Sweet

Ingredients

Crust

  • 80g pecans
  • 210g all-purpose flour
  • 35g confectioner's sugar
  • 1/4 tsp table salt
  • 115g unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 in cubes
  • 1 large egg
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 60g dark, milk, or white chocolate

Filling

  • 350g dark corn syrup
  • 165g brown sugar, dark or light
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 TBL dark rum
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp table salt
  • 160g pecans, finely chopped

Directions

  1. Make the crust: Pulse the pecans in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse until the nuts are very finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until fully incorporated, then add the egg and vanilla, and pulse just until the dough comes together in large clumps.

  2. Butter a standard (not deep-dish) 9-inch pie plate. Take 300g of dough and press into an even layer against the bottom of the plate and up the sides to form a 1/3-inch-thick crust. Refrigerate until firm. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

  3. Pinch off a 1-inch ball of remaining dough and refrigerate it in case you need to patch any cracks in the crust. Press the rest of the dough into a 7 in round disk on a sheet of parchment paper. Cut into strips and then into triangles to create a decorative top for the finished pie (see picture).

  4. Blind bake the crust until golden at edges, about 25 minutes. Remove pie weights and bake another 5–10 minutes until golden in the center.

  5. Make filling: Whisk together all ingredients except pecans until smooth. Stir in pecans.

  6. Pour filling into crust and bake on lowest rack until set with a slight wobble, 40–45 minutes. Bake triangle pieces on separate tray on top rack of oven until golden, 20–30 minutes.

  7. Cool pie and decorations completely. Melt chocolate in heat proof bowl in the microwave. Spread chocolate on bottom of a decoration and stick to the top of the pie. Use powdered sugar, icing, chocolate drizzle, or other accents to make the pie unique.

Blind Baking Tips

Blind baking is the process of pre-cooking a pastry crust to ensure that it is crisp and flaky in the final product.

  1. Crumple a sheet of parchment and then lay it on the bottom of your crust. The ripples make it easier for the paper to lie flat once in the oven.
  2. Use ceramic pie weights, dry beans, or metal pie chains laid on top of the parchment to weight down the crust during the blind bake so that it doesn't deform in the oven.
  3. After you remove the parchment and weights, use some raw dough to patch any cracks or holes in the crust to keep your filling from leaking out.
  4. Use this technique with pies, quiches, tarts, or any pastry where the filling might be very wet and could make the crust soggy.
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