Chocolate Pecan Pie

My Valentine’s Day Report. We decided to eat at home this year instead of fighting the crowds at the restaurants. My husband made us my favorite meal, Chicken Picatta, and I made him a pie. I usually make a cheesecake on Valentine’s but he loves pie, so pie is what I made. Trying to make things festive I went with a Chocolate Pecan Pie. Yum. Make this. Wow. Can you believe that I found this recipe on the back of a piece of junk mail? A free recipe and it was great! My husband tends to be more on the quiet side and I’m more of a Chatty Cathy, he couldn’t stop talking about this pie. Make this. Have I said that yet?
Let me describe it. You know those Chocolate Pecan Pies that you get at BBQ restaurants? Yeah, not this pie. You know those Chocolate Pecan Pies that is a Pecan Pie with chocolate chips in it. Still not it. You know those Pecan Pies that have pockets of chocolate in them made with chocolate chunks. Nope. So what is it? Glad you asked. It is a Chocolate Pie with a pastry crust with a thick layer of chocolate coated, caramelized pecans on top. Wow.
Things to note. It baked up very nicely. Mine was set at 48 minutes but could have gone just a bit longer. Make sure that your chocolate is not steaming hot when you pour it into the mixture. Don’t want scrambled eggs! You might want to spray your pie dish with cooking spray or this pie will stick.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
½ (15-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts
3 large eggs
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup light corn syrup
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 (1-oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups chopped pecans
2/3 cup pecan halves (garnish)

Unroll 1 piecrust and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Fold edges under, and crimp.
Whisk 3 eggs in a bowl. Whisk in brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, chocolate, vanilla, salt; stir in chopped pecans. Pour filling into pastry shell. Arrange pecan halves around outer edge of filling (garnish).
Bake at 350 degrees on bottom rack for 48-50 minutes or until filling is set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

How Sweet!

Southern Chocolate Pecan Pie

Here is something else for your Thanksgiving table.
Tonight, our church had its annual Thanksgiving Stew Supper. All you have to do to attend is to bring either pie or cornbread. Of course I picked a pie. I have brought this pie for several years now, but at first I did not think it was such a winner. I took my Dad’s favorite Pecan Pie recipe and added chocolate to it. The first time I made this I did not take it because I thought that it had too much of a medicinal taste to it. So I made a different pie and left this one at home. Some people came by the house that night and saw the pie on the counter and asked if they could have some of it. I told them to eat it at their own risk because it was just not up to my standards. They went nuts over it and said that it was even better than the pie I took. So, I tried another bite. You know, they were right. I think I like this pie more room temperature than super hot. How do you like yours?

Southern Chocolate Pecan Pie
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 Tab vanilla
1 ¼ cup pecans
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 pie shell (I use Marie Callenders Deep Dish Pie Shell)

In mixing bowl, slightly beat eggs and sugar, corn syrup, evap. milk and vanilla. Blend well. Stir in pecans and chocolate morsels. Pour into unbaked 9 pie shell. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until filing is puffed in center and is well browned. Let pie cool.

Southern Pecan Pie

For Father’s Day I decided that along with a gift for my Dad I would bake him something. Imagine that? Anyhoo, I first thought that I would bake him a cookie recipe I found that was naturally sweetened with fruit instead of white sugar. Sugar is not his friend therefore; he is supposed to stay away from the stuff. However, on occasion he will eat dessert. All my life I have heard about a certain Pecan Pie which is my Dad’s favorite treat. Three years ago I finally got the right combination on this particular style of Pecan Pie. There was a relative in his family that made Pecan Pie this way, and all Pecan Pies were from then on compared to her recipe. I was so excited that I found the recipe on the back of a package of pecans. However, I could never make it the same way as I did the first time. It would be too grainy or too runny or overcooked. But, I’d soldier on every time hoping that one day I would make it correctly. Today's was almost perfect.
The pie is creamy because of the evaporated milk, and strong because of the large amount of vanilla. Often times I will add ¼ to 1/3 cup of chocolate chips for a slight variation and too guard against graininess. You must use a deep dish pie shell such as Marie Callender’s or you will need to clean your oven at the end.

Southern Pecan Pie
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 Tab vanilla
1 ¼ cup pecans
1 pie shell

In mixing bowl, slightly beat eggs and sugar, corn syrup, evap milk and vanilla. Blend well. Add pecans and pour into unbaked 9 pie shell. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes or until filing is puffed in center and is well browned. Let pie cool.

German Chocolate-Pecan Pie

Open a box, unpack a box, say to self, “where did that come from?” Repeat. Decorate for 2 year old birthday party, have party, flood bathroom, and set cooktop on fire. That is a little glimpse into my life the last 8 days. So if you were wondering if I would be back here well, I guess I’m back!
Today’s recipe is amazingly enough not my first thing to bake in my new kitchen. It is, let’s see, my third thing. I had to bake for the birthday party of course. Double ovens are WONDERFUL!!! I was able to bake all five layers of her cake at one time. It was great.
Back to today’s recipe, I chose it because of one key word, “whisk.” I love to whisk. It is easy and fun and I have a good whisk. My whisk is not anything special mind you, I just got tired of having to keep buying more whisks because they kept rusting on me. I don’t have one that has a ball inside of the head. Have you seen those? I always wondered if they were easy to clean or if the ball made things get out of control or if the ball was even worth the added expense? I wonder too much. Anyhoo, since life is still busy I wanted something easy, and this was very easy to make. Measure and dump into a bowl, whisk and dump into a pie crust.
I got the recipe out of a Southern Living last year and it was on the same page as another pie I made a month or two ago. You might remember the Pecan Cheesecake Pie. Yummy. So I was hoping this too would be just as good or better. There is coconut in this pie so beware if you anti-coconut. If you are I feel very sorry for you. That means you have missed out not only on this pie but German Chocolate Cake too. I grew up on my Mimi's German Chocolate Cake. Wow, was that good. I need to get that recipe and make it someday.
Things to note: Remember use the blue label Karo syrup not the pinkish red. Also, if you spray the inside of your measuring cup before putting the Karo in it will come out of the cup much easier. Don't forget to put your pie on the bottom rack. I have more rack options on my new oven so today's recipe was a gamble. I'm such a risk taker.
What does it taste like? Well, a German Chocolate flavored pecan pie. It has all the elements of a pecan pie with the German chocolate flavor built in and coconut for texture. This was so much easier than another pie I make like this one. I think I will make this again, however I would like to try it again after my tastebuds heal from the burns. Make sure you let it cool a whole hour before you eat a bite.

German Chocolate-Pecan Pie
Ingredients
1/2 (15-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Preparation
1. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pie plate according to package directions. Fold edges under, and crimp.
2. Whisk together eggs and next 6 ingredients until thoroughly blended. Stir in pecans and coconut. Pour mixture into piecrust; place pie on a baking sheet.
3. Bake at 350° on lowest oven rack 50 minutes or until pie is set. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour or until completely cool. Yields 8 servings.

Pecan Cheesecake Pie

Shouldn’t “The Baking Redhead” do an Irish dessert today? Yes. But, that’s not my thing. I don’t really like mint, green, or dark bread. I know there are lots more yummy desserts out there to choose from, but I couldn’t find anything to float my boat. Oh, I should have made something with oats. Well, maybe next time.
Today’s recipe comes from Southern Living, November 2007. I had the ingredients on hand and decided that it sounded good for today. I only had to use one bowl, and it came together very quickly. My kind of recipe on a rainy Monday in March.
The smell was wonderful as the pie rose up high in the pan. I’m glad it stated to put it on the bottom rack. It helped the crust crisp up and it kept the nuts from burning on top.
The taste is very interesting and hard to describe. You have the pastry crust of a pie, the crunch and sweetness of a pecan pie, but the smooth, creamy center of a cheesecake. I would give this a try if I were you. It is an unbelievable combination. I have only tried it warm and I'm curious how different it will taste cold.


Pecan Cheesecake Pie
Ingredients
1/2 (15-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs, divided
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
1 cup light corn syrup
Preparation
1. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pie plate according to package directions. Fold edges under, and crimp.
2. Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into piecrust; sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans.
3. Whisk together corn syrup and remaining 3 eggs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla; pour mixture over pecans. Place pie on a baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350° on lowest oven rack 50 to 55 minutes or until pie is set. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour or until completely cool. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 2 days.