Happy Thanksgiving! Pecan Pie

 

I've never made a pecan pie.  It's not a pie I've ever especially liked, finding it far too sweet and cloying, even though there are so many recipes out there that promise they're not too sweet.  And then there are recipes that include chocolate, and recipes that include bourbon, all of which sound delicious.  So I've been tempted, but have never tried until now.  For some reason, I wanted pecan pie with my Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm still working on perfecting my half-size pie technique; I got pretty close with this one.  The original recipe is for a 9.5-inch pie.  (He doesn't specify deep-dish, but it looked about 1.5-inches deep.)  I cut the quantities in half and baked it in a 7¾-inch fairly shallow pie pan from Baker's Square.  Here's what I used:

pre-baked* 7 to 8-inch pie crust
1 cup pecan halves, toasted
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 tablespoon milk heavy cream
1½ tablespoons flour
1½ large eggs

In a small pan over moderate heat, melt the butter, then add the brown sugar, white sugar, corn syrup, salt, vanilla, cream, and flour. Whisk to combine then allow to cook until it comes to a full boil, which should take only a minute or two. Immediately remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the syrup, a little at a time, into the eggs, whisking constantly. The rest of the syrup can be added more quickly, still whisking constantly. When thoroughly combined, pour over the pecans in the pie crust. Make sure none of the pecans are still dry on any surface. Bake at 350 F. for about 35 minutes, or until crisp on top and the filling is set. 

*I'm still not convinced that pre-baking a pie crust is necessary, or even a good thing, even for a liquid filling.  Typically, I never even par-bake the crust for pumpkin pie, and it's fine.  (I'm using "pre-baked" for a crust that is fully baked, which takes at least 20 minutes, while "par-baked" is one that's been baked for only about 10 minutes prior to filling.)  Who's really noticing whether the bottom of the crust is "flaky"?!  I think it's one of those ego things more than anything else.  As long as the crust isn't sodden and mushy, it's fine.  But every time I pre-bake a crust fully, it's tough and really difficult to cut through, and crunchy instead of crisp.  And no matter how much I freeze the shell before baking, or how well I've filled it with pie weights, I still end up with a misshapen, shrunken crust, no matter how long it's been in the oven.  So for now, I'm still not a fan, but I keep trying.  I should explore more the length of time the crust is baked prior to filling, as that can vary widely.  (This pumpkin pie called for par-baking the crust for only 12 minutes, while this coconut pie called for a crust that pre-baked for 25 minutes.)

Another consideration is the egg wash.  I pre-baked this crust, but I didn't use pie weights.  Instead, I docked the dough.  But then I gave the crust a thorough eggwhite wash, which stupidly fully sealed all the docking.  I intentionally filled the holes because I didn't want any pie filling to seep through, but that defeated the whole point of docking the dough.  NOTE:  I should have docked it, baked it, egg-washed it, then put it back into the oven just long enough to set the egg wash.  A test for another time.

This recipe was challenging because you have to follow the video on YouTube in order to get the directions.  (Only the ingredient list is given on his blog.)  Consequently, I messed up and cooked the syrup for too long, which made it very thick.  This might have affected the baking time, causing the pie to be set sooner than it otherwise would.  (It was still quite wobbly at 25 minutes, so I gave it another 10.  The full recipe calls for 40-45 minutes.)  It didn't adversely affect the finished product, though, other than it was pretty sticky.  And to that end, I probably could get away with using 2 whole eggs instead of fussing with a half egg.  (I used one extra large egg, plus the leftover egg white from the pastry wash and half of that egg yolk.)  Or would that make it too firm?

I questioned whether that little bit of bourbon really affected the flavor.  I didn't think so on the first two pieces, but I think I detected it when I was having a small piece early one morning.  (Per my reaction to the bourbon cream for these brown butter pumpkin pancakes, apparently I am especially sensitive to bourbon first thing in the morning.  Imagine that.)

Conclusion:  Utterly delicious.  Still a bit sweet (and perhaps a bit too salty), but okay in small servings.  (I found I enjoyed it less and less after about 5 or 6 bites.)  Some people successfully reduced the sugar, and one person recommended substituting some of the sugar for grade B maple syrup, which he deemed less sweet than sugar.  I also wonder how browned butter would fair.  That would be worth trying.  I would make this again.

Recipe:  Pecan Pie via Food Wishes

Coconut Custard Pie

 

“Claudia passes me a slice of pie. I’m too full. I politely refuse, she insists I taste. When I come to, having no idea that I am lying on the floor with a huge smile on my face, Claudia is beaming.”

~  Andrew Zimmern

I love coconut custard pie, but I've never made it because I've been afraid nothing will live up to my childhood memories of my mother's pie.  But Andrew Zimmern's comment gave me the encouragement I needed to try this recipe.  Not realizing a crust recipe came with the pie recipe, I used an old standard instead, swapping out the shortening for butter.  (They were pretty similar anyway.)  Then I blended it with the dough remnants from this Sweet Green Tomato Pie (which, of course, left me with remnants of this dough.)

As much as I love pie, I wasn't prepared to be left with a whole one, so I cut the recipe in half.  One reviewer said she always has too much filling, but once again my shell could have used more.  As with this half-sized pumpkin pie, I used an 8¼" x 1¼" Marie Callender's pie pan, but next time I'm going to use a pan that's every so slightly smaller and see if that will fill the shell without overflowing. 

Here's what I used:

Filling
par-baked pie crust (recipe below)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut (3 ounces) 

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar with the butter, then whisk in the eggs. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, and salt and whisk until incorporated. Stir in the coconut.  Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 40 to 45 minutes 45 to 50 for a full recipe), until the custard is set and golden brown on top.  

 

Pie crust
1¼ cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter
3 - 4 tablespoons ice water

Prepare dough (for a mealy crust) and chill for at least an hour.  Preheat the oven to 375°. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Cover the rim with strips of foil and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 20 minutes, until the crust is barely set. Remove the parchment and pie weights and bake for 5 minutes longer, until the crust is just set but not brown. Poke the bottom of the crust lightly to deflate it if it is puffed. Let cool; leave the foil strips on the rim. Lower the oven temperature to 350°.  Proceed with filling directions.

Well, if nothing else, this pie will fill your house with the heavenly scent of buttery sweetness. It was near impossible waiting for it to cool! But it was worth the wait. This really is a delicious pie. Not the same as my mom's, but in the absence of hers, not a bad substitute. And so easy to make! Just blend everything in a Pyrex and pour it in to the shell. (It's really the crust that's the fussy part -- I'm not sure you could get away with not pre-baking it and having as good of flavor.)

Conclusion: Definitely a keeper! Way too easy and too tasty not to have in your repertoire. If I were to make any improvement, I might reduce the sugar slightly. For most people, and if you're having just a standard slice (and not a quarter pie as I tend to do), it's fine as is. But if you prefer desserts a little less sweet, perhaps cut the sugar back 2 - 4 tablespoons, or use unsweetened coconut. Also, even with par-baking the crust and finishing with a browned bottom, the crust seemed a little doughy on the bottom. Not sure how to remedy that-- perhaps brushing it with egg white to seal it, as I did for Cafe Pasqual's pumpkin pie. (Or making a mealy crust instead of a flaky one, which I've added to the instructions. I should have done that anyway.) Lastly, don't use salted butter -- it makes the flavor too caramelly and intense.

Recipe:  Coconut Custard Pie via Food and Wine, courtesy of  T.W. Graham & Co., McClellanville, SC; pastry for single-crust pie via Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, ninth edition, 1985