The Pecan Pie Topic

[jayhay]

Thanks Ling, I'll be looking for your recipe.

The only change I made to Claire's recipe (because supply was low), was to use about 1/2 cup coarse light brown cane sugar, as well as 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, for the 2 cups brown called for. The cane sugar gave the pie a nice crunch, almost like toffee bits had been added....might do it again.

[Ling]

I put the recipe in Recipe Gullet until Maple Pecan pie.

I should clarify--it's not better than Claire's, it's different. I think you would like the maple pecan pie recipe if you like custardy pecan pies.

[highchef]

I would add that the pecan crop was pretty devestated by the hurricanes and if you are interested in making pecan pies you may want to pick some up now, while they are available. I bought 2lbs shelled yesterday and paid 15$ for them...which, honestly is about what they were at the hight of the holdiay season last year. This is not going to be enough, but I have some in the freezer. They're due to expire sometime in 06, but they'll be in pies by then. If you want to stock up, freeze them (air tight is best, but freezer bags work well too. Cooks did a comparison on the freezer bags and found that the blue one's, not the double ones worked best. I think they're ziplocs...not sure)

[melonpan]

Pecan Pie

3/4 cup butter

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

9 inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet, toast pecans.  Remove from skillet.

Add butter to skillet and heat over medium until browned.  Reduce heat and stir in brown sugar.  Let brown sugar melt a bit and turn off heat.  Let cool for about 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix eggs, salt and vanilla.  Stir in butter/sugar mixture and pecans.  Pour into unbaked pie shell Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

made this three days ago exactly as posted (im a stickler whenever i make something the first time). yumms! and i love how simple it is to make. i always kind of hated schlepping out to the grocery to get corn syrup bc i never have it...

i wil be making this next week again with a cookie bar base to make pecan bars instead of a pie.

its really nice how simplified this recipe is and how nice it turns out. thank you claire.

(also i may add cranberries to the bars, as that sounds like a really nice variation, but i leave that to the last minute. the original recipe is a definite keeper.)

claire, do you know where this recipe comes from?

[Richard Danzey]

Hello, again, everyone. I just followed up on Ruth's suggested recipe, and it looks like a winner. I may be wrong, but I don't think it's anything like the recipe my Mom used. But I have an excellent imagination, and the Engadine Torte will be fun.

My Dad experienced tortes while in Europe (Belgium) during WWII. However, I believe a torte, for him, meant cake baked in very many thin layers, with icing between and around. Can't remember anything more specific than that. Is 'torte' a word that refers to many different kinds of dessert? Many thanks for the wonderful contributions to this thread. Regards...

danz

If Richard Danzey is still looking for that caramelized nut pie, I've just remembered a recipe we sometimes served at one of my restaurants (I'll PM him).  It was called Engadine Torte and was basically a caramel and nut tart made of caramelized sugar, cream and nuts, named for an area in Switzerland.

Very rich and yummy, you'll find a recipe for it here:  Engadine Torte

This is not the recipe we used, but that cookbook is not accessible to me at this time.

(Edited to add:  scroll down, it's on the right side below another recipe.)

←

[ludja]

...

My Dad experienced tortes while in Europe (Belgium) during WWII.  However, I believe a torte, for him, meant cake baked in very many thin layers, with icing between and around.  Can't remember anything more specific than that.  Is 'torte' a word that refers to many different kinds of dessert?  Many thanks for the wonderful contributions to this thread.  Regards...

danz

Check out these two previous threads for discussion on the definition of a torte:

click1 and click2

I think the Engadiner Torte is more like a tart with a top crust. I'm not sure if there is a word equivalent for 'tart' in German. Witness "Linzer Torte" which is also very much a tart...

[Kent Wang]

The pecan tree is the state tree of Texas, so pecan pies are a Lone Star State classic. Does anyone know if any version is particularly prevalent in or native to Texas?

[Swisskaese]

The pecan tree is the state tree of Texas, so pecan pies are a Lone Star State classic. Does anyone know if any version is particularly prevalent in or native to Texas?

←

This recipe. Dean Fearing is the chef at the Mansion at Turtle Creek in Dallas. This recipe is very good.

Edited October 24, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[Kent Wang]

This recipe. Dean Fearing is the chef at the Mansion at Turtle Creek in Dallas. This recipe is very good.

←

Awesome. I've heard great things about the Mansion, though I have never been.

I'll definitely try out his recipe soon, but am interested in experimenting with adding bourbon. Can anyone recommend how much to add or any other adjustments that will be necessary?

[Ling]

I add 3 tbsp to a 9" pie.

[claire797]

Pecan Pie

3/4 cup butter

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

9 inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet, toast pecans.  Remove from skillet.

Add butter to skillet and heat over medium until browned.  Reduce heat and stir in brown sugar.  Let brown sugar melt a bit and turn off heat.  Let cool for about 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix eggs, salt and vanilla.  Stir in butter/sugar mixture and pecans.  Pour into unbaked pie shell Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

made this three days ago exactly as posted (im a stickler whenever i make something the first time). yumms! and i love how simple it is to make. i always kind of hated schlepping out to the grocery to get corn syrup bc i never have it...

i wil be making this next week again with a cookie bar base to make pecan bars instead of a pie.

its really nice how simplified this recipe is and how nice it turns out. thank you claire.

(also i may add cranberries to the bars, as that sounds like a really nice variation, but i leave that to the last minute. the original recipe is a definite keeper.)

claire, do you know where this recipe comes from?

←

Melonpan, thanks for making my pie. The recipe is one I've played around with for a long time. It's a combination of a few recipes from old Junior League books, so there is not one specific source. It was my idea to toast the pecans and brown the butter, though I've seen a lot of other people doing the same thing over the past few years, so it's not like it was anything brilliant or super-creative . It does make a heck of a difference in the end result.

[Kent Wang]

I just tried Dean Fearing's recipe, but substituting both sugars with Billington's dark molasses sugar. I baked it for 45 minutes as per the recipe, didn't do a proper toothpick test, let it cool and it turned out fine except it oozes. Looking at a cross-section of the pie, the top half has changed color but the bottom is still a dark brown and not solid.

What did I do wrong? I'm guessing I didn't bake it long enough. Was the substitution of more brown sugar for granulated sugar at fault? What is the purpose of the granulated sugar? Does the nature of the Billington's molasses have anything to do with it?

[claire797]

What did I do wrong? I'm guessing I didn't bake it long enough. Was the substitution of more brown sugar for granulated sugar at fault?

←

Well, this is coming from a complete pastry hack, so take it as you wish -- but my recipe is all brown sugar and doesn't ooze at all. Sounds like either it was undercooked or there weren't enough eggs. Did you maybe use small eggs?

[butterscotch]

I got pretty much all the ingredients, not the muscavado which I have to find out what it is first!!, but...i do have the fabulous Dufours pate sucre crust and a huge shipment of Georgia pecans......

but I'm hoping to make something a tad less gooey and one dimensional than the typical corn syrup version... this thinking brought me to this no corn syrup version which has the unusual additions of a little flour and milk:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pecan-Pie-V/Detail.aspx

except for the fact it's an ugly pie, it did get raves, but again, it's darned ugly. Ayone ever have this? Sounds a bit cookie/ blondieish....

So I looked some more and found this bloggers final version which has butter and brown sugar and a bit less corn syrup than usual and looks just gorgeous:

http://appetitivebehavior.blogspot.com/200...ii-we-have.html

then I saw it's just a souped up gooey classic so I looked at that bloggers earlier attempts and saw how she tried a really interesting version by Thomas Keller with molasses and bourbon and muscavado sugar (?!) which she botched (sounds undercooked) but sounds tasty all right....

http://nymag.com/restaurants/articles/recipes/pecanpie.htm

So for my fist attempt, do I add a little flour and milk to the Thomas Keller version- and maybe use Lyles Golden or Barley sugar syrup instead of the dreaded Karo? (Confession: I have been hoarding anything but Karo syrups for just this occasion) I also have Turbinado, can I sub this for the muscavado sugar?

Can I just put in less filling to get less goo? And the blindbaking the crust, the jury it seems is still out on that one, any suggestions?

I also saw some toffee and butterscoth versions but nothing that seemed really tasty although of course, I love that idea!

C'mon gulleteers! These pecans are burning a hole in my cupboard and I'm scared!

[JeanneCake]

Everyone will have their personal favorite, and mine comes from the Pie and Pastry Bible by RLB. She bakes it in a tart pan, rather than a pie pan so the filling is less deep (fine by me but because it is so good, I wish there were more of it or bigger pieces!) So if you're thinking you'd like to try another version, I'd go with that one.

It is basically yolks, brown sugar, lyle's golden syrup (or dark karo syrup but it is far better with the Lyle's), cream, salt, butter cooked on the stovetop then poured over toasted pecans in a pre-baked shell, baked for 30 or so minutes. The top gets "foamy" and starts to settle down toward the end of the baking period so all you're left with are glossy pecans which you can scribble all over with dark chocolate if you want, or you can add cocoa to the filling and go for a chocolate version.

If you need the recipe from that book, PM me.

[K8memphis]

It might be too late but I would use both bourbon and vanilla.

For a variation, would something like adding toasted coconut be a possibility?

I do not understand the cornsyrupaphobia.

If corn syrup is off putting sugar should be all the ever so much more so. No?

Could you help me understand why you are hesitant to use corn syrup?

Edited December 18, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[JeanneCake]

I don't have any reservations about corn syrup! (well, ok, I don't like it in my kid's juice but that's a different story)

RLB recommends the Lyle's in the recipe and after trying it with the Lyle's and the dark Karo, I think it tastes better with the Lyle's. It gets rave reviews with either one but if there's a choice, go with the golden syrup.

That's an interesting twist with the coconut. Today I made brownie tarts (a rich cocoa, bittersweet choc combo with all the usual suspects baked in a tart pan) and adding coconut will be the perfect touch for the next time I make it.

[shaloop]

Well, the first blog recipe you linked too is very similar to my pecan pie recipe. I tested several recipes and ended up with a tart (so it would be less deep) although I've also made it as a pie and it was just as good.

2 cups pecans, lightly toasted and chopped

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup maple syrup

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

Mix eggs and sugar till foamy. Add salt, vanilla, butter and maple syrup. Stir in pecans and pour into pie shell. ( I partially blind bake my pie shell so it cooks all the way through.)

350 degrees until pie starts to puff up and turn golden. Cool completely before serving. If you don't like maple syrup (like if you're an alien or something) you could use corn syrup.

[Lindacakes]

I think people associate corn syrup with high fructose corn syrup.

I don't like corn syrup pecan pie. I would recommend looking for recipes for chess pie, which is the same thing only better. I have an excellent recipe (not at my fingertips, I'm at work) which is, I believe, all about butter and brown sugar.

Take a look at the Thomas Jefferson pie in Joy of Cooking. I made one once, it's unusual and delicious, I offer this up only as a sticky pie ingredient concept meme.

[miladyinsanity]

butterscotch, if you live in a place that has no corn syrup, you'd probably substitute golden syrup for it.

In a pecan pie, I daresay it'd be fine to sub it 1 for 1 in any recipe, but Lyle's is sweeter than corn syrup.

[jess mebane]

(Said with an annoying drawl):

depending on your desired effect, it's all about the light and dark Karo, and remember to rough chop your pecans. Dunno 'bout the bourbon and/or chockie; I tends to keep my hooch in the glass where it belongs.

Happy Sticky!

[butterscotch]

not too late- i was hijacked into making brownies instead, and am baking this weekend instead! I'm going to try the combo, thanks......

It might be too late but I would use both bourbon and vanilla.

Could you help me understand why you are hesitant to use corn syrup?

←

as far as the corn syrupaphobia goes: well, maybe i am wrong, but i associate it with the gloppy flavorless qualities in most common pecan pie fillings.

it seems to me to be more flavorless than even white sugar! LOL. i prefer brown sugars, caramelly flavor and i know i can acheive that by scorching white sugar (i love candied nuts and brittles) , but white corn syrup? I bought Lyle's golden, Barley syrup, and molasses all in an attempt to avoid it! LOL.

I'm liking this browned butter idea from the combined thread! Very much.

I will try and post pics and will certainly report back. Don;t tell anyone, it;s my first pie since high school!

[cookman]

Here's the one I've been using.  It outstanding -- smooth, rich, and sweet but not overly sweet.  It has a deep flavor from the toasted pecans and browned butter. 

Pecan Pie

3/4 cup butter

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

9 inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet, toast pecans.  Remove from skillet.

Add butter to skillet and heat over medium until browned.  Reduce heat and stir in brown sugar.  Let brown sugar melt a bit and turn off heat.  Let cool for about 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix eggs, salt and vanilla.  Stir in butter/sugar mixture and pecans.  Pour into unbaked pie shell Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

←

For those who have tried making this pie: Any reason not to use a pie crust that has been partially baked before filling? I almost never make a pie that doesn't have the crust at least partially blind baked before filling. I assume that would be fine here, but thought I'd inquire of those who have already baked this pie.

[Lindacakes]

I cannot speak for that particular recipe, but I would advise against it.

Pecan pies are moody. I laughed at my mother-in-law for serving one spooned over ice cream (it was liquid) until it happened to me, this past Thanksgiving.

Meaning that you could easily overbake a pecan pie. They appear to be baked when they are not.

[Pam R]

For those who have tried making this pie: Any reason not to use a pie crust that has been partially baked before filling? I almost never make a pie that doesn't have the crust at least partially blind baked before filling. I assume that would be fine here, but thought I'd inquire of those who have already baked this pie.

←

I haven't tried this recipe so I can't comment on it specifically either. I use a pate brisee for my pecan pies (we call them flans ) and always par-bake the crusts. My filling is a mixture of dark corn syrup, brown sugar and butter.