Pecan – Opie in the Kitchen

I came across a recipe for this pie and it immediately caught my attention. Mostly because I have a good friend who loves German Chocolate cake; in fact, I made one for him for this birthday one year. So I thought I would give it a try. I only modified it slightly. Used my own pie crust recipe and added some good Dutch-processed cocoa. Warning! This is really rich so a little goes a long way! Enjoy!

German Chocolate Pie

Filling:

4 oz sweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Filling:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
2 large egg yolks
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Direction:

Preheat your oven to 400°. Roll out the pie dough using my recipe (which will make 2 pies) and line a pie plate. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork. Line the pie dough with parchment paper and pie weights (I just use dry beans). Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully take the weight and parchment out and put it bake in the oven for another 10 minutes or until light brown. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Preheat your oven to 350°. Put the chopped chocolate in a microwave bowl and nuke to 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Allow it to cool slightly until just warm to the touch. Whisk in the milk, yolks, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans. Pour into the pie shell and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Once it’s cool, combine the brown sugar, cream, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. In a small bowl whisk the yolks. Slowly whisk in a small amount of the hot sugar/cream mixture. Pour the yolks into the remaining sugar mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until the mixture is thick. Stirr in the coconut ad vanilla, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Pour over the pie filling and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Enjoy!

Mexican Pecan Pie

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Pinch of kosher salt

1 Tsp sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes and cold

1/4 cup cold water

3 eggs

1 cup dulce de leche sauce

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/2 Tsp kosher salt

1 Tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tsp espresso powder

1 oz bourbon

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

1/3 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate

Directions

In a food processor, I love my Cuisinart Food Processor, pulse the flour, pinch of salt and sugar. Add it the cold butter and continue to pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the cold water a little at a time until it just starts to come together. You’ll know it’s good when you squeeze a handful and it stays together. You don’t want it to be too wet. Form into a round disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Roll the dough out to about 12″ round. Gently press it into a pie pan and crimp the edges, cutting off any excess dough.

In a medium bowl beat the eggs until foamy, about 1 minute. Add in the dulce de leche, brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, salt, cinnamon, and espresso powder. Beat for another minute. Add in the pecans and chocolate, stir to combine. Pour into the pie pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, loosely covered with foil, in a 375 degree oven or until set. You’ll know it’s done when you can insert a knife in the middle and it comes out clean.

Have some extra chocolate or dulce de leche syrup? Grate the chocolate on the top or drizzle with the dulce.