|
|
Dear John,
You really deserve a treat after a grueling year. Master chef and restaurateur Kelly Fields comes to the rescue this month with a recipe for an unforgettable pie.
|
|
|
Bourbon-Chocolate Pecan Pie
|
From Kelly Fields' The Good Book of Southern Baking
Makes one 9-inch single-crust pie |
| You will want to let this pie chill before you eat it so that it sets up and slices well. I'm a big fan of warming it, one slice at a time, and serving it with vanilla ice cream. Finally, I don't know why you would want to, but you can leave the chocolate out of this pie and replace it with an additional 3/4 cup of other nuts. |
|
Ingredients:
|
|
•
|
2 cups pecan halves
|
|
•
|
4 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
|
|
•
|
1 recipe Single-Crust Pie Dough (see below), parbaked or a frozen pie shell |
|
•
|
3 eggs, at room temperature |
|
•
|
1 cup granulated sugar |
|
•
|
1 cup cane syrup |
|
•
|
Pinch of kosher salt |
|
•
|
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
|
|
•
|
2 tablespoons bourbon |
|
|
Method:
|
|
1.
|
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, toss together the pecans and chocolate and spread in the prepared pie shell. |
|
|
2.
|
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar, cane syrup, and salt until fully combined. Stir in the butter and bourbon. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and pecans in the pie shell, filling it as full as you're able without overflowing the crust. |
|
|
3.
|
Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, rotating the pie after 30 minutes, until the center is just set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before serving. The pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days. |
|
|
|
Single-Crust Pie Dough
|
| Makes enough dough for one 9-inch pie crust |
|
Ingredients:
|
|
•
|
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
|
|
•
|
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
|
|
•
|
1/2 cup frozen unsalted butter, grated on the large holes of a box grater and frozen |
|
•
|
1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar |
|
•
|
1/2 cup ice water |
|
|
Method:
|
|
1.
|
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer, combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and beat on medium speed just until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 45 seconds. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and water. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the vinegar-water mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.
|
|
|
2.
|
Liberally dust a work surface and your rolling pin with flour. Working quickly to keep the pie dough from warming up too much, roll out the dough, rotating it a quarter turn every few rolls, until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Roll the dough around the rolling pin and carefully unroll it into a deep 9-inch glass pie plate. Pat the dough into the pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and press the dough to make it even. To crimp the dough, use the index finger of one hand to press the dough between the index finger and thumb of another, allowing the crimp to extend past the edge of the pie pan a bit—this will prevent the rim of the dough from collapsing during baking. Place the pie shell in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
|
|
|
3.
|
Parbake the crust. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Scrunch up a sheet of parchment paper so it's all wrinkled, then flatten it out and use it to line the pie shell. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. |
|
|
4.
|
Parbake for 15 minutes, rotating the pie plate after 8 minutes, until the crust is light golden at the edges. Remove the parchment and beans or pie weights and let cool on a wire rack. |
|
|
5.
|
To fully bake the crust, after you've removed the parchment and pie weights, return the crust to the oven and bake for an additional 7 minutes, until lightly golden. |
|
|
|
Note: This piecrust is just as easily made by hand. Place the cold flour and salt in a large cold bowl. Add the butter and cut it in with your hands, rubbing the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. This takes about 90 seconds. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the vinegar and ice water. At this point, I like to switch over to a spatula to start moving the dry ingredients into the liquid, folding the ingredients over until everything is just incorporated and a dough has formed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and continue as directed in the recipe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
About Kelly Fields
|
|
Kelly Fields grew up near Charleston in a family with a strong Lowcountry baking tradition. She has worked as a pastry chef for more than twenty years and opened her own restaurant Willa Jean in 2015. She won Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2019 and was named one of the most influential people in the South by Garden & Gun magazine. She founded the Yes Ma'am foundation to inspire, encourage, and mentor the next generation of women in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Like every good Southerner, she has a good dog (Kinney) by her side. Learn more about The Good Book of Southern Baking here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
