Discover Wellness

November 27, 2024

My favorite pecan pie recipe by Lauren Allen.

Instructions

Pie crust:

1.  Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add ice cubes to a measuring cup and fill with ½ cup cold water.

2.  Grate frozen butter into the bowl, or cut it into very small pieces. Add chilled shortening and use a pastry blender or fork to cut the fats into the flour until well combined and resembles coarse crumbs. 

3. Add ice water a spoonful at a time, mixing until the dough begins to come together into a ball. Be careful not to over mix, and you may not need all of the water. Gently mold the dough into a ball.

4. Divide dough into 2 pieces and press each to flatten into a disk. 

5. Refrigerate: Cover dough discs with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours (or freeze for 30 minutes). Refrigeration is mandatory as you need the fats in the pie dough to be cold when it's rolled out and placed in oven).

6. Roll out dough on a floured countertop. If you're new to pie making, it may be helpful to use this method: dampen a large cloth and lay it flat on your countertop, with a large piece of parchment paper over it (the damp towel will keep the parchment from moving). Lightly flour the parchment and dough and roll the dough into a large circle, about 1-inch larger then the diameter of your pie dish. Always start at the center of the crust, and roll outwards.

7. Place in pie pan: Gently turn the dough into your pie dish and remove the parchment paper. Settle it smoothly into the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim and crimp the edges of the crust.

Pecan pie:

1. In a large bowl whisk together sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, and softened (or melted) butter. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.

2. Reserve a few pecans and stir the rest into the batter. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Add a few of the reserved pecans on top of the pie in any empty spots, to make it look pretty. Use a small spoon to cover them with batter.

3. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temp to 350 degrees F and continue baking for about 50 minutes. Check the pie half way through cooking and tent a large piece of greased aluminum foil over the top of the pie. (I tent it high so it doesn't touch the pie filling). You will know your pecan pie is done when you can shake it gently and it is not overly jiggly.  If it jiggles a lot when shaking, continue cooking until the center is more set, 5-10 more minutes, or longer if needed. Err on the side of cooking it longer rather than shorter to ensure that the middle has set.

4. Allow pie to cool completely for several hours before cutting and serving. Or refrigerate for 1-3 days, until ready to serve.

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