Perfect Pecan Pie

Ingredients
Pie Shell for Pecan Pie (recipe follows)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
³⁄₄ cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

Instructions
1.  Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 275*F. Place pie shell in oven if not already warm.

2.  Mix butter, sugar and salt in medium bowl with wooden spoon until butter is absorbed. Beat in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla. Return bowl to skillet of hot water; stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130*F. Remove from heat; stir in pecans.

3. Pour mixture into warm shell; bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed. 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to pie rack; let cool completely, at least 4 hours. Serve pie at room temperature or warm, with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired.

Note: Toast pecans in a dry skillet or in the oven while baking the pie shell.  

Pie Shell for Pecan Pie
Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₄ cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dough and surface
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ¹⁄₄-inch pats
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, frozen solid and cut into small pieces
1 large egg white, chilled and mixed with ice water to equal ¹⁄₄ cup
1 large egg yolk, beaten with ¹⁄₈ teaspoon water

Instructions
1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter and shortening over dry ingredients and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. 10 to 15 seconds. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle egg white mixture over flour mixture and, with blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together. Shape dough into ball with hands, and then flatten into 4-inch disk. Dust dough lightly with flour, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

3. Roll dough on lightly floured surface into 13-inch circle and transfer to 9-inch pie pan, preferably glass. Press dough into corners and sides of pan, being careful not to stretch dough. Trim edges of dough to make ¹⁄₂-inch overhang. Tuck overhanging dough under so that folded edge is flush with rim of pan. Flute edge.

4. Chill shell until firm, about 1 hour. Prick sides and bottom with fork and line entire shell with heavy-duty aluminum foil, pressing foil firmly against shell and extending it over fluted rim. Prick foil with fork and return shell to refrigerator while oven is heating.

5. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400*F. Bake, pressing once or twice with mitt-protected hands, if necessary, to flatten any puffing, until crust is firmly set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until bottom begins to color, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, brush sides and bottom with egg yolk, and return to oven until yolk glazes over, about 1 minute longer.

Comments
Once upon a time, I needed to find a recipe for the best pecan pie in the world to make for a friend’s birthday.  This is that recipe.  Even Art, who dislikes pecan pies because they’re always just “a thin layer of pecans over treacle,” gobbles this up when I make it for Thanksgiving.  My friend also loved the pie so I considered the whole experiment a great success. 

The crust is time-consuming but very well worth the effort of making it.  After the crust is made, it’s pretty quick to come together.  I think I’ve gotten better at making the crust look pretty, this picture is from the first time I made the recipe.  

I believe that the initial recipe came from an issue of Cook’s Illustrated.  The original recipe recommends a glass pie plate and I’ve had great success with sticking to glass.  Since it is a time-consuming recipe, I tend to make two at a time.  They also travel very well via airplane.

Cook’s Illustrated 1995