Holiday Indulgence

The Holidays are all about indulgence. Many delicious dishes come to mind including one of my favorite indulgent desserts, Pecan pie! In my family growing up we always cooked all the main course dishes and got store bought pies and cakes for dessert. It wasn’t until I really became interested cooking that I wanted to figure out how to bake, and what was so difficult about it? In my cooking I tend to not use exact measurements, but with baking you typically have to or else your finished product will not turn out the way you want it.

Unlike cake and other baked goods, pecan pie is one of my favorites because the measurements don’t have to be exact, and its pretty fool proof, just how I like it!  Buying a store bought crust for your pie cuts your prep time in half, and the filling is made over the stove, so it’s a lot like cooking.

There is something that is just so rewarding about baking your own desserts for the holidays, and this one is so delicious and fun to make with the family!

 

 

 

Chocolate pecan pie

 

Ingredients

 2 pie crusts, store bought already in baking dish.

 Filling:

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4-cup light corn syrup 

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups chopped toasted pecans

1 to 2 tbsp bourbon 

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup Dark chocolate chips

 

 

 

Directions

Set separate racks in the center and lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Put a piece of parchment paper or foil over the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake on a baking sheet on the center rack until the dough is set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift sides of the parchment paper to remove the beans. Continue baking until the pie shell is lightly golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

While the crust is baking make the filling: In medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, bourbon, and the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.  Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Put the pie shell on a sheet pan and pour the filling into the hot crust, sprinkle chocolate chips over top of filling.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 40 to 45 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil half way during baking.) Cool on a rack. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.