Butter Pecan Pie

Actually this recipe is identical to the one published many years ago by Paul Prudhomme, the Cajun chef from Louisiana.

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut up
1/4 cup ice water

Pecan Filling

1/2 cup pecan pieces or halves, dry roasted until dark
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecan halves

Instructions

Sift 1 cup of the flour and the salt into a large bowl.
Add butter, and working quickly with a light touch, cut butter into the flour with a spoon and fingertips until mixture is the texture of coarse cornmeal.
Add ice water and stir until well blended.
Form the dough into a ball and place on a flat surface floured with the remaining 3 tablespoons flour. With a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/8 inch. Place an ungreased 8 1/2 inch round pie pan face down on top of the dough and cut around the pan, leaving a 3/4 inch border. Lightly flour the top of the dough and fold it in quarters. Carefully place dough in the pie pan, with the points of the folded dough centered. Unfold dough and line the pan bottom and sides, gently pressing dough into place and draping a little over the rim. Flute the edges. Refrigerate prepared pie shell until ready to use.
Process roasted pecans in a food processor until they become a relatively smooth butter, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping sides down as needed with a rubber spatula.
Place eggs in a medium-size bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed a few seconds until frothy.
Add sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla extract, salt, and pecan butter. Beat on medium speed a few seconds until well mixed, pushing sides down as needed.
Stir in the unroasted pecan halves.
Pour mixture into prepared pie shell.
Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.
Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake until filling is browned on top and crust on edges is lightly browned, about 40 minutes more.
Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

The following comments and suggestions for making this delicious pie are from C.L. "Charlie" Boyd.

I was looking for this recipe online, as I lost the tattered, spattered copy of it cut out of a newspaper article years ago. Actually this recipe is identical to the one published many years ago by Paul Prudhomme, the Cajun chef from Louisiana. I have made this for the holidays for years, and everyone just loves it. Because pecan butter made from darkly dry-roasted pecans cuts the sweet of the syrup, I offer whipped, unsweetened heavy cream as a side accompaniment; this also cuts the sweet!

I would like to share a variation in method that works well for me and requires less clean-up. You have to have a relatively large food processor bowl, however (my Cuisinart Prep 11 and my old Cuisinart DLC-8 processor are both large enough).

Process the pecans in the food processor and scrape the sides of the bowl down between pulses, then when the nuts are very finely chopped, add 2 tablespoons butter cut in cubes to the processor bowl, then process continuously until the butter forms. The addition of butter makes for a smoother pecan butter. I use a generous cup of pecans that I have dry-roasted in a 400 degrees F oven until they are very dark and fragrant but not burned.

Add the sugar called for in the recipe to the pecan butter in the processor, then process continuously until combined. Then add the eggs and process continuously until combined. Last add the syrup, vanilla extract and salt and process continuously until combined.

Put the generous cup of pecan halves directly into the unbaked pie shell. Pour the mixture from the processor directly over the nuts, then stir gently with a spoon or spatula just to combine the liquid and the nuts so they are all well coated. Bake as directed.

Also, I found that using cane syrup or a mixture of cane syrup and corn syrup (Golden Eagle brand from Alabama) makes a better-tasting pie. Also good is Lyle’s Golden Syrup, a cane sugar syrup from England. You can also use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar instead of white sugar if you like a more molasses flavor to your pecan pie.