Monday, November 15, 2010

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Oh my goodness.  It has been a ridiculously crazy day.  I was actually feeling a little blech this morning (weather-or-stress-induced I'm sure) so I stayed home from work to take a deep breath and reorganize myself.  It worked!  And I have three exciting things to share ...

1. Tomorrow is Wear a Dress Tuesday!  Get your dresses ready ... :)
2. It took two days, but I pulled this deliciousness out of the oven today ...


... and I'm totally sharing the recipe tonight.  Be excited!
3. I put the finishing touches and HIT SUBMIT (!) on my Ministerial Profile this afternoon.  This is the "resume" (essentially) that church search committees will see when I start the Search & Call process (job search). My search won't actually start until I pass my Ecclesiastical Council in December, but it's nice to not have this looming over my head anymore!  Weeeeeee!


That deserves a glass of wine.

Out of a juice glass.

Have I mentioned that I hate moving?


Dinner was a huuuuuge batch of my dad's fried chicken.  I love finger food with lots of dipping sauces!

***

Okay, so let's get back to that Chocolate Pecan Pie of goodness, shall we?

Last week, Lindsey at The Morningstar Project e-mailed a few other bloggers and myself about possibly taking part in a pie challenge our blogs.  Lindsey is getting ready to cook up a Thanksgiving feast at her house this year and has some serious pie lovers on the guest list - she thought it would be fun to do a blogging recipe exchange of sorts so she (and everyone out there in blog land) could get menu ideas!

Well you don't have to ask me to bake a pie twice!  I decided on a Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe (adapted from this recipe) using my mother-in-law's pie crust recipe.  Trust me when I say that the secret to a good pie is a good crust.  The pre-made ones are good, but this one will melt in your mouth.  Here we go!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

CRUST

4 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Salt
2 cups Shortening
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Vinegar
1/2 cup Cold Water


FILLING

2 cups Sugar
2/3 cup Cocoa (unsweetened)
6 Eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups Light Corn Syrup
2 tablespoons Butter, melted
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 cups Pecan Halves

Before we start, know two things:
1. This will make two pies.
2. This will take two days.

Okay, so the crust is easy.


Combine the flour and salt and cut in the shortening.


And give it a good mix!


Then whisk together the egg, sugar, vinegar and water and add it to the dough.


Fluffy!  Mush this into a ball, cover it and put it in the refrigerator.  My mother-in-law says you can work with it after two or three hours, but it's best to let it sit overnight.

The next morning ... 


You've got a pie crust!  Sort of.  Toss it a few times on a floury surface and split it into two.  Roll each piece out (or realize you've already packed your rolling pin and try to use a can of Pam to roll it out like I did) and put them into pie plates.


Pie crusts are fun to work with.

Time for the filling!


Mix together your cocoa and sugar.


Add the eggs, corn syrup, butter and vanilla.


Then fold in your pecans.


And pour into your pie crusts!


This was my first time attempting pies by myself, so I was so freaking excited at this point in the baking process.

Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.


And the rest is history.


The pinches in my crust held together pretty well, too!  One day I will have pie crusts that come out of the oven as perfectly as they looked going in.


This was not the only piece I ate today.  Please don't judge me.

Thank you Lindsey for hosting this fun pie challenge!  I had a blast.  Head over to this post for the details about why she challenged herself and us and for a list of the other participants.  She's posting an Apple Pie recipe in the morning that I can't wait to see!

Monday Night Football time.  Goodnight!

6 comments:

  1. This pie looks amazing. I would be lying if I said I wasn't drooling over it right now!

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  2. Looks DELICIOUS! I need to get on my pie making :)

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  3. Oh my goodness, this looks tasty! Will definitely have to put it on my list of things to try one day.

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  4. Oh my god I'm totally referring everyone to this crust recipe! You are going to put my pie to shame! Thanks so much for making this and adding all the wonderful photos, my family is going to be very, very happy :)

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  5. I love love Pecan Pie...I'm not sure if I want to mess with perfection by adding chocolate but I might just have to try it!

    Also, last Christmas I was baking at my friend Mandy's house and she didn't have a rolling pin. So we used a champagne bottle. And we may or may not have drank the bottle first. :) So yay for unconventional rolling pins!

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  6. Taht was your first time baking pies by yourself? I'm impressed! (They look delicious...I don't think I would have been able to stick to one slice, either.)

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Hello and thanks for commenting! Unless I have your email address, I respond to all questions directly in the comment form. Check back if you've asked one! xo, Sarah

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