This is a public service announcement because people must know about the chocolaty, nutty loveliness that is chocolate pecan pie. “What do you put in pecan pie?” ask pecan pie purists. I know first hand about skeptics…I’m related to them.
One year at my mother-in-law’s house I offered to make a pie for our holiday meal. She already makes apple, pumpkin and marionberry pies. When everyone heard I was making chocolate pecan pie they were very skeptical. “Maybe I’ll try it,” it they said. That year I ended up making three of them because my in-laws couldn’t get enough. Now every year I’m happy to make one or two. This is a true pie-loving family.
This recipe originally came from my mom. I actually don’t remember her every making just a plain pecan pie. Because coming from a chocolate-loving family – why would you want regular pecan pie when you can have chocolate pecan? We ate it once or twice a year growing up and it’s the pie flavor I look for on restaurant menus and food festivals.
“Who has time to make a pie?” you may ask. I make it easy on myself with this pie-baker hack (aka working mother of two hack)…buy the crust. I’ve never eaten pie with a group where everyone gushes about the crust more than the filling. Ok, I’ve had delicious crusts that I’ve commented on. My mom is a make-the-crust-with-butter baker while my mother-in-law makes hers with Crisco. For me though, it’s always about the filling. The filling is the star of the dish.
This dish is decadent and chocolaty served with homemade whipped cream. What I lack in pie crust sophistication I make up for in whip cream snobbery. I shutter a bit when I see a tub of cool whip next to a beautiful dessert. No homemade dessert deserves to be paired with a tub of artificial dairy-like whipped topping. Homemade whipped cream is so easy the instructions are in the name – you whip some heavy cream. I add a tablespoon or two of powdered sugar to sweeten it a bit but you don’t have to. My mom adds cinnamon to hers. I simply beat the cream with a hand mixer until peaks form. It is so delicious, easy and looks so pretty heaped on your pie.
This is the dessert my husband always requests for his birthday. I show my love, in part to my family, by taking the time to make their favorite meal and dessert on their birthdays. My son most often picks pumpkin pie (I’ve even made two homemade pumpkin pies to feed 14 family members at a cabin in less than ideal cooking conditions in the heat of a July summer day) or lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting. My daughter typically requests a chocolate cake with caramel and sprinkles. Making a special dessert, their absolute favorite, brings me so much joy. It’s another way for me to tell them I love them and want their birthday to be celebrated in a special way.
The next time you need to make a dessert – show some love with this one.
Recipe
- 9 inch deep dish pie crust
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- 2 squares (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 cup corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pecan pieces
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine melted butter and chocolate. (I melt them using a double-boiler on the stove). Add sugar, corn syrup, salt and eggs with a hand beater. Stir in nuts and pour into pie shell.
Bake 40-50 minutes. (I cover the edges of the crust with foil until the last 10 minutes of baking so that the edges of the crust don’t get too dark.) Chill 2 hours. Serve with homemade whipped cream (or course).
