Nearly Perfect Pecan Pie
by Rachel Albrecht

1 9" deep-dish unbaked pie shell (recipe follows)
6 large eggs
2 c. light corn syrup
1 1/3 c. dark brown sugar
9 T. butter
1/4 t. salt
3 c. pecan halves, toasted at 350° for 8-10 minutes, cooled
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, and 
butter over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes, stirring 
constantly. Pour out of saucepan into a bowl and cool by stirring over a water 
bath or setting in the refrigerator and stirring occasionally, until just a bit 
warm. (Until it's cool enough to add eggs without any danger of cooking them 
prematurely. This also provides a good opportunity to roll out your pie dough.)

Whisk the eggs until smooth and consistent. Whisk in the vanilla. Stir the eggs 
into the caramel. Stir in the pecans. Pour into the pie shell. Bake for about 
30 minutes, then cover it with foil to prevent the crust from browning too 
much. Continue to bake another 40-50 minutes, until the center of the pie is 
well set. This is difficult to figure out...if it's sufficiently baked. With a 
deep dish pecan pie, it's going to take a while, but it shouldn't be in the 
oven more than 90 minutes. 75-80 should be about right, unless your dish is 
shallower.

Remove to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature, then chill before 
serving. I prefer to serve pecan pie at about 50°-60°, so if it's not cold 
enough in your garage to chill it there, chill it in the refrigerator and let 
it set at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before serving.

Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream: about 2 c. cream, 3 T. granulated 
sugar, and 1/2 t. vanilla, whipped to soft or medium peaks.


Pie Dough
adapted from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard
makes 2 crusts

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt (table, or finely ground Kosher)
1/2 c. ice water
1/2 t. white wine vinegar

Cut the butter into 1" pieces and place in the freezer for 15 minutes (no more).

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the flour and sugar. This 
lightens the flour to make the dough more tender. Add the butter and salt. Mix 
on low speed for at least 30 seconds and no more than 2 minutes, until most of 
the butter is about the size of walnut halves. Stop the machine and pinch all 
the large pieces of butter flat. Be careful not to just mash the pieces; the 
goal is to create flat, flaky layers in your dough.

Combine the ice water and vinegar, then add the liquid all at once to the flour 
mixture. Blend for no more than 15 seconds, until much of it is just coming 
together.

Spread out two sheets of plastic wrap. Bring the dough together just a bit with 
your hands, just enough so that it's not all crumbs, but do not work it much at 
this point, as working the dough while it's slightly warm from this process 
will damage the layers of flakiness and cause the dough to be tough. Divide the 
dough a little unevenly into two lumps and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate 
for at least 15 minutes. If you refrigerate it an hour or more, let it set at 
room temperature for a few minutes before rolling out. Also, before you remove 
it from the plastic, make sure each lump of dough is shaped into a nice round, 
semi-flat disc. This will help you in the rolling-out process.

To roll it out, I highly recommend using a French rolling pin, as it's more 
easily controlled and lightweight enough to avoid mashing the dough, which is 
not what you want. Lightly flour a work surface, then dust both sides of your 
disc with flour. Begin rolling out your dough, taking turns which direction 
your are rolling. You should go in all directions, and you should dust the top 
of your dough with flour and turn it over once or twice during this process, so 
that it doesn't stick to the work surface or get unwanted clumps of flour in 
spots underneath. Feel free to use lots of flour while rolling out your dough; 
just be sure it's evenly used across the circle.