Deep South Eats: Chocolate-Pecan Chess Pie

I was asked to bring a dessert to this past Thanksgiving festivities. My mom was already making a coconut cake, my sister-in- law some adorable turkey sugar cookies, so what could I bring? I flipped through my November issue of Southern Living which featured some awesome Thanksgiving recipes. I knew we needed a little chocolate in our dessert life, but what about the traditional pecan pie? I was thrilled to find a recipe for Chocolate-Pecan Chess Pie. Hello, best of both worlds!


This pie is phenomenal in flavor and so dense in texture. It is quick to make and requires very little skill. I think this would be a great recipe for a beginner baker. It was gobbled up on Thanksgiving day, and I may or may not have witnessed a few family members with forks in the pie pan after dinner.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a package of refrigerated pie crusts (there are usually 2 crusts in each package and you will only need one or feel free to use a prepared frozen one if that is convenient for you)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 (1-oz) unsweetened chocolate baking squares
• 1 (5-oz) can evaporated milk (or 2/3 cup if you can't find the small cans)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves and pieces
• 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon corn syrup

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll pie crust into a 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold edges under and crimp. (I let my sister-in-law ruffle the edge of my crust but here is a fantastic video for different pie crust edges).
• In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and chocolate squares at 50% power for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval. You will want to continue this until the butter chocolate mixture is completely melted and stirs smoothly. Approximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes total.
• In a separate bowl, whisk eggs gently and then add to butter chocolate mixture along with evaporated milk and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
• Stir together granulated sugar, cocoa, flour and salt in a separate bowl and add to chocolate mixture, whisking until smooth.
• Pour into prepared crust and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
• After removing pie from oven and stir together pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup and remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Sprinkle over pie and return to oven for 10 minutes or until set.
• Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Original Recipe from Southern Living.

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