Chocolate Pecan Pie: Thanksgiving Part Three

You thought Thanksgiving ended two weeks ago? YOU THOUGHT WRONG.

My lack of consistent blogging means we can still celebrate Thanksgiving weeks after the fact! I have saved the best for last: Chocolate Pecan Pie.

Since I do not in any way claim to be a baker, I rely on store bought pie crust and stick tightly to recipes when I make dessert. Sorry folks, all you are going to get today is an adapted Paula Deen recipe. But hey, that woman knows her desserts!




For those of you who don't know her, Paula Deen is a spray tanned, butter loving, random item sponsoring, y'all spouting, good ole Southern woman with a few shows on the Food Network. When my parents requested chocolate pecan pie for Thanksgiving, I knew she was just the woman to turn to.

Enjoy!


Ingredients:

• 9-inch unbaked frozen pie crust. You can buy these at the grocery store. They come in their own pan so you don't even have to wash a pie plate! It saves you the tricky work of making and rolling a crust from scratch, and they taste great.

• 2 cups pecan halves. Can't have a pecan pie without 'em.

• 3 eggs

• 4 tbsp. melted butter. Oh yeahhh!

• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup

• 1 cup sugar. I used Splenda to cut some calories. Which is kinda like ordering a Diet Coke with a Big Mac and large fries.

• 1/2 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

The one thing I am regrettably missing from Paula's recipe is 2 tbsp. bourbon. As much as I love booze, my parents were paying for the grocery bill and I didn't think I could convince them I needed a handle of bourbon to make a pie. C'est la vie.


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lay your pecan halves on your crust in an even layer. No need to thaw the frozen crust.




In a small bowl, beat your eggs and whisk in the melted butter, corn syrup, sugar, and chocolate chips.

NOTE: If you leave the chips whole, they will melt deliciously as the pie bakes, but the pie surface will look more like a chocolate chip cookie. If you want, you can melt the chocolate chips and whisk the melted chocolate into the mixture instead for a more uniform look.




Place your pie crust on a baking sheet covered in foil (for easy clean up) and pour your mixture over the pecan halves.




Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 22-25 mins. until the pie is set. Take it out and let it cool (on a windowsill if you are feeling nostalgic) before slicing.




Cut yourself a big chocolatey wedge and dig in, y'all!




What do YOU say? Pee-can, or pi-cahn? This has been the source of a Chudwin family debate and needs to be settled once and for all....