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BraveTart's Impossible Pecan Pie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6zRRuBpPnw

I don't know how anything so curdled, coagulated, lumpy, and broken can turn out so delicious, but this pie manages to defy the odds. The result is half pie, half candy bar, and 100% delicious.

Yield: one 9-inch pie, 8 to 12 slices Active time: about 30 minutes

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup, 8 ounces water
  • 3 cups, 21 ounces plain or toasted sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal
  • 1 stick, 4 ounces unsalted butter, cold
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, Scotch, or bourbon
  • 2 1/2 cups, 10 ounces pecan halves, raw

  • 1 fully baked 9-inch pie crust

  • Before getting started, place the whole eggs in a small bowl, cover with hot tap water and set aside.

  • Combine 8 ounces (1 cup) water with the sugar and salt in a 3-quart stainless steel saucier over medium heat. Stir with a fork until the sugar dissolves and the syrup begins to bubble, about 7 minutes. Fill a ramekin with water, then use it to wet a pastry brush and wipe all around the edges of the pot, wherever you see sugar crystals or splashes of syrup. Re-wet the brush as needed, “washing” around the sides until totally clean. Be generous! Extra water will not hurt the pie filling, but sugar crystals will.
  • Crank the heat to medium-high and clip on a digital thermometer. Cook without stirring until the syrup is honey colored and 325°, about 12 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat, add the butter all at once, and stir with a heat-resistant spatula until the foam subsides. Cool the syrup to 200°, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it cools at an even rate. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Whisk the eggs and vanilla (or booze) in a medium bowl until well combined, then fold in the pecans with a flexible spatula. Pour the hot butterscotch over the eggy-pecans and fold with a spatula until the pecans are well coated in butterscotch and the eggs are mostly absorbed. The butter will seem to pool out of the mixture, and you may notice a few specks of curdled egg, but that's a-okay. Really.
  • Scrape into the prepared crust, and don't worry about trying to spread it into an even layer. Bake 30 minutes, then cover the outer ring of crust with a pie shield and continue baking until the filling is bubbling hot and all puffed up, about 15 minutes more. When fully baked, the pie will register 210° in the center. Cool at least 2 hours before slicing with a chef's knife; prior to that the filling will be warm and runny.
  • Wrapped in plastic, leftovers will keep 3 days at room temperature, or a week in the fridge.

Troubleshooting:

  • This recipe depends on an accurate digital thermometer, and when things go wrong you can bet the readings were off. This can happen by misreading an analogue thermometer, failing to fully submerge the probe in the syrup, or simply when good thermometers go bad (a sad fact of life). It can also happen with meat thermometers not intended for high heat, or when the batteries start to fade. Check the temperature range of your thermometer to be certain it can register 335°, then test its accuracy by making sure it reads 212° in a pot of boiling water.

Recommended Pie Crust Recipe

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces【227 g】 low-protein all-purpose flour, such as Gold Medal Blue Label (1 2/3 cups【394 mL】; 225g), plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 ounce【14 g】 sugar (1 tablespoon; 15g)
  • 1 teaspoon (4g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or use the same weight
  • 8 ounces【227 g】 unsalted, American-style butter, straight from the fridge (2 sticks; 225g), cold
  • 4 ounces【113 g】 cold tap water (1/2 cup【118 mL】; 115g)

Directions

  • For the Dough:
    1. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl.
    2. Cut butter into cubes no smaller than 1/2 inch【1.27 cm】, and toss with flour mixture to break up the pieces.
    3. With your fingertips, smash each cube flat—that's it! No rubbing or cutting.
    4. Stir in water, then knead dough against sides of the bowl until it comes together in a shaggy ball.
    5. Dough temperature should register between 65 and 70°F (18 and 21°C); if not, refrigerate briefly before rolling and folding (see note).
  • Make the Layers:
    1. On a generously floured work surface, roll dough into a roughly 10- by 15-inch【38.1 cm】 rectangle.
    2. Fold the 10-inch【25.4 cm】 sides to the center, then close the newly formed packet like a book.
    3. Fold in half once more, bringing the short sides together to create a thick block.
    4. Divide in half with a sharp knife or bench scraper.
    5. Dough temperature should still be somewhere between 65 and 70°F (18 and 21°C); if not, refrigerate briefly before proceeding (see note).
  • For Single-Crusted Pies:
    1. Using as much flour as needed, roll one piece into a 14-inch【35.56 cm】 circle; this size allows ample room to line pie plate, with enough overhang to form a generous border.
    2. At smaller sizes, dough will fall short, making it difficult to shape edges, and thicker dough will not crisp as intended. Transfer to 9-inch【22.86 cm】 pie plate; dough should be easy to handle, and will not require any special procedures to move.
    3. Dust off excess flour with a pastry brush, using it to nestle dough into corners of pan.
    4. With scissors or kitchen shears, trim edge so that it overhangs by 1 1/4 inches【3.18 cm】.
    5. Fold overhang over itself to create thick border that sits on top edge of pie plate, not below.
    6. Crimp or shape crust as desired. Repeat with remaining dough.
    7. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
    8. Use as directed in your favorite recipe.
  • For a Double-Crusted Pie:
    1. Using as much flour as needed, roll one piece into a 14-inch【35.56 cm】 circle; this size allows ample room to line pie plate, with enough overhang to form a generous border.
    2. At smaller sizes, dough will fall short, making it difficult to shape edges, and thicker dough will not crisp as intended.
    3. Transfer to 9-inch【22.86 cm】 pie plate; dough should be easy to handle, and will not require any special procedures to move.
    4. Dust off excess flour with a pastry brush, using it to nestle dough into corners of pan.
    5. With scissors or kitchen shears, trim edge so that it overhangs by 1 1/4 inches【3.18 cm】.
    6. For solid top crust, roll remaining dough as before; for lattice-top pie, roll into a 9- by 15-inch【38.1 cm】 rectangle instead.
    7. Transfer to a baking sheet or parchment-lined cutting board.
    8. (The parchment will prevent dough from absorbing any savory odors from the board.)
    9. Wrap both portions in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
    10. Use as directed in your favorite recipe; after filling pie and sealing crusts together, refrigerate 30 minutes before baking.
  • For a Blind-Baked Pie:
    1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F (180°C).
    2. Line pie shell that has been chilled for at least 2 hours (as outlined in Step 3) with a large sheet of aluminum foil, pressing so it conforms to curves of plate.
    3. (A second sheet of foil may be needed for full coverage.)
    4. Fill to brim with sugar, transfer to a half sheet pan, and bake until fully set and golden around the edges, 60 to 75 minutes.
    5. Fold long sides of foil toward middle, gather short sides, and use both hands to carefully transfer sugar to heat-safe bowl. Let sugar cool to room temperature.
    6. If needed, continue baking crust a few minutes more to brown along the bottom.

Special Equipment

  • Rolling pin,
  • 9-inch【22.86 cm】 pie pan (preferably tempered glass; see note),
  • pastry brush

Notes

  • Compared to stoneware or heavy enameled ceramic, tempered-glass pie plates conduct heat quickly and evenly, so the crust bakes up light and crisp, never greasy or soft.
  • When room temperature exceeds 74°F (23°C), kitchen equipment and pantry staples will act as a heat source to the butter, creating a sticky dough. If it's warm in your kitchen, take these proactive steps to manage your dough temperature.
  • See our crash course in mastering pie dough for more tips and troubleshooting.

Make-Ahead and Storage

  • The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before use. To store it for longer than that, the dough can be frozen as a block, rolled, or shaped in a pan. If frozen as a block, dough will still need to rest/relax for at least 2 hours after rolling and shaping.