November 18, 2006
Coffee Kissed Triple Pecan Pie
As noted, we are not doing the full-zoot Thanksgiving feast for the extended family get-together. In fact, it turns out the foster-niece will be roasting beef for the main course. My wee wifey will not, however, be deterred from baking some fancy pies, as this is as close to an excuse as she is going to get.
This one is not as sweet as her traditional pecan pie, it doesn't have the corn syrup found in most pecan pies.
CRUST:
1 1/3 graham cracker crumbs -- 11 whole crackers*
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup butter -- melted & slightly cooled (1/2 stick butter)
1 TBSP sugar
1/8 tsp salt
FILLING:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter -- melted (1 stick butter)
1 TBSP instant coffee (more to taste if you like)
2 eggs
1 TBSP all purpose flour
2 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
TOPPING:
1/2 cup pecan halves
The wee wifey's grandmother always said "Laziness is the mother of invention". She said a hard working man will just go ahead and do things the old way, but a lazy man will figure out an easier way to accomplish the same thing. I only heard my own father say it a few times, and he never bothered spelling out the reasoning. Being a lazy baker the wifey hit upon the idea of using crumb crusts for almost all her pie baking, delicious and easy.
Crust:
Place the crackers and nuts in the work bowl of a food processor and process until they are finely ground. Combine the crumb and nut mixture, butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl and stir until moistened.
Press the mixture evenly across the bottom of a 9" pie plate and all the way up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly with your fingertips so it is even and compacted.
Bake until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely before filling it.
Filling & Topping:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy and stir in melted butter and coffee. Stir in the sugar and the flour; mix well. Add the milk, vanilla and 1-1/2 cup chopped pecans.
Pour into the prepared pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 15 minutes longer.
At this point pull the pie out of the oven and lay the pecan halves on top of the pie, covering the entire top of the pie. Bake pie for another 10 minutes or until done.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if you like.
*can use the same amount of cookie crumbs such as shortbread cookies or vanilla wafers.
Posted by triticale at November 18, 2006 09:23 AM | TrackBack