Food Network Magazine (November 2015)
In the final stages of Fakesgiving planning, as we were charting out our cooking that would stretch over the course of nearly a week, we started to freak out a little.
We had 24 guests coming. Would 20 dishes be enough? Would everyone be able to have a solid sample of all the dishes? Should we double a few dishes?
And that's when we lost our minds a bit and decided to double the servings of six of the recipes. See, it's not all smooth sailing over here at Bitten Word HQ. We are constantly checking and rechecking, questioning and requestioning.
And let's be real: Even if we hadn't doubled any of the recipes, there would have been plenty of food (the Cherry Spice Cake Trifle alone includes 20 full servings!). But still, we doubled. And doubled. And doubled.
One of the dishes we decided to double was this Butter Pecan-Toffee Pie. And it's the one case where we're really glad that we did.
Real talk: We cheated a bit when doubling this recipe.
In an effort to save time, we made one version of this pie as listed below, with a homemade pie crust. But for the second pie, we simplified things by using a good ol' frozen pie crust. The one with the homemade crust both looked better and tasted better, but we doubt our guests noticed a difference.
Really, this pie is all about the filling: the sweet, decadent filling. And it is incredibly sweet. It almost lands in state-fair-food territory rather than Thanksgiving fare.
But it is really, really good. With the first bite, you realize it's like a cross between a pecan pie and a Heath bar, thanks to toffee bits that flavor the filling. And believe us, you need to taste a cross between a pecan pie and a Heath bar.
In fact, Butter Pecan-Toffee Pie will make you question why you haven't been putting toffee in pecan pie all along.
Butter Pecan-Toffee Pie
Food Network Magazine (November 2015)
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(This photo: Con Poulos/Food Network Magazine)
NOTES FROM ZACH AND CLAY:
We had trouble finding toffee bits for this dish, and had to order some from Amazon.com.
Cook time: 3 hours 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
For the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
For the filling:
3 large eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans
1/2 cup toffee bits
DIRECTIONS
Make the crust: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it is in pea-size pieces. Whisk the egg yolk with 1/4 cup ice water; add 2 tablespoons to the food processor and pulse a couple of times. Add the remaining egg mixture and pulse a few more times until the dough just comes together but is still crumbly. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap; shape into a disk and wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
Put a baking sheet on the middle oven rack and preheat to 425 degrees F for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease the dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp with your fingers or a fork. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla and butter extracts, lemon juice, salt, pecans and toffee bits in a large bowl until combined. Pour the filling into the chilled crust. Transfer the pie to the hot baking sheet and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake until the crust is deep golden and the filling is set around the edge but still jiggly in the center, 55 minutes to 1 hour. (Tent the crust with foil if it browns too quickly.) Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
