Chocolate Pecan Pie

I've been relying on Martha's recipes quite a bit lately. Particularly for her pie crusts, now that I've officially broken up with Mark Bittman's pie crusts. It wasn't him though, it was me. They were too flaky and hard to deal with. Much like most of my former boyfriends.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
Adapted from: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole pecans
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 9-inch pie crust, such as this one

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in lowest position.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together (don't whisk) eggs, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Set aside.

3. Using a double boiler, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate. Gradually add melted chocolate into egg mixture and stir together. Pour filling into prepared crust. Arrange pecans in one layer over filling.

4. Bake for 50-60 minutes, rotating the pie once halfway, until filling is set. It may still be a little jiggly in the center. Let cool for at least 4 hours, or overnight, before serving.


Ready to go:

Chocolate Pecan Pie Squares

Last week was finals week, and the policy for professors is: If you don't hold a final exam, then you have to have some kind of "culminating experience."  Two of these culminating experiences were potlucks.  For the first potluck, I made lemon bars because a girl in my class was allergic to nuts.  I didn't dislike this girl because she has nut allergies, but this was the same girl who insisted we have class the last week of school.  When she didn't touch any of the food anyway, despite everyone's precautions, I decided to make these for the next potluck... although I don't think she was in that class anyway.

Anywho. These are good for potlucks because you can cut them into whatever size you like, so you can size them to meet the number of people to be fed. They're also delicious and super easy.

The original recipe says to use parchment paper or foil to line the pan so that the bars don't stick. I didn't use either and it was fine.  There is enough butter in the crust to keep it from sticking and it makes it easier to press to crust dough into the pan.  Last note: if you buy a bag of already "chopped pecans" from the store, chop them just a bit more so the pecan pieces are more spread out.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
From: Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1/2 cups (1 stick) unsalted butter (at room temp), plus 2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a food processor, or with an electric mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt until coarse crumbs form.

3. Press mixture into a 9x13 oven safe pan, flattening out the dough from the middle until it lines the inside of the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.

4. While the dough bakes: In a large bowl, mix together eggs, corn syrup, sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix in chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Spread over crust and bake for 25-30 minutes, until center is set (not to wobbly). Cool completely before cutting. 

Pecan mixture: 

Ready to go: 

Baked: