Pecan and Chocolate Pie

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This delicious pecan and chocolate pie starts with a flaky homemade pie crust filled with a rich dark chocolate pecan filling. Perfect as is or with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt! It will be a big hit at Thanksgiving or makes the perfect dessert for any fall or holiday gathering.

Prep Time30

Chill Time4

Total Time4 30

Course: Dessert, Pies and Tarts

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 562kcal

Author: Natalie

Equipment

Ingredients

Pie Crust (Use homemade or or 1 store bought rolled unbaked pie crust, from a 14 ounce package)

1¼ cups all purpose flour plus a little more for rolling out the dough
1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter cold and cut into ½ inch cubes
3-5 tablespoons water ice cold, I usually use about 4 tablespoons

Chocolate Pecan Pie Filling

1½ cups pecans toast and cool, then roughly chop or leave whole
½ cup chopped dark chocolate 65-72%, plus more for decorating, optional
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅔ cup golden corn syrup or use light or dark corn syrup
⅓ cup brown sugar light or dark, dark recommended, packed
3 large eggs room temperature
1 tablespoons strong brewed coffee add 1½ tbsp for slight mocha flavor or 1 tbsp for less of a mocha flavor but to intensify the chocolate
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 2 tsp if skipping the coffee
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
flaky sea salt optional, for topping

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pie Crust (Use homemade or store bought)

Mixing and chilling the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the cubed butter. Use a spatula to toss the butter so it's fully coated with flour. Use the spatula to separate the butter cubes til they're all lightly coated.
Next, use a pastry cutter to start to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Use one hand to turn the bowl while the other hand uses the pastry cutter. Try not to aim for the same spot in the bowl each time and aim to slice through butter with each stroke.
Use a spatula or your fork to toss the ingredients a little to make sure the butter stays coated with flour. Continue blending with the pastry cutter and turning the bowl until the largest pieces are no larger than peas.
I recommend placing the bowl in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes at this point. This is optional, but it will help keep the ingredients cold.
Next, drizzle 2 tablespoons of the cold water (without the ice) around the mixture. Toss/stir the mixture with a fork to distribute the water. It should be clumpy with some dry spots at this point. Break up any sticky spots. Add 1-2 more tablespoons of water. Stir around with a fork til you don't see anymore pools of liquid anywhere.
Use your hands to scoop as much of the mixture as possible then press it back down onto the rest of the mixture with your fingertips. Sprinkle or flick a tiny bit of water right onto any very dry spots if you notice them. Turn the bowl about a quarter turn and quickly repeat this process a few more times so that the mixture comes together. Knead only as much as needed to combine the dough. Stop kneading when the dough has come together and there are no longer any loose floury bits on the bottom of the bowl.
Do not add any more water than you need. The dough will feel moist but not wet.
Shape the dough into a ball with your hands then place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Pat it into a 1 inch thick disc. Seal any broken edges by pushing the edges of the dough gently on the counter. Wrap dough tightly with a double layer of plastic wrap.
Set dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours or up to 2 days.
Rolling out the dough: Turn the dough out on a floured surface. Lightly flour both sides of the dough and your rolling pin. Start in the middle of the disc. Roll the dough out gently in all directions. Rotate the dough a quarter turn between each roll and flip it over occasionally to make sure it's not sticking to the counter.
Flour the counter and rolling pin as needed. Pinch any cracked edges together and keep rolling. Roll to a 12-13 inch circle, about ⅛ inch thick. If it gets soft or sticky, slide it onto a baking sheet and chill 10-15 minutes before continuing.
Transfer dough to your pie pan: Adjust it so that it's fully covering the bottom of the pan and also touching the sides. To do this, lift the dough with one hand gently press it down into the side with the other hand. Do this around the whole dish then run your hand around the inside edge of the pan to make sure the dough is properly lined in the dish. Trim edges to a ½-inch overhang from the outer edge. Lift the crust up at the edge, fold the excess dough under itself and towards the dish. fold under. Use your fingers to firmly press the dough so that the edge is flush with the pie plate.
Crimping and docking: Important: If you find the dough has softened, chill it for another 5 minutes before crimping.
Use your fingers to crimp the edges with your favorite style. You can also just leave it as is or press the tines of a fork against the edge dough to flatten against the rim of pie dish or for the simplest option.
Dock the bottom and sides with a fork. Cover the crust with plastic wrap and chill well in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Optional: Toast the pecans before par baking the crust: About 30 minutes before the dough is finished chilling, preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).
Spread the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Toast for 7–10 minutes, checking around 6–7 minutes. Remove when they're fragrant and just slightly darker. Set them aside to cool completely.
Par-bake the crust: Preheat oven to 400℉ during the last 15 minutes or so of pie crust chill time.
Cut a square of aluminum foil or parchment paper a little larger than the size of your pie plate. Dock the sides and bottom with a fork again then press the parchment or aluminum in the pie plate. Fill it with pie weights all the way to the top.
Place the crust on a baking sheet and set it on the rack set in the lower third of your oven. Bake until the edges begin to brown lightly, about 15 minutes.
Carefully remove the aluminum foil or parchment paper. Lightly dock the bottom and sides with a fork again. Bake the crust for another 3 minutes until the bottom looks dry. Allow crust to cool before filling. Reduce oven to 350℉

Chocolate Pecan Filling

Roughly chop pecans into pieces around ¼–½ inch.
Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add the butter and chocolate and stir occasionally until almost melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue stirring until completely smooth. Let the mixture cool for 5–10 minutes, until warm but no longer hot. It should still be fluid.
Whisk in the corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt until smooth.
Add the eggs, coffee (or bourbon), and vanilla, whisking gently so the filling doesn’t get foamy.
Spread the pecans in the shell, pour the filling over top. Press down any floating nuts.
Set the pie on a rimmed baking sheet on the lower-third rack. Bake 45-55 minutes, checking at 45. At around 20-25 minutes into the bake, carefully take the pie out of the oven and cover the crust edge with a pie shield so it doesn’t overbrown. If you don't have a pie shield, loosely tent the whole pie with foil instead. Return the pie to the oven and keep baking
The edges should be set and slightly puffed, and the center should wobble as one rather than ripple when you gently nudge the pie. Cool at least 3 hours before slicing.
Optional: Sprinkle the entire pie or individual slices with flaky salt before serving. Use a vegetable peeler to shave a little dark chocolate over the cooled pie and top with extra pecan halves.

Notes

Water: Add just enough water to hold dough together. I usually use around 4 or just a little more than 4 tablespoons of water. (For a flakier crust, I recommend replacing 1-2 of the tablespoons of water with equal parts cold apple cider vinegar or vodka. Place the apple cider vinegar or vodka in the fridge to chill as well, if using).

Using your hands: If you don't have a pastry cutter, use your hands to cut rub the butter into the flour. Pick up a cube of butter in each hand and press each cube firmly to squish or flatten it. Do this with each cube of butter. Keep butter coated with flour as you work.

Keep crust ingredients COLD: Keeping your pie dough cold is so important to making flaky pie dough.

Chill Time: Plan for at least 1 hour to refrigerate the dough before rolling it out. This will make the dough firm enough to roll out. It also makes for the best texture and taste. Baking the dough when it's cold is super important!

Rolling dough out: Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface. Don't press too hard when rolling out the dough. Use light to medium pressure. Flip the dough over a few times and rotate it a quarter turn frequently while rolling it. This will keep the dough from sticking to your counter.

Butter: Use very cold, cubed unsalted butter for the pie crust. Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Place it in the fridge or freezer while you combine the dry ingredients. If using salted butter, add only 1/4 teaspoon extra salt.

Eggs: Use large, room temperature eggs for the filling. Set them out for 30 minutes, or sit them in a bowl of warm tap water for 5-10 minutes.

Pecans: Toast the nuts for best flavor. After toasting, you can leave the whole or roughly chopped into ¼–½-inch pieces or left whole (chopped pecans make the pie a little easier to slice).

Corn syrup: Use light or dark corn syrup. Light corn syrup gives the pie a milder sweetness. Dark corn syrup adds a deeper, caramel-like flavor.

Brown sugar: Use light or dark brown sugar.

Chocolate: Use good-quality dark or bittersweet chocolate (65–72% cocoa). I use Lindt Excellence 70%. Semisweet chocolate can be used but the filling will taste sweeter. Chop the chocolate finely to help melt more evenly.

Slicing: Run a sharp chefs knife or serrated knife under hot water then wipe dry before each slice. I also recommend going over each slice twice for best results!

Flavor options: Use 1 Tbsp bourbon for a subtle flavor or 1½ Tbsp for a more pronounced bourbon note. Alternatively, use 1 Tbsp strong brewed coffee, cooled, for a subtle chocolate boost, or 1½ Tbsp for a more noticeable mocha flavor. Use either bourbon or coffee, not both. Use 1½ tsp vanilla with bourbon or 2 tsp with coffee or when omitting both.

Optional spices: Add ¼ tsp cinnamon and ⅛ tsp nutmeg. It's a small amount and doesn't make the pie taste very cinnamony. It does to the overall depth of flavor of the pie!

Storage: Store leftover pecan chocolate pie in an airtight container or covered tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Make sure pie has cooled completely before covering and storing. Thaw frozen pie overnight in the refrigerator.

Make ahead options: I recommend making the pie dough the day before making the pie. You can store the disk of dough wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days or (my preference) roll out the dough and line the pie plate the day before baking. Chocolate pecan pie is great to make in advance. Bake the pie off the day before you plan to serve it. Refrigerate it overnight and bring it to room temperature before serving.

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