A colleague, who loved pecans, told me he could not find a pecan pie that was not too sweet and bland. I made him this pie and watched him savor it naming all the layers of flavor. The alcohol in the bourbon evaporates during the baking process, but the mellow flavor of the amber liquid remains. If you are making if without the chocolate, you can probably omit the sugar altogether. The corn syrup is plenty sweet.
This will fill the average 9.5 to 10-inch pie plate. I like to use a deep plate as this filling puffs up as it cooks. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out pie crust and flute the edge around the pie plate. Set aside.
Ingredients:3 oz. unsweetened chocolate bar
1/3 cup of butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup of white granulated sugar or equivalent of sugar substitute
3 extra-large or jumbo eggs (if using smaller eggs, add one more)
3/4 cup karo syrup (light or dark-your preference)
1/4 bourbon (I use Maker’s Mark)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 cups of pecan halves (the fresher the better)
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate. Once the chocolate and butter have melted together, turn off the burner. Whisk in the sugar, salt, and eggs thoroughly, then add the karo syrup, bourbon, and vanilla whisking again. I like to make this pie in a 10-inch plate, so I usually use the larger measure of pecans. Dump the pecans into the sweetened chocolate mixture and coat them thoroughly before pouring into the pastry lined pie plate.
Cover the edge of the crust with a foil shield before putting into oven.
Bake at 375 for about 40-50 minutes until the center of the pie does not jiggle when the oven rack is moved. It sometimes takes a bit longer for a 10-inch pie to bake completely. Just do not remove from oven until the center is completely set, meaning no movement of the filling in the center. Please do not worry about cracks in the surface. As the pie cools, these will repair themselves.
