Chocolate Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is one of those things I never grew up eating because its such a southern staple- I live in LA, and I'm Jewish I grew up eating noodle kugel, and more boring pies like apple. I honestly think the first time I tasted it was when I made it a few weeks ago. I came across these bars a while ago, and I absolutely love them and they reminded me what a pecan pie would be like in bar form.

Also, because I love chocolate, it couldn't hurt to add some the pie, and it didn't. The chocolate just adds an even richer quality to the already insanely gooey and delicious filling of this pie. Its suc h a simple recipe, basically everything goes in one bowl. You can always substitute the crust with a store-bought one, but if you are going to take the time to make the pie, you might as well just make the crust too- its always well worth that little extra step. I pretty much followed this recipe straight-forward, since being a novice I didn't want to change anything. I'd say this one is definitely a winner.

Chocolate pecan pie
(adapted from David Lebovitz)

Pie Crust
- 1 1/4 cups AP flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 4 oz butter, cubed and chilled
- 4 tbsp ice water

Filling
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp dark rum [I didn't have bourbon]
- 1 2/3 cups toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F.
To make the pie crust: In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt and sugar to combine. Add in the butter and pulse until the mixture looks little peas. Slowly add the water and pulse just until the dough comes together.

Form into a disk ,wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out onto floured surface, 12 inches in diameter. Form into a 9 inch pie plate and cut off excess dough.

Crimp the edges with your fingers [with your left hand, pinch together your index and thumb, and with your right hand , fit your index finger inbetween, forming the dough.] Refrigerate until ready to fill.

For the filling: In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients until combined. Pour into pie dish and bake for 35-40 minutes until the pie puffs up but is still slightly jiggly in the center. Halfway through, decorate with 3 whole pecans if desired

Let pie cool completely or refrigerate before serving.

Enjoy!