- Pecan Pie Ultimatum

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

Our girl Me has been bent on finding a pecan pie recipe that does not use the evil, health-jeopardizing corn syrup. Her elder woman told her she could use maple syrup instead but it would make a softer pie. Me had the crust made a week in advance, chilling in the fridge, before she could find the time to assemble what was to be the year's finest pie.

She came across the recipe on our second-favorite website: Cook's Illustrative (no, third, ours is our favorite site, epicurious.com is next, and then cooksillustrated.com, of which we are proud members).

Here it is with our special hound amendments - pie to nearly make you die:

Pecan Pie

Crust
1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons shortening (or butter)
1 egg, separated

Filling
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1-1/2 cups pecans

Make the tender flaky crust:
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Drop in chunks of butter and shortening and pulse til butter is evenly distributed and pea-sized. Transfer flour mixture to mixing bowl.

Add iced water to egg white to make 1/4 cup liquid. Sprinkle over dry ingredients and toss with a folding motion to distribute. Shape into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate one hour or several days.

Leave dough at room temperature 15 minutes and roll out to fit 9-inch pie pan. Transfer to pie pan and press dough to sides and corners, fluting the top edge. Chill one hour.

Preheat oven to 400F. Prick pie shell all over and line with aluminum foil. Prick foil too. Return shell to chill while oven preheats. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and brush bottom and sides (including fluting) with egg yolk and a few drops of water. Bake one more minute and set aside.

Fashioning the Filling

Toast pecans in 250F oven for 10 minutes. Chop in pieces and set aside.

Melt butter in a double boiler. Stir in sugar and salt. Beat in eggs and maple syrup. Stir until mixture reaches 130 degrees. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and pour into still-warm crust.

Bake at 275F for 50-60 minutes. Cool pie on a rack (to prevent a soggy bottom crust). Let cool at least 4 hours before serving.

Tips from Elias: We don't know why you have to chop up the nuts. We think you could chop some and leave some whole for the aesthetic presentation.

Tips from Guthrie: We regret to inform you that there is no picture of this pie. It was by far the best pie we have made all year. We had some for Thanksgiving and sent some home with the elders too. They thought it was the best pie of all time, but the elder man is worried about how much it costs to make when you use Real Maple Syrup. Me said, that's why we only make it once in awhile.