Dorie's Favorite Pecan Pie (TWD)

I love love Love pecan pie. Almost as much as I love my Queen of the piedom world, Key Lime. I know, they are at two opposite ends of the flavour spectrum so why are they both ranked so high? And how does someone who adds twice as much lemon and lime juice to their bar recipes find pleasure in something as cloyingly sweet as pecan pie? Well, as most things in life go, I think it started in my childhood. My gentle yet stern French father and my prim and proper Connecticutian mother would loosen up the rules during our vacations. We usually drove when we travelled down to visit the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina, the floral-scented city of Savannah Georgia and to my favourite place as a child...the lush, ivy covered, exotic New Orleans. These are the eclectic, drop dead gorgeous locations that fill some of my most vibrant memories and where I was first introduced the the Pecan Pie. There I was allowed to branch beyond the usual yogurt and fruit for dessert and sink my teeth into something so deeply sweet and buttery at it's fluted edges that it made me a lifelong fan.

This was the first time I made a pecan pie. I have made pseudo pecan pie-like bars but never the round princess herself. I don't even order pecan pie at restaurants because honestly, I don't think anyone can make them as well as they do in the South. The store-bought versions are sad, artificial looking pies filled with a gelatinous substance. So when I saw Dorie Greenspan's pie I was a bit hesitant. But I trust Dorie and I knew she would not disappoint.

This pie was unlike any pecan pie I have ever had. Thanks to some glamorous additions like chocolate, coffee, and cinnamon the sweetness is cut drastically and replaced by a more sophisticated richness. I was out of pecans and I used walnuts instead which took the flavour to an even deeper level. Of course Dorie's crust was nothing short of perfect! Everyone ate their entire pieces of pie, no empty canoe shaped crusts were left on any plates. So, to sum things up, I guess I still have yet to make a genuine pecan pie without all the bells and whistles but I do plan on baking this version again and calling it a dark chocolate walnut pie, just so the pecan pie of my memories won't get jealous.

A huge thank you to Beth from Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina...for chosing this week's festive Tuesdays with Dorie dessert. If you want to make this spectacular pie, please visit her lovely blog for the full recipe. And take a peek at the other TWD bakers!