this weekend, i was down in chicago to celebrate my friend whitney’s bachlorette party (you may remember whitney from such posts as almond and blood orange cookies).
now i know most people don’t think bachlorette party and then make the jump to pecan pie, but we did. let me explain. whitney, not surprisingly, likes the finer things in life. we started out the day with brunch at bistronomic, with delicious eggs and bottomless mimosas (or as i like to call them, mimosers). next on the agenda was a hair appointment at hair loft to get blow outs, and then off to a friends place for appetizers and more champagne before heading back out in the city. that’s where the pecan pie comes in. when i asked whitney what she wanted most on her final send off into marriage, she said pecan pie. okay the conversation didn’t exactly go like that, but we did settle on pie.
some highlights from our day. post my blow-out, pre whitney’s:
in front of the fantastic photo wall:
bet on when whitney would fall asleep, she exceeded all our expectations by quite a few hours:
- 15 ounces whole pecans
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces and put into freezer for at least ½ an hour
- 1 egg yolk
- 3-4 tablespoons ice cold water
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Arrange pecans on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes until well toasted. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Take about 2 handfuls of pecans and transfer to food processor until finely ground. Add in flour, sugar, and salt and pulse until well mixed. Add in frozen butter chunks and pulse until pebbles start to form. Add in egg yolk and water, one tablespoon at a time, until dough has formed. Cover dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour, or until dough is cold enough to roll out.
- Roll out dough to fit a 10 inch round springform pan. Press dough into pan, leaving about 1½ - 2 inches for the sides. Poke a couple holes in the bottom of the dough using a fork and transfer pan to freezer. Freeze for an hour before baking to help keep the dough from bubbling up. Alternatively, if you have pie weights, use them. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crust has turned a nice golden color.
- Remove from oven and let cool. While the crust is cooling, begin your carmel. Use a deep pot and a long spoon to avoid any carmel-related injuries. Combine sugar and water in pot and mix well. Turn on heat to medium high and let sugar cook, without stirring, until it was started to turn an amber color (about 10 minutes). It is instrumental that you don't stir it, or you'll disrupt the very sacred caramelization process.
- Once you see the sugar start to brown, give it a quick stir. Continue to let the carmel darken. Once it's reached a nice deep color, add in butter and cream, mixing well.
- Finally, pour in remaining pecans and mix together. While carmel is still hot, pour it into the pie crust. Let cool for at least an hour, but it will sit fine in room temperature for a day. Enjoy with copious amounts of champagne.
recipe from ellise pierce via design*sponge.
Where did you get this tinsel wall?
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