I’m not a baker, but I’d like to be. My forays into the pastry arts have been pockmarked with dough that wouldn’t rise, bread that would break your teeth and other embarrassing efforts. Considering my otherwise skilled command of the stove, the oven eluded me. But I do love a good challenge, so when I came across this pie chart calendar from Modern Farmer, I decided to give it a go. I figured if baking, from scratch, 12 pies over the course of 2014 doesn’t turn me into a baker (or at least a proficient pie baker), I don’t know what will. Perhaps 2015 will be the year of yeast. Baby steps.
So, the year of pie begins with January pecan pie. But, of course I wasn’t content with just making a basic pecan pie, I had to find one with an interesting twist. I happened upon this trove of 50 basic pie recipes and variations from Food Network, and their butterscotch pecan variety won me over, especially because it calls for real scotch whisky. I’m a big fan of cooking with some booze for a punch of flavor. I’m pleased to report it stayed true to the name and delivered an authentic butterscotch flavor where many pecan pies simply taste like sugar. I’m really lucky that the flavor was spot-on, because the pie itself was anything but pretty.
But let’s start at the beginning. Doughs of all kind have given me issues in the past, but I’ve seen some TV baking queens whip up pie crust in a food processor, so I was happy to find this basic crust recipe from the Food Network also used that method. It really couldn’t have been easier. After letting it chill in the fridge a bit, it was time to roll out the crust. I grabbed a trusty bottle of wine and wrapped it in wax paper and did an OK job…then later discovered a rolling pin in the back of a drawer. Regardless, my way worked just as well.
This recipe did make me rethink the phrase “easy as pie.” Although nothing was really too difficult, there were many steps to the recipe. Making the crust, letting it chill, rolling it out, letting it chill, toasting the pecans, heating the baking sheet, mixing the filling and then finally assembling the pie and cooking it…nothing is “easy” about this extensive process! The final blow came when it was time to serve up slices, and what ended up on plates was more like a crumble than a pie.
I think my crucial error came when I decided the pie plate should be sprayed with PAM before putting the crust in…because I didn’t want it to stick, right?! Well, apparently no one sprays their pie plates, and it wasn’t just an omitted line in the recipe. I’d love if someone could explain to me why non-stick spray acted like superglue between the crust and the plate! I guess next month I’ll avoid making what I think are logical decisions and just follow the expert’s opinion (aka the recipe).
Up next is chocolate pie. What recipe should I tackle? I’m thinking something s’mores-like!
Recipe: Butterscotch Pecan Pie
recipe from The Food Network
Ingredients:
- 1 disk dough for Basic Crust
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 6 tablespoons butter, browned and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup cream
- 2 tablespoons scotch
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 cups pecan halves, toasted
Method:
- Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate; fold the overhang under itself and crimp. Chill 30 minutes.
- Place a baking sheet on the lowest oven rack and preheat to 425 degrees F for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk all of the remaining ingredients except the pecans in a bowl.
- Spread the pecans in the crust and pour in the filling. Place the pie on the hot baking sheet and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is set, 45 to 55 minutes. (Cover the edges with foil if they brown too quickly.) Cool on a rack.
- Pie Chart: Modern Farmer
- Photography: Melissa Woodley
