Better-than-classic pecan pie
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This is my mom’s flaky, crispy-crunchy, custard-y pecan pie. There’s an extra egg yolk in her custard for enhanced lushness (with the added benefit of mitigating sweetness), just the right amount of vanilla oomph to complement the nuttiness, and enough salt to bump up the savoriness (which also balances the sugar).
My mom is from Tokyo and doesn’t like too-sweet desserts, but when she moved to the U.S. she fell in love with pecan pie at a holiday potluck. It became the mainstay dessert at our Thanksgivings. She was an avid baker (cream puffs, birthday cakes, pies), and her major cooking reference was a worn copy of “The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.” Over the years she made many, many tweaks to the classic pecan pie recipe. These are adjustments that she is adamant about, and they do result in a superior pie.
Her technique for making the dough strictly calls for using a pastry cutter (she’s not a fan of pie dough made with a food processor, but then again, she’s not your mom, so she’s not going to admonish you if you use yours). She cuts the dough until the butter is the texture of fine crumbs (not the “peas” in many recipes); this takes longer than you think it will because all of the dough ingredients are fridge-cold — and the bowl is freezer-cold (see note below).
She uses a mixture of half brown sugar and half granulated sugar, and only dark (never light) corn syrup, for a more molasses-y custard.
The oven temperature starts high, at 425 degrees, so that the bottom crust is as flaky, crisp and golden as the edges — with two temperature decreases during baking. This is an old-school technique for three “zones” of baking so that, in the end, the crust is crisp, the custard is velvety, and the nuts are very toasted. (She also drizzles melted butter on top before baking, for extra-caramelized pecans.)
A version of this recipe was published in “Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen” (Chronicle Books), which I co-authored with chef Josef Centeno (who is from San Antonio, Texas, where pecan pie is the official state dessert).
Note: The day before you make the pie, sift the flour with the salt and put the mixture, as well as the butter pieces, in the refrigerator. Put a mixing bowl in the freezer overnight, too.
Make the dough: Put the flour and salt mixture in the cold bowl and add the butter. With a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour, turning the bowl as you’re cutting, until the mixture is crumbly (fine crumbs); this will take several minutes because everything is very cold.
Sprinkle the cold water evenly over the mixture: Before adding the water, visualize the mixture in the bowl as four quadrants. Add 1 scant tablespoon of cold water to the first quadrant and mix, using a fork, until incorporated. Repeat for the next three quadrants. Give the whole mixture a final mix with the fork.
Using your hands, gather the dough into a smooth ball. Flatten it into a disk, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to overnight.
Place a 13-inch piece of wax paper on your work surface. Place the unwrapped pie crust on top of the wax paper. Sprinkle it lightly with flour. Roll from the center out, rotating the wax paper, to form a rough circle of dough 11 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to your pie pan by inverting the wax paper over the pan. Gently pat the dough into the corners of the pan. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to relax the gluten.
Fold the overhanging dough underneath itself, and press gently all the way around to make it flush with the edge of the pie pan. Fill a small bowl with cold water. Dip your thumb and forefinger into the water and crimp the dough all the way around. Reapply water to the crimped crust edges, going all the way around. Re-dip your thumb and forefinger into the water as needed.
Arrange an oven shelf so that it’s on the lowest position of the oven. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Make the filling: Put the three eggs and the yolk in a mixing bowl, beating each egg with a whisk before the addition of the next. Set a small strainer over another bowl. Staring the egg mixture, pushing the beaten eggs through with a rubber spatula. This makes a smoother custard.
Add both sugars and the salt, and beat the mixture well with a whisk until well incorporated.
In a separate small bowl, mix the cornstarch into the melted butter, using a small spoon, until completely smooth. Add that mixture to the egg-sugar mixture. Beat well with a whisk. Add the dark corn syrup and beat well. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Then stir in the pecans.
Put the prepared pie crust on a baking sheet. Pour the filling into the crust. Put the pie on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. Cover lightly with foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent the edges of the crust from getting too dark. Check the pie for doneness: A knife inserted halfway between the center of the pie and the edge will come out clean.
