How To Bake The Perfect Pie

Michele Stuart, a national baking champion and author, visited the Fox CT kitchen with some tips on how to bake the perfect pie this holiday season.

Stuart recently published her second cookbook. For more information, visit www.michelespies.com.

Below is Stuart’s recipe for turtle pecan pie:

Ingredients:

Crust

1 recipe traditional pastry pie crust dough for a 9-inch single-crust pie
1⁄4 cup heavy cream (to glaze the crimped pie edges)

Filling

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo syrup
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups pecans
1⁄2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1⁄2 cup caramel Sauce

Garnish

1⁄4 cup hot fudge sauce
1⁄4 cup caramel sauce

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. To prepare the pie shell, roll out half the desk of dough with a rolling pin on a clean, lightly floured work surface until it forms a 10-inch circle. Wrap the remaining half of the dough tightly in plastic wrap and reserve it in the refrigerator for future use for up to five days. Fold the circle in half, place it in a 9-inch pie plate so that the edges of the circle drop over the rim and unfold the dough to completely cover the pie plate. Using your thumb and index finger, crimp the edges of the pie shell. Brush the edges of the pie shell with heavy cream to create a perfect, golden brown finish. Set the pie shell to the side while you make the filling.
3. To prepare the filling, use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix the eggs, sugar, Karo syrup, melted butter and vanilla together until they achieve a cream color. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and set it to the side. Stir the pecans into the remaining mixture until they are combined evenly throughout.
4. To assemble the pie, sprinkle the chocolate chips across the bottom of the pie shell. Next, pour the pecan filling over the chocolate chips, spreading it evenly across. Stir the caramel sauce into the cup of reserved filling, making sure to blend them well. Pour the caramel mixture over the pecan filling, spreading it evenly across.
5. To bake, place the pie plate on the lined baking sheet and bake it for about 50 minutes, or until the middle of the pie is firm to the touch. Transfer the pie plate to a wire cooling rack and allow the pie to cool and set for 1 1⁄2 hours before serving
6. To serve, drizzle the top of the pie with hot fudge sauce and caramel sauce.
7. Turtle pecan pie can be served cold or at room temperature. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When covered tightly with plastic wrap, it can also be frozen for up to 2 weeks.