A Bountiful Kitchen: Chocolate Pecan Pie

A few years ago one of my favorite people in the entire world (yes, the entire world) made this pie and brought it over to our house the night before Thanksgiving. Her name is Melanie. And she's the best.

That's my friend on the left. Always helping in the kitchen.
And my Brookie on the right.

I have no idea why it took me three years to get around to making this recipe. It's now one of my favorites. Whenever someone asks me "what is the easiest pie to make if I'm a beginner in the kitchen?" I always say pecan pie. It's one bowl- mix, dump and bake type of recipe.
If you have an assignment to make pies for Christmas, and you need to impress your new in-laws, this is your lucky day. Here's the scoop on this recipe:
1. super simple
2. tastes great
3. super simple
4. tastes great

Think chocolate, caramel, pecan in a pie crust. Best combo ever.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
adapted from Keep Your Fork-There's Pie!
print recipe

Prepare crust for a single crust pie. Pie crust recipe found here

3 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cups toasted pecans
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Place rack on bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Prepare crust as directed roll out and fill a single 9 inch pie plate.
Mix butter, brown sugar, salt, eggs, corn syrup and vanilla until smooth.
Fold in pecans.
Sprinkle chocolate chips over bottom of pie crust. Pour filling on top of chocolate chips.
Place filled pie in pre heated oven. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.
After ten minutes, reduce heat to 375. Do not open oven door. Bake for an additional 45 minutes.
Remove from oven. Let cool for at least three hours before serving.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Tips:
-Do not use larger than a 9 inch pie plate.
-Take out all of the ingredients ahead of time and pre measure. This will insure you have the amounts right. Last night a friend told me about a three time attempt at making a cream pie filling. First time, forgot the sugar, second time, doubled the milk, third time, no idea why but it didn't set up. If the ingredients would have been pre measured, she might have avoided the first two failed attempts. Lesson here, if you are forgetful (like me) or just starting out, pre measuring and placing all ingredients on counter will help you to avoid pitfalls such as realizing you don't have a key ingredient on hand or leaving a key ingredient out of a recipe :)
-Do not open the oven after you place the pie inside. If you bake the pie on the bottom third (usually the second rack from bottom) your crust should not over brown.
-When making a bottom crust for pecan pie, do not roll it too thin. The filling will caramelize and if it seeps through the bottom crust, it will stick and make the pie difficult to remove from the pie plate.