Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie and Pie Crust Secrets (shhh!)

Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie and Pie Crust Secrets (shhh!)

Whether you say peCAHN or PEEcan, you are going to fall in love with this gooey chocolatey little jewel. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving or Christmas at my house without this pie, served up with cool, luscious whipped cream. Don't even think about getting near this pie with chemical gross cool whip.

This is not like a traditional pecan pie and there is no Karo syrup involved. This is more like a brownie and a pecan pie had a baby. Feel free to put your own twist on it by omitting the coconut (if you don't like coconut, weirdo) or add a dash of bourbon, cinnamon, or spiced rum.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
pinch of salt
1 unbaked pie shell (not deep dish, just regular) Make your own or buy the premade refrigerated pie crust...it's all pretty much the same.
Fresh whipped cream


Pie Crust

Don't be scared. I know that pie crust is straight up as intimidating as a fancy sushi restaurant or Gwyneth Paltrow, but I'm here to help. 

First of all, I usually use a premade pie crust (gasp) that I buy at the store in the refrigerated section. They roll out perfectly and then I can spend my precious time and energy making the filling delicious and the pie beautiful. There are only so many hours in the day. The roll out pie crust option is better than the frozen, also, because you can use your own pretty pie pan. What's the point of making a pretty pie, or a pie at all for that matter, if you are going to serve it in a throw away container. (Says the lady who abhors paper plates). The crust is the foundation of the pie and it must be flaky and golden. Amen.

The secret of a stellar crust is in the baking. You will need to blind bake (also called prebake and parbake) the crust for just a few minutes prior to filling. This keeps your crust from being a soggy, saggy nightmare.

Remove the pie crust from the frig and let it sit out for a few minutes until it unrolls easily without tearing. Place it in your pie pan and push it down and crimp the edges and prick all over with a fork. If your pie plate is big, you may have to roll the dough out a bit thinner. Now put it back in the frig for 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425. It's really important to keep your pie crust dough chilled, but if you are using a pottery pie plate, you can't chill the pottery because then it will crack when you put it in the oven. So, I chill the dough on a sheet of waxed paper and work quickly when I take it out of the frig to get it in the pie plate and in the oven.

 

To make the leafy crust - I used a second pie crust and cut out little leaves with two small leaf cookie cutters that I bought on Amazon. 









 


 Cut out the shapes and place on waxed paper and put them back in the frig to rechill for a few minutes. Then, using a bit of water and your fingers, stick the leaves around the edge of the crust. Work quickly so the dough doesn't get warm. 





   
 
Pie weights. They're a thing. Weighing your crust down prevents bubbling, sagging and all sorts of things that can make your crust bake up malformed. If you don't have pie weights that's okay. I use loose change. Simply line your crust with parchment paper and fill it with some loose change or dried beans and you'll get the same effect.

Bake the crust for 5 - 10 minutes or until it's slightly changed color and doesn't look like raw dough. It won't be all golden brown yet, and that's perfect. It may even shrink a bit down the sides. Grab a spoon and push it back up gently. Then do your egg wash.

 EGG WASH! If you want to get super fancy (and you know you do. I mean, seriously. You've come this far, right?), give your crust an egg wash at this point. Carefully remove the pie weights and brush an egg wash (one egg white beaten with one Tablespoon of water, milk or cream) all over your crust with a pastry brush and return the crust to the oven for about 3 more minutes

Remove the crust from the oven and reduce temperature to 350.

While your crust is blind baking, start on the filling.

Filling

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips with the butter, stirring until smooth. Remover from heat and stir in vanilla, sugar, eggs, pecans, coconut and salt. Stir 'em up good and pour into the pie crust. I added more cut out leaves on the top. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes. The pie will be a bit soft in the center and that's okay. It's a gooey brownie sort of texture that is served best slightly warmed in the microwave with fresh whipped cream. 

EXTRA! EXTRA! Make two of these at once and give one away to someone who needs some love. OR, place the following ingredients in a cute mason jar - sugar, pecans, coconut, salt and chocolate chips (place the chocolate chips and coconut in sandwich bags to keep them separate- ya gotta keep em separated), and give as a gift with this recipe.

My family loves this pie and it's a favorite for the holidays. I hope you enjoy it!