Shelly's Recipe

CARAMEL CRUNCH PECAN PIE

Category: Pie - Nut

Toffee
2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp boiling water
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp cider vinegar

Crust
2 cup flour
5 tbsp ice water (or more)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp whipping cream
3/4 cup butter flavored shortening

Filling
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt - melted
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 tsp unsulfured molasses
2 tbsp butter-flavored pancake-waffle syrup
2 cup pecan pieces

Sauce
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup Water
1/4 cup Unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream plus 1 tbsp whipping cream

Toffee: Grease a jellyroll pan with Butter Flavor Crisco. Combine brown sugar, salt, butter, boiling water and vinegar in large saucepan. Stir until well blended. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cover and boil 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and brush brown sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Boil slowly without stirring until mixture reaches hard-crack stage, 295 to 310 on candy thermometer. Stir gently without touching sides of saucepan. Pour into pan, spreading if necessary. Cool to room temperature. Break into squares, then break up enough squares to make 3 tbsp small bits or pieces. Cover and store remainder of candy for eating.

Crust: Combine flour and salt in medium-size bowl. Cut in shortening until all flour is blended to form pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle with ice water, 1 tbsp at a time. Toss lightly with fork until dough will form a ball. Divide dough in half. Press between hands to form a couple of 5-to 6-inch disc. Roll dough for bottom crust into circle between sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet. Trim pastry 1 inch larger than upside-down 9-inch pie plate. Fit into pie plate. Press to fit. Remove other sheet of plastic wrap. Freeze. Roll second disc same as for crust. Freeze 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 400. Cut out 26 to 28 leaf shapes and 3 larger maple-leaf shapes from rolled pastry. Arrange leaves in overlapping and slightly curved pattern on baking sheet. Brush with whipping cream. Moisten tips of small leaves with ice water. Press around edge of crust in overlapping fashion. Brush with cream. Bake leaves at 400 degrees 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Filling: Combine sugar, salt, corn syrup, eggs, syrup, melted butter, vanilla and molasses in medium-size bowl. Beat with whisk until blended. Stir in nuts. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until filling is firm when pie is shaken gently. Cover edge to keep from over browning.

Sauce: Combine sugar and water in small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium. Boil without stirring 11 minutes until mixture is deep amber color, brushing down sugar crystals from sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Remove from heat. Stir in whipping cream; mixture will bubble up. Add butter, stirring until smooth. Cook and stir over low heat about 3 minutes or until color deepens and sauce thickens slightly. Spoon 1/2 cup over warm pie. Cool 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce for ice cream topping. Sprinkle top with toffee bits. Place leaf decoration to 1 side of pie. Refrigerate 4 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.