Indulge in Nostalgic Southern Sweetness: Praline Custard Pie from Something Elsah (Make-Ahead Magic!)

 

 If there's one dessert that transports me straight back to the cozy charm of riverside Illinois diners, it's this Praline Custard Pie from Something Elsah. I was thrilled to unearth this gem from the offshoot restaurant of the legendary Elsah's Landing—that iconic eatery famed for its fluffy homemade breads, sky-high pies, and pies so irresistible they could've lured Lewis and Clark off the Mississippi. Something Elsah took that magic and bottled it into approachable recipes like this one, and let me tell you: it was the star of my recent luncheon, and that saying something because all of the food was absolutely delicious.

When it came time to serving dessert, forks flew faster than I could snap pictures — everyone was raving about the buttery praline crunch giving way to silky vanilla custard, all crowned with fluffy custard-infused whipped cream.

This pie screams Southern comfort with zero fuss. The praline layer toasts up in just 5 minutes, the custard thickens like a dream on the stovetop, and that whipped cream fold? Effortless elegance. Praline Custard Pie from Something Elsah

⅓ c. packed light brown sugar

½ c. chopped pecans

⅓ c. plus 1 T. butter, divided

1 (9-inch) baked pie shell

1 c. sugar

3 T. cornstarch

⅛ t. salt

3 egg yolks

2 c. milk

1 t. vanilla 

1½ c. whipped cream, plus more for optional garnish

 Lightly toasted pecans pieces, for option garnish

Preheat oven to 450°F.

In a small pan, heat brown sugar, pecans, and 1/3 cup butter; cook and stir until butter is melted. Spread in baked pie shell; place in oven and bake 5 minutes. Let cool.

Combine granulated sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Beat in salt, egg yolks and milk. Cook over medium heat until very thick, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and remaining 1 tablespoon butter; cook and stir just until butter is melted. Measure out 1 cup custard; set aside. Pour remaining custard into prepared pie shell.

When the 1 cup of custard cools, fold in whipped cream. Spread on top of pie; chill. Garnish with toasted pecans, dollops or whipped cream, or both.

*Recipe sourced from St. Louis Post-Dispatch Special Requests Cookbook.

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Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie (or something vaguely similar)

Those of you who follow me on my personal Facebook page, are well aware that I am a bit of a reluctant baker, and often end up with disastrous results. It's probably because, as I've said so many times, I don't like to bake, but I do like to make people happy. So when I go out to have lunch with my dad, I like to take him something special. And by special, I mean good. And by good, I mean edible.

Pretty much these days, if I make a dessert, I'm happy enough if it's edible. I just don't like doing it. This morning when I got up I decided I was going to take my dad a pie. I'm always going through dessert recipes, I print out a lot of them, and set them aside for making later. This morning, while rifling through my stack, I saw a recipe for something I thought dad would like. It was called Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie. Chocolate. Bourbon. Pecan pie. What's not to like there? Pecan Pie is one of my dad's favorites, so I thought I would give this recipe a try.

I started off making the piecrust. I had it in the pan, the edges not fluted as expertly as they could have been, and headed for the freezer to get out some pecans to toast. It was then that I realized that I didn't have any pecans. I had three brand-new bags of walnuts, but no pecans. So, I thought to myself, does it really make that much difference? I mean, nuts are nuts, right?

So I used the original recipe and just substituted walnuts for the pecans. That done, I reached into the pantry for semisweet chocolate chips to pour into the crust along with the pecans, err, walnuts. It was then that I realized that I didn't have chocolate chips either. Well, I had chocolate chips, just not semisweet chocolate chips. 

I have entire shelf in my pantry full of baking chips. I have cinnamon chips, pumpkin chips, white chocolate chips, salted caramel chips, Butterfinger chips (Yes, they make those, but I haven't tried them yet, I'll report.), mini M&Ms, Bits of Brickle (both with chocolate coating and without), and I also happened to have a few remnants of mini chocolate chips, and milk chocolate chips. So, in place of the 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips that the recipe called for, I emptied the bag of mini chocolate chips into a measuring cup (it came up about 1/4 of the way), then I emptied the rest of the milk chocolate chips into that same measuring cup (bringing the measurement to 1/2 cup), and then I reached for the Bits of Brickle (those covered in milk chocolate), and dumped enough in to fill up the cup. Huzzah! I sprinkled this creative mixture on top of the toasted walnuts, and then continued on with the recipe as written.

 As it turned out the pie was pretty darn good. Dad was more than happy with it, but that in itself is no recommendation, because he is a guy who eats a lot of Marie Calender and Aunt Jemima frozen meals. At any rate, the original recipe, a product of Southern Living, is below. The reason I shared this story is so that you won't be held hostage by recipes for which you may not have the exact ingredients. Feel free to use my example, or make some substitutions of your own. As long as the ingredients for the custard are there, you really can get a little creative in a pinch, as long as you substitute cup for cup.

Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie

As seen in Southern Living  

1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts (or make your own, please make your own)

 1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels

1 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup bourbon or water

4 large eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons plain white cornmeal

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon table salt

Preheat oven to 325°F. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate according to package directions; fold edges under, and crimp. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate evenly onto bottom of piecrust.

Stir together corn syrup and next 3 ingredients in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients. Gradually whisk one-fourth of hot corn syrup mixture into egg mixture; add to remaining hot corn syrup mixture, whisking constantly. Pour filling into prepared piecrust.

Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until set; cool pie completely on a wire rack (about one hour).

PRINT RECIPE

This post is linked to:

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Art of Homemaking Monday

Celebrate Your Story
Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays At Our Home

Tuesdays with a Twist

Dream, Create, Inspire
 Homestead Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Moonlight and Mason Jars
Full Plate Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things,
Home Sweet Home
Grace at Home

Foodie Friday & Everything Else
Share Your Style

Simple Saturday Blog Hop

Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars

As you probably know from reading this blog, I am not a pie lover. I'm not sure exactly what it is that I don't like about pie, but I suspect it's the crust. I'm just not a crust person. If I were to pick the pie that I liked the best, I would probably say pecan. It's my dad's favorite too, so maybe our liking for it is genetic. But if you take the crust out of the mix and replace it with a shortbread cookie, that's the dessert I can really sink my teeth into. That exact thing has been done in this recipe from Ina Garten called The Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars, and they are.

I have been trying recipes for pecan pie bars for the past three or four years. I haven't been wild about any of them, largely because one of the main ingredients is honey, and I just don't care for honey in this case; I think it overwhelms the delicate taste. But this recipe does not call for honey, and that is what makes it so good. I took these to dad's along with barbecue that I picked up at a local barbecue joint when number two son and I took Christmas Eve lunch to him. They were a huge success! They're easy to make, keep forever,  and I know this because, quite frankly, I'm still eating them. And I suspect they freeze beautifully, although I haven't tried that yet. If you love pecan pie, and you're a fan of cookies like I am, this is the best of both worlds.

Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars

(Thank you, Ina Garten)

Crust
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 pounds pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8" x 8" pan with foil, leaving a 2" overhang on each end. 

To make the crust, cream together the butter and sugar until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined.  Press the dough evenly into your foil-lined baking pan, pressing it up the sides a bit to form an edge. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

To make the topping, combine butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Carefully pour over the cooled crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Using foil edges, lift from pan onto a cutting surface and cut into bars.

 

PRINT RECIPE

This post is linked to: Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Two Cup Tuesday, Celebrate Your Story, Homemaking Party Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesday,  Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Toffee Pecan Pie

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that this woman eats a lot of desserts. Well, yes, I suppose that I do (as my thighs will attest), but it has long been a contention of mine that the meal isn't officially over until you've had dessert. I mean, how else would you know when to stop?  Simple logic.

That said, pie is not on my list of favorites.  But somehow, witchcraft I suppose, because I have no other explanation for it, I have taken a rather keen interest in pie. In the past month I have not only checked out every book on pie from the local library, but every one available at all of the branches, and have expanded to inter library loan. As a result, I have amassed a rather large collection of pie recipes.

Pecan pie is my dad's favorite, and as I was stopping by this week to drop off a variety of meals, I decided to give this recipe for Toffee Pecan Pie from Ms. American Pie: Buttery Good Pie Recipes and Bold Tales from the American Gothic House by Beth M. Howard a try. I think this is my new favorite pecan pie recipe, surpassing my love for this one, bumping it into a close second.

I did make a few adjustments to the original recipe. The original made two pies. I only wanted one, so I cut it in half, and it came out perfectly. I also used unsalted butter, and a mixture of half dark and half light corn syrup.  It kept on the counter, covered with a tea towel, quite well for two days. In fact, I do think it was far better on day two than the day it was baked, so keep this in mind come Thanksgiving (read: make ahead!). Do yourself a favor and try this recipe, it is pecan pie heaven.

Toffee Pecan Pie

Adapted from Ms. American Pie

Your favorite recipe for a single crust pie

Filling:

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup dark corn syrup

1/3 cup light corn syrup

3 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whole pecans

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup Heath Bar bits (I used Bits o Brickle)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Roll out your pie dough and place it into the bottom and up the sides of a 10" pie pan.  Poke bottom and around the sides with a fork. Place in freezer while you prepare the filling.

In a saucepan over medium to low heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar, salt, and corn syrups, continuing to stir until heated through.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until blended. Whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the eggs. Continue to whisk while you add a bit more (say, a tablespoon) two more times. This tempers the eggs so they don't curdle when you pour them into the hot mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan, whisking constantly, and continue to cook, stirring well, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Combine hot mixture with nuts and toffee bar bits and pour into pie shell.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until set.

This post is linked to:

Create It Thursday 

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Jackie’s Pecan Pie

I took dinner to dad for Father's Day yesterday, all of his favorites: roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, cole slaw, crusty bread, and pecan pie.   Actually, I think with the exception of the pie, these were my favorites, but no matter, a meal of fresh, homemade food is a pleasure for my dad, as is the company. He does like pecan pie though, so dessert was a no brainer.

As you know, I am not particularly a pie person. Growing up, pie always seemed more like a punishment than dessert. Hot fruit in a crust?  That's breakfast, not dessert. The ideal dessert for me was a cookie.  But I've grown, literally and figuratively, and have come to appreciate pie. This recipe, appropriately, was my mother's. I'm told by pie fanatics that this is the best recipe for pecan pie. The secret, apparently, is the higher temperature at which the pie is baked, causing a toasting of the pecans, resulting in a richer flavor. It is exceptionally good. Here is the recipe in her own words, but I found the addition of another 1/4 cup of pecans to be just perfect.

Jackie’s Pecan Pie

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup sugar

1⁄4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup pecan halves

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix together all ingredients except pecans and pie shell. Stir in pecans. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake 40-50 minutes.

This post is linked to:

Amaze Me Monday

Tuesdays At Our Home
Inspire Me Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays