The Best Pecan Pie Ever and How to Make a Great Crust

We have all been subjected to something at best tasteless and pasty, at worst damp or rancid that is supposed to pass for pie crust. Pies, quiches and tarts are not just about the fillings. Eating the crust should be at least as delightful an experience as eating the filling.

I have had to eat the following awful crusts: a soggy quiche crust that smeared across the plate; a whole wheat crust (the right kind of whole wheat flour can enhance a crust - more on that later) that tasted rancidly bitter and had the consistency of cement; a crust made with canned shortening that left a greasy mouth-feel and was so over-blended that is was pasty, and worst of all, crust sticks bought off the supermarket shelves (do they still make those?).

A pie crust should be all of the following: flaky, slightly crisp, able to stand up to any filling, versatile, easy to work and most important, fragrant with the aroma of pure butter. Butter is the supreme fat for pie crust (and most everything else). A good recipe is simple and contains only flour, butter, salt, sugar and water. The steps are easy, but the technique takes a little practice. In as little as three tries, anyone should be able to make a delicious crust.

There are numerous pie crust tricks. The latest is using vodka instead of water for the liquid in the crust. I tried this and I found that the crust was too crumbly. My husband noticed an "off" flavor. If you know what you're doing, you really don't need cheats. You just need to keep a few ideas in mind as you create your crust:

*Keep the butter cold. Use frozen butter if you have a food processor.

*Always use unsalted butter. The flavor is better and the moisture content is correct.

*Never over-process or over mix. Butter must remain in grain-sized lumps (about the size of bulgar).

*Don't over- or under-moisten. The crust should look crumbly but not dry and stick together when pressed.

*Work quickly.

*It is not hard to roll out a properly made crust. A crust that falls apart when you roll it is too dry.

The Best Pecan Pie Ever (adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks: The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook)

Dough for one crust - see below

1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar or Sucanat
1/2 cup strong coffee
1 cup pecans plus about 18 perfect halves for the top
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

After you make the crust, don't wash the bowl or blade of the food processor. Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of the processor and whir to combine. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs. Process for a few seconds, scrape again and add the coffee, salt, corn syrup and vanilla. Process until blended then add the pecans and process until they are coarsely chopped - a few seconds. Pour into a prepared, unbaked crust. Decorate with reserved pecan halves, and bake at 350 for about 35 - 45 minutes until filling is domed and set. Serve cold with whipped cream.

Pie Crust (enough for a top and bottom crust - make half or save half for the above recipe)
2 2/3 Cups flour*
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 pound unsalted, frozen butter+
1/2 cup COLD water

Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of the food processor and whir once to blend. Cut the butter into small cubes and add the the dry ingredients. Pulse 10 times for 1 second each time. Then pulse twice more for a fraction of a second. With the food processor running, pour in the water in a small steady stream until the dough at the bottom begins to clump together but still looks crumbly. If there are dry patches on top, add a drop or two of water to those areas and re-process for a fraction of a second. Put the dough on a dry surface and press together into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Flour very lightly, put it in a plastic bag and refrigerate while you make your filling.

To roll out crust -
After a rest of at least 15 minutes to let the gluten relax, remove the crust from the bag. Cut it in half with a sharp knife. On a lightly floured surface, gently press one half of the dough into a short cylinder shape, then flatten it into a disc. Pound the dough lightly with the rolling pin if it is cold and hard. Pat the edges of the disc together, then roll from the center out until you have an even circle about 1/8 inch thick. Fold in half and put into a well-greased or sprayed pie pan. At this point you may trim and crimp the edges and fill the crust (as for the above recipe) or fill it then roll out the top crust, cover the filling and crimp and seal the edges. Don't forget to cut decorative steam vents in your top crust.
* You may use whole wheat PASTRY flour (made from soft white wheat) for half the flour. Do not use hard wheat flour.
+If you do not have a food processor, use cold but not frozen butter. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then cut the butter into small cubes, toss it with the dry ingredients and cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives. When the flour is the size of small grains, add the cold water slowly, tossing with a fork. Follow directions for bagging and refrigerating.