Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie

Food hybrids are all the rage. One delicious food mates with another delicious food and they have one really, really, ridiculously good tasting baby. Think: Cronuts (a croissant and a bagel). Quesarito (a burrito rolled in a quesadilla). And, the seasonally-appropriate Turducken (chicken stuffed in a duck stuffed in a turkey).

While most people probably won't spend hours cooking a Turducken next week, this tasty Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie from Southern Living takes little time and is sure to mix things up at your Thanksgiving table. A cross between a fudge pie and pecan pie, this is just the kind of food hybrid that demands attention at the table. Those perfectly spiraled pecans don't hurt, either.

To make this pie the easy way, start with a frozen pie crust. If you're the Type A "everything-must-be-homemade" person on Thanksgiving, start by making your own pie crust. The chocolate filling comes next, which is fairly simple: sugar, butter, flour, unsweetened cocoa, corn syrup, vanilla extract, and eggs. Toasted chopped pecans are added right before it's baked to give the pie additional texture.

To arrange the pecans on the pie, start by making large circles around the outer edge of the pie. Continue working inwards, stacking the pecans on top of one another.

Now, you'll either need to make a Salted Caramel Topping or buy some from Trader Joe's. While I am most definitely not Type A, I did decide to home make it for this pie; caramel just seemed easier to make than crust.

Drizzled over the pecans, the Salted Caramel Topping is the final touch.

A pie we can all be thankful for this season.

---

Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie

• 2 cups toasted pecan halves
• 1 (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish pie crust shell

Chocolate Filling Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup 100% cacao unsweetened cocoa 
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 large eggs 
• 1 cup toasted chopped pecans

Salted Caramel Topping Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. Prepare Chocolate Filling: Preheat oven to 350F. Stir together first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, stirring until well blended. Fold in chopped pecans. Pour mixture into unbaked deep-dish pie crust shell.

2. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes. Filling will be loose but will set as it cools. Remove from oven to a wire rack.

3. Prepare Salted Caramel Topping: Bring 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Do not stir. Boil, swirling occasionally after sugar begins to change color, 8 minutes or until dark amber. Do not walk away from the pan, as the sugar could burn quickly once it begins to change color. Remove from heat; add cream and 4 tablespoons butter. Stir constantly until bubbling stops and butter is incorporated (about 1 minute). Stir in table salt.

4. Arrange pecan halves on pie. Top with warm caramel. Cool 15 minutes; sprinkle pie with sea salt.