French Silk Pie

Ingredients:

Makes 1 nine-inch pie

• FOR THE CRUST:
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
• 1/3 cup pecan halves
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• Whipped cream, for serving
• Chocolate curls, for serving

Directions:

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie plate; set aside. Grind pecans in a food processor, or chop very finely with a knife. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly into prepared pie plate. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
2. Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add melted chocolate and the vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed for five minutes after each addition. Pour filling into cooled pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
3. Just before serving, top pie with whipped cream, and decorate with chocolate curls.

Chocolate Chess Pie

Ingredients

• Pastry for a Single-Crust Pie
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare Pastry for a Single-Crust Pie; set aside.

2. For filling, in a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa powder, cornmeal, flour, and salt. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, butter, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into sugar mixture until smooth. Stir in pecans.

3. Pour filling into pastry-lined pie plate. Bake about 1 hour or until filling is set and crust is golden. If crust begins to brown too fast, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F and cover edge of crust with foil. Cool pie on a wire rack. (Filling will fall slightly during cooling.) Chill within 2 hours. If desired, serve with whipped cream.

4. Makes: 8 to 10 servings

5. Pastry for Single-Crust Pie: In a medium bowl, stir together 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut-in 1/3 cup shortening until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Sprinkle additional cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, over mixture until all of the dough is moistened (use 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water total). Form the dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a 12-inch circle. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edge as desired.

6. Make-Ahead Tip: Cover and chill cooled pie for up to 24 hours.

Chocolate Pie 'n' Cafe' au Lait Crust

This pie is liquid when you pull it out of the oven, but don’t worry; an overnight rest in the refrigerator solidifies it and gives all the flavors a chance to mellow.

Crust
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
4 to 6 tablespoons milk or cream (half and half, light, heavy, or whipping)

Filling
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur* (e.g., Kahlua), or substitute strong brewed coffee
1 tablespoon cold milk or cream (half and half, light, heavy, or whipping)
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cornmeal
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

*Frangelico (hazelnut), Amaretto (almond), Grand Marnier (orange), or Framboise (raspberry) are all wonderful, in place of the coffee liqueur.

To make the crust: Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work the butter into the dry ingredients (using your fingers, a pastry blender or fork, or a mixer) until the dough is unevenly crumbly. Dissolve the espresso powder in 1 tablespoon of the milk. Sprinkle up to 6 tablespoons (or more, if necessary) of the milk into the dry ingredients (beginning with the tablespoon of espresso milk), continuing to mix until the dough is cohesive. Grab a handful; if it holds together willingly, and doesn’t seem at all dry or crumbly, you’ve added enough liquid.

Shape the dough into a disk. Roll its edges along a floured work surface (as though the disk were a wheel), in order to smooth them out. Pat the disk till it’s about 1" thick, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Allow it to warm a bit and become flexible, 15 to 30 minutes. Flour your work surface, and roll the dough into an 11" to 12" circle. Transfer the dough to a regular (not deep-dish) 9" pie pan that’s at least 1 ¼" deep. Trim and crimp the edges. Place the crust in the refrigerator to chill, while you’re preparing the filling.

Beat together the butter, sugar, and salt till smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly but thoroughly after each addition; you want to combine them with the butter and sugar, but not beat in a lot of air. Stir in the cocoa, liqueur, milk, and vanilla. Use a food processor (mini, if you have one) to grind together the cornmeal and chocolate chips. Add to the batter. Pour the batter into the crust.

Bake the pie for 45 minutes, adding a crust shield after 20 minutes. The middle may look pretty soft; so long as the temperature has reached 165°F right in the center, the pie is done. Remove it from the oven, cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight before serving. Serve each slice topped with a layer of whipped cream and a sprinkle of chocolate curls, if desired.
Yield: 1 pie, 10 servings.