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Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
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Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie

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Salted chocolate pecan pie is a fresh take on a classic pecan pie recipe. Browned butter, a bit of sea salt, and lots of chocolate will make this pie the star of any table!

salted chocolate pecan pie

How to make Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie

I love making salted chocolate pecan pie so much. It requires a bit of work, but it’s so worth it. The best part? It can be made 2 days in advance!

Tools Needed

Ingredients you’ll need

  • Pecans. I like to buy pecan halves. I crush most of them for the filling and leave some intact for decorating the top of the pie. This is totally optional!
  • Butter. Browning butter gives the filling a depth of flavor that regular pecan pie just doesn’t have.
  • Chocolate. I use both bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder to really enhance the chocolate flavor.
  • Corn Syrup. It’s simply not pecan pie without corn syrup and I’ve yet to find a better substitute.
  • Eggs. Eggs really make this filling almost brownie texture and give the filling its body.
  • Pie Crust. You can follow the instructions below to make your own pie crust or swap in store-bought.
  • Salt. The balance of salty/sweet here is amazing! Opt for a flake sea salt over kosher or iodized.

Tips for making the best homemade pie crust

Maybe you’ve felt intimidated to make your own pie crust from scratch but, no more! These easy tips will ensure perfect pie crust every time.

  1. Work with cold ingredients. Having cold butter and cream cheese is essential! Cold ingredients make the crust nice and flaky when baked.
  2. Don’t overmix. When mixing the butter and cream cheese into the flour, you want little pockets of butter to still be visible.
  3. Don’t use too much water. Initially, you don’t use all the water/vodka. Start with 1/3 cup and add more as necessary. You can always add more, but you can’t take it away!
  4. Test the dough. Before kneading, squeeze a handful of the dough together. If it sticks together without sticking to you, it’s perfect. If it’s still dry and sandy, add a little bit more of the water/vodka mixture.

How to store salted chocolate pecan pie

The best part about this pie is that it can be made in advance, making your Thanksgiving prep that much easier. I actually recommend making it ahead because the pie needs to cool to room temperature and then be stored in the fridge for 2 hours before serving for the best possible texture.

To store, simply wrap your pie in aluminum foil and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the baked pie after wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap. Defrost completely in the fridge before serving.

salted chocolate pecan pie

More Baking Recipes to Try

Crust recipe adapted from Michelle Lopez of Hummingbird High.

This post contains affiliate links from which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links allow me to keep providing great recipes for free and I never recommend products that I don’t love and personally own.

Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie - 10 Holiday Dessert Recipes
Baking

Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie

Salted chocolate pecan pie is a fresh take on a classic. Brown butter, a bit of flaky sea salt, and lots of chocolate make this pie so spectacular!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 1 Pie

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
  • 2 oz cream cheese cold
  • 1/2 cup very cold water
  • 2 tablespoons vodka
  • Ice
  • 1 egg for egg wash
  • turbinado or raw sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Filling

  • 2 1/2 cups pecan halves, plus more for arranging on top if desired
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3.5 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder
  • 3 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 flaky sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

Instructions

  • To make the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine the water and vodka with ice and set in the fridge until ready to use. Add the very cold butter and cream cheese to the flour mixture. Mix on low for 1 minute. There should still be large pieces of butter dotted in the mix. Add 1/3 cup of the water/vodka mixture and mix on low until the dough comes together. If it's very dry, add a little more water, one teaspoon at a time. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead into a rough ball. Divide the dough in two and flatten each into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Remove the dough from the fridge and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 12" circle. Transfer the circle to a 9-inch pie pan. There are two routes from here: Either trim some of the excess, fold it under itself and crimp the edges OR trim to the edge of the pie pan and add some decorative pie crust leaves to the edge, utilizing the other disc of dough. If you want to make decorative shapes, roll out the other dough disc following the same instructions and cut out shapes using cookie cutters or pie dough cutters and transfer them to a parchment-lined tray. If you are attaching leaves, beat the egg and brush it on the edge of the pie crust and attach the leaves. Reserve the rest of the egg wash. Transfer the pie dough to the fridge while you make the filling.
  • To make the filling: Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Roughly chop 2 1/2 cups of pecan halves. I put them in a large ziplock and use a rolling pin to smash them a bit. You still want large pieces. Reserve the remaining pecan halves for arranging on top, if desired.
  • In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Cook over low until the butter is light brown and nutty smelling. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth. Whisk in the melted chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla, butter, and salt. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the chopped pecans. Remove the crust from the fridge and pour in the filling. Arrange the remaining pecan halves on top in a pretty circular design, if desired. Brush the edges of the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado or raw sugar (if desired). Place the pie on a baking sheet and transfer it to the oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until the filling is mostly set and just jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cool to room temperature for one hour and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. 

Notes

This crust recipe makes two 12" crusts. I used one of the crusts to cut out decorative leaves for the pie crust. You can cut the crust recipe in half to yield one crust or make two pies and double the filling.
This pie can be made ahead and kept at room temperature, covered, for 2 days.

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  1. 5 stars
    I’m not a baker AT ALL and I’m happy to say that this pie was easy to tackle! I’m one of those people who stress at cooking multiple things at once and the ease of finishing the dough first before the filling made my stress melt away! One thing I wish I had was more pecans for decorating, buy more than 8oz. folks! It was a delicious chocolately pie which is right up my alley since I’m not a big fruit pie person.

    Add this to your thanksgiving table this year, you won’t regret it!!!