Chocolate gelt, the gold-foil-encased coins that represent the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, have their own unique chocolaty flavor and you can really taste it’s creamy quality in this pecan pie. The combination of dark corn syrup, sweet pecans, rich chocolate gelt and an easy homemade pie crust elevate this chocolate pecan pie to the ultimate Thanksgiving status! This pie can also be made with chocolate chips if gelt is not available. To make it easier on yourself, this pie also works just fine with a pre-made pie crust!
Chocolate Gelt Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons butter (or margarine)
- 4 Tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 3 Tablespoons ice water
- 1 1/4 cup chopped chocolate gelt (around 35 pieces), or chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups raw pecan halves
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup dark corn syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
- Add the butter and shortening and combine with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand.
- Add the ice water and mix by hand until the dough comes together. If the dough is still too crumbly, add an extra tablespoon of ice water and mix again.
- Place the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. This dough can be made 2-3 days ahead and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- After 1 hour, remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll out the dough with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch circle. The circle does not have to be perfect since it will be trimmed once in the pan.
- Spray a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray or rub with a bit of butter.
- Roll the dough on to the rolling pin then unroll it right on top of the pie pan. Gently push the dough into the pan.
- Using kitchen shears, cut the edges of the dough that hang over the pan and fold the edges of the pie dough for a pretty design or keep it simple and rustic. If you use cut-out shapes of extra dough to decorate the pie edge, brush the dough with water then stick on the extra dough.
- Refrigerate the prepared pie crust for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F
- Combine the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, brown sugar, butter and vanilla extract.
- Melt ¼ cup of chocolate gelt in the microwave for 1 minute, stir and add it to the filling mixture.
- When the crust is ready, place the remaining 1 cup of chopped chocolate gelt in the bottom of the crust then top with the pecans.
- Pour the filling mixture over the chocolate and pecans.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 50-60 minutes, until the crust is browning and the filling is firm.
- Set the pie aside for 1 hour to cool then dig in!
This chocolate gelt pecan pie is part of our Modern Jewish Thanksgiving Menu.