Mock Pecan Pie

Pie Crust (9" diameter, 1" tall"
1 stick of butter, cut into small cubes
3 tbsp frozen, 5 tbsp refrigerated
1 1/3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
2.5 tbsp ice water
1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp sugar (optional)

Filling:
1 stick of room temperature butter
1 1/3 cups honey
4 well-beaten eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup pinto beans
2 tsp vanilla

Be careful to follow the instructions about the butter carefully with the crust. Blend flour with the butter too much and it'll be too water resistant, the result will be a tender crust that isn't very flaky. If you don't blend it enough it'll be a flaky crust but a bit too crumbly.

It's very important to store crust overnight in the refrigerator. This helps prevent the formation of too much gluten and keeps you from needing additional flour to prevent it from sticking in the morning, which would make the dough too tough.

You can substitute the honey for 2 cups of sugar and 2 tablespoons of corn syrup.

The night before cooking your pie, prepare the crust. Seperate and chill butter first. Sift flour into a resealable freezer bag. Mix in baking powder and (optional) 1 tbsp sugar. Freeze in bag for 30 minutes.

Chill a medium mixing bowl in the freezer. Place flour mixture into another medium bowl and pinch 5 tbsp refrigerated butter between your fingers and incorporate with the flour until it resembles a coarse meal. Pour back into freezer bag and pour in 3 tbsp frozen butter. Using a rolling pin, take all the air out of the bag, flattening the frozen butter into flakes. Place back in the freezer for 10 minutes, or until the butter is hard.

Move the mixture into the chilled bowl, scraping sides of the bag. Sprinkle in the water and vinegar (ice cubes should be melted by now) and stir with plastic spatula. Then put the mix back into the freezer bag and knead with knuckles and heels of your hands until it's a bit stretchy.

Roll dough into a disc, then wrap in plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, roll dough out. Place the pie pan on top and cut out a 9" circle for the bottom crust. Use remaining crust to roll into a rectangle. Cut into 1" strips and use these to make the sides of the crust.

Now we make the filling. Mash the beans until they look like they could be nuts. Mix with 1/2 cup chopped pecans. In a separate bowl, mix honey and butter. Then add eggs. Next add bean/nut mix. Then Pour the mixture into the crust. Top with 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes.
Allow to cool fully before slicing.

Serving Size: Makes 8 slices

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JUSTDANDELION.