PECAN PIE

PECAN PIE TYPICALLY PRESENTS A COUPLE OF problems. First, this pie is often too sweet, both in an absolute sense and in relation to its other flavors, which are overwhelmed by the sugariness. This problem is easily remedied by lowering the amount of sugar.

The other major complaint has to do with texture. Pecan pies too often turn out curdly and separated, and the weepy filling turns the bottom crust soggy and leathery. The fact that the undercrust usually seems underbaked to begin with doesn't help matters.

Pecan pie should be wonderfully soft and smooth, almost like a cream pie. Taking the pie out of the oven before it is completely set helps achieve this texture. The pie continues to cook after being removed from the oven, as heat travels from the edges to the middle by conduction. And since pecan pies are composed largely of sugar and butter, cooling serves to make them still more solid.

A hot oven is a disaster with pecan pie—a fact that we confirmed in the test kitchen. At 375 degrees and above, the edges of the filling solidified before the center had even thickened. A moderate oven (325 to 350 degrees) was better, but a slow oven (250 to 300 degrees) turned out to be best, producing a pie with a nicely thickened center and no hardened edges.

There was a problem, however. Pies baked at very low temperatures took so long to firm up that the crusts turned soggy, even when the shells had been thoroughly prebaked. Furthermore, the filling tended to separate into a jellylike layer on the bottom, with a frothy cap on top. At this point, we tried adding hot filling to the crust, which was also hot. When we tried this, we cut the baking time by close to half and fixed the problems of soggy crust and separated filling.

We tested pies made with whole pecan halves, chopped pecans, and a combination of chopped and whole nuts. We had no problem deciding our preference. We found whole pecans too much of a mouthful, and we had difficulty cutting through them with a fork as we consumed a slice. Chopped nuts are easier to slice through and eat.

Toasting the nuts beforehand makes for a major improvement. We toasted the nuts in the oven while it was preheating in preparation for baking the crust. Toasting takes about seven minutes, but the nuts should be watched carefully and stirred from time to time to prevent burning. Be sure to let them cool to lukewarm before chopping them, or they will crumble. Use a knife rather than a food processor, which tends to cut the nuts too fine.