Looking for Derby Pie? We have a delicious Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe to share with you today.
Kentucky Pecan Pie is very rich and chocolatey. In my opinion, this is the best Chocolate Pie recipe around. Pretzel crust for this Chocolate Pecan Pie has the perfect balance of sweet and salty. This recipe can be made as a gluten free pie option too, yum!
Mr. VS got right in there and began mixing and chopping the morning away for our Pie. He put the pretzels in our small food processor and began making sure those pretzels were perfect for our crust. Then he melted the butter, added sugar, and mixed up the crust. He felt it needed a bit more butter so he added it (about a tablespoon more) and then began pressing the pretzel crust into the bottom of our pie plate.
He asked about something to smooth the bottom of the crust out with, and I replied to use the bottom of the measuring cup to make sure it was all pressed in tightly and smoothly. Just a little trick I have used in the past.
The kitchen was running on all cylinders, more recipes and tips to come, things were going wonderfully and then Bentley decided he needed a restroom break. Mr. VS walked away, and I took over, and then the kitchen groaned and said Oh, things were so in order under his watch, let the chaos ensue when the Mrs. takes over!
Yep, I sometimes think inanimate objects have their own voice, and sometimes I even think my kitchen wonders what in the world is this gal up to now? So... in Cara fashion, I had the sweeper out since I cannot stand for anything to be under my feet in the kitchen, some sugar was spilled and I rolled my eyes and thought yuck! Needs cleaned now! Can I finish what I am working on? Absolutely not! I had to get it cleaned up so away I went to fetch the sweeper.
Mr. VS walks back in, the mixer is full, I am running the vacuum, Bentley wants his treat, and I say ahh... life is feeling a bit back to normal around here. Oh, don't worry, I cannot wait to get to the recipe either, but in my mind it is necessary to tell all the things and how we got to the final, wonderful, delightfully tasty Chocolate Pecan Pie, which I may add was a gluten free pie, special for me.
You can make this recipe with regular pretzels, but we used the gluten free variety. They had their apple and pecan pies, and I had this one. Honestly, I think I am the one who made out. Of course I shared, and they said it was yummy too. Can you believe my luck? Those gluten lovers sometimes just think yuck when I mention my items are gluten free, only guess what? In the end they like them... I think it is just the stigma of trying something new for them. **Rolling my eyes with a smile**
Oh, and a last minute change, we decided to join at my mother's home instead of it just being the three of us. Disappointing Bentley had to stay home, but he behaved quite badly this past week when I took him over. Since we are talking about pie, food, etc... I will spare you the details for now.
So the pup had to stay home, we went over for dinner, sat down, chatted for a bit, and then came back home. Then, I was beat, flat out dog tired.
Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe
What you will need:
Pie Crust:
- 1 cup crushed pretzels
- 1 stick of melted butter ( we used an extra tablespoon, but thought this was due to using gluten free pretzels)
- 2 T sugar
What do to pie crust:
- Crush pretzels by hand or in food processor, we used our small food processor, place into pie plate
- Add in melted butter
- Add sugar
- Mix in pie plate, begin forming crust in the bottom of the pie plate, set aside
Pie filling:
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 c sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/4 c milk chocolate chips
- 1 c chopped pecans (I used more, and it was way too much, so keep with the 1 cup)
- 1 stick of melted butter
- 1 t vanilla
What to do pie filling:
- Mix light corn syrup, sugar, and eggs together with mixer on low setting
- Mix cholate chips, chopped pecans, melted butter, and vanilla in medium bowl
- Slowly mix chocolate and pecan mixture into the mixing bowl a little bit at a time
- Mix well
- Pour into crust shell
- Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until filling has set up
- Remove from oven, you can serve warm, or cooled
We enjoyed this pie, even my mother and grandmother liked it. You would have laughed, I know my husband did... there were three separate desserts on Thanksgiving Day. What does Rosezella do? She tells us that she wants all three of them of course!
My husband mentioned, you know people that age and even some younger than she is are doing well to eat a small meal, but she wanted three desserts? I exclaimed, well, you just have to know she does not miss out on anything with sugar in it. It has always been her addiction.
I will say this Chocolate Pecan Pie is very rich, I mean it will knock your socks off it is that rich. You only need to serve a small sliver, since you may need to peel your guests from the ceiling from their sugar high, or that is how I felt anyway.
We will be making it again, it just may become our Thanksgiving Day pie every year now. Sometimes you try something new and think, nice, but I doubt I make that again, but I did not feel that way with this recipe. It was pretty easy to make. The crust took the longest, but it went together nicely. It does help when you have a food processor and a helping hand in the kitchen. We have a small and large food processor. I love them, and highly recommend if you do not already have one.
For years I did not really enjoy spending much time in the kitchen, but that was before I had the tools I needed to really cook. I just gimped by on what I had, but then my husband began making purchases for me for birthdays, Christmas, and anniversaries and well, now I feel like a home cook. That is not to say I am good at it, but I try.
I will tell you that I received the best compliment in the world from my mother on Thanksgiving. You see, I am not always so sure of myself when it comes to gluten free cooking and baking. I feel like I need input before I share anything here with you. I mean, I want to be able to help you, it is my goal in sharing these recipes after all. She said you always had a knack for cooking and could make something from nothing.
I was astounded, and nearly fell out of my seat! Talk about a wonderful compliment. It's nice to hear things like that from loved ones every now and then. If no one has told you lately, you are an amazing person, just believe in yourself and your abilities. Sometimes I need to remind myself that, just get in the kitchen and see what you can whip up.
Now, can you believe after we left, I forgot to get any more photos of the pie? There are other recipes I cannot wait to share which I failed to get many in process photos or finished photos of too.
Learned my lesson, do not share recipes for blog when there is a holiday we are cooking and baking for. I need to remake recipes so you have photos.... oh, the life of a homemaker who moonlights as a blogger. Maybe one of these days I will get my act together, but let's not push it.
Some questions you may have about Chocolate Pecan Pie:
What is a Kentucky Derby Pie?
- Kentucky Derby Pie is made similar to a Pecan Pie, but it also has chocolate chips throughout the pie causing all of that chocolatey goodness, then there is the sticky factor of a Pecan Pie all rolled into one wonderful pie
Does Derby Pie have bourbon?
- Some folks add bourbon to this pie; however, I am allergic to barley and rye so no alcohol was used in this pie. You can add bourbon to your pie. I am so sorry, I do not know quantities of alcohol to add.
Does Chocolate Pecan Pie have to be refrigerated?
- Once you have made your Chocolate Pecan Pie and it has been baked, it can sit out for one day, after that, it should be refrigerated.
How do you reheat a Pie?
- Chocolate pecan pie can be reheated in the microwave, but the crust could become a bit soggy.
- We used our Ninja Foodie, and placed one piece inside, with setting to 370 degrees for 4 minutes, yum!
- You can also heat up your oven to 350 degrees until heated through, about 10 minutes
Is chocolate pecan pie made with pecans or walnuts?
- While looking over recipes, I found some were originally made with walnuts. We made our pie with pecans, we both love pecans, I am not so much a fan of walnuts.
How do you make gluten free pie pastry?
- I was hesitant to make a regular gluten free crust, so we chose gluten free pretzels to use as our crust. I also read where you could use oats as the crust as well which I plan to try on my next go around.
Why did you choose pretzels for Chocolate Pecan Pie crust?
- I have made pretzel crusts before so I felt comfortable with it. It was an easy alternative for me than taking on a pie crust I was afraid would not turn out.
- The sweet and salty crust was the perfect balance for this chocolate pecan pie.
Is this Chocolate Pecan Pie gluten free?
- Yes, as long as you use gluten free pretzels for the crust this Chocolate Pecan Pie is gluten free.
Can I use a pretzel crust for Pecan Pie?
- I think so, and in fact want to try it myself! I will share my fruit of my labor when I finish making one!
Pin for later:
You may want to rename this recipe for future use. The name Derby Pie is one of the very few registered trademark recipe titles out there today. The holders of the trademark have been known to go after people using it, even in charity-based publications. You may use it for twenty years and never hear from them and then, one day, the recipe title police show up at your door! The entirety of the recipe is not included as most people change up an item or an ingredient at their choosing. It is just the title.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the heads up. Very interesting. We make up our own recipes as I did here, but thought since the pie was so like a Derby Pie I would use that name. Ours is gluten free with a pretzel crust. I went ahead and made a few changes to our recipe title for the future. Thank you again.
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