Mocha-Pecan-Mud-Pie
Round out your meal with a slice of decadent mocha-pecan mud pie. This dessert is so rich, your guests will never know it was lightened.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • Vegetable cooking spray
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 pint light coffee ice cream, softened
  • 1 pint light chocolate ice cream, softened
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped reduced-fat cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, divided (about 10 cookies)
  • 1 (6-ounce) ready-made chocolate crumb piecrust
  • 2 tablespoons light chocolate syrup

Preparation

  1. Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with sugar.
  2. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool.
  3. Stir together ice cream, 3/4 cup cookie chunks, and 1/3 cup pecans; spoon into piecrust. Freeze 10 minutes. Press remaining cookie chunks and pecans evenly on top. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze 8 hours. Drizzle individual slices evenly with chocolate syrup.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Keebler Chocolate Ready Crust, Häagen-Dazs Light Coffee Ice Cream, and Häagen-Dazs Light Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream.


Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie
A cross between a fudge pie and pecan pie, this is all the more stunning if you arrange the pecans from the center in a spiral pattern.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup 100% cacao unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup toasted chopped pecans
  • 1 (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish piecrust shell
  • 1 recipe
  • Salted Caramel Topping

Preparation

  1. Prepare Filling: Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, stirring until well blended. Fold in chopped pecans. Pour mixture into pie shell.
  2. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. (Filling will be loose but will set as it cools.) Remove from oven to a wire rack.
  3. Arrange pecan halves on pie. Top with warm caramel. Cool 15 minutes; sprinkle with sea salt.

Note: We tested with Hershey’s 100% Cacao Special Dark Cocoa and Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.

Salted Caramel Topping

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 cups toasted pecan halves
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation

  1. Bring sugar, lemon juice and cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. (Do not stir.)
  2. Boil, swirling occasionally after sugar begins to change color, 8 minutes or until dark amber. (Do not walk away from the pan, as the sugar could burn quickly once it begins to change color.)
    Remove from heat; add cream and butter.
  3. Stir constantly until bubbling stops and butter is incorporated (about 1 minute).
  4. Stir in table salt.

Cranberry-Apple-Pie-with-Pecan-Shortbread-Crust
Savor the flavors of cranberries and apples as they come together with a holiday favorite—pecan shortbread—in this stunning presentation.

Crust Ingredients

  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling Ingredients

  • 3 pounds Gala apples
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • Garnishes: Toasted pecan halves, powdered sugar

Preparation

  1. Prepare Crust: Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Cool completely (about 20 minutes).
  2. Meanwhile, beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer 1 minute or until creamy; add powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually add flour, beating at low speed until mixture is no longer crumbly and starts to come together into a ball. Stir in pecans. Shape one-third of dough into an 8-inch log; wrap in plastic wrap, and chill until ready to use. Press remaining dough on bottom and up sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Cover and chill crust.
  3. Prepare Filling: Peel apples. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Toss together apples and next 4 ingredients. Spoon mixture into prepared crust. Drizzle with melted butter.
  4. Cut reserved dough log into 8 (1-inch) pieces. Gently shape each piece into a 6- to 8-inch rope. Lightly press each rope to flatten into strips. Arrange strips in a lattice design over filling.
  5. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly, crust is golden brown, and apples are tender when pierced with a long wooden pick, shielding with foil during last 30 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Remove sides of pan.

Pumpkin-Pie-Spectacular
This gorgeous pie will win first prize on any dessert buffet. Make it for Thanksgiving with the family or a special night in. The pie crust garnishes add a decorative flair.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 5 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 4 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Praline Topping
  • Garnishes: coarsely chopped Pecan Pie-Glazed Pecans, fresh sage leaves

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 325°. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Press mixture on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
  2. Beat cream cheese and next 2 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until blended and smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add sweet potatoes and lemon juice, beating until blended. Pour batter into prepared crust. (Pan will be very full.)
  3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until almost set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven, with door closed, 15 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. (Do not remove sides of pan.) Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.
  4. Remove sides and bottom of pan, and transfer cheesecake to a serving plate. Prepare Praline Topping; immediately pour slowly over top of cheesecake, spreading to within 1/4 inch of edge. Garnish, if desired.

Caramel-Pecan-Pie
Create this rich gooey caramel pecan pie for your family and friends. It is a perfect special occasion pie.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
  • 28 caramels
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
  • Chocolate-Dipped Pecans (optional)

Preparation

  1. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pie plate according to package directions; fold edges under, and crimp. Prick bottom and sides of piecrust with a fork.
  2. Bake piecrust at 400° for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned; cool on wire rack.
  3. Combine caramels, butter, and 1/4 cup water in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, 5 to 7 minutes or until caramels and butter are melted; remove from heat.
  4. Stir together sugar and next 3 ingredients. Stir into caramel mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in pecans. Pour into prepared crust.
  5. Bake pie at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°, and bake 20 more minutes, shielding edges of crust with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Remove pie to a wire rack to cool. Top with Chocolate-Dipped Pecans, if desired.

Chocolate-Dipped Pecans

Ingredients

  • 1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
  • 20 pecan halves, toasted

Preparation

  1. Microwave chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring at 30-second intervals.
  2. Dip half of each pecan in melted chocolate; place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Let cool completely. Store in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

How-to-Make-a-Lattice-Top-for-a-Pie-Crust
A woven lattice pie crust can make a homemade pie look so pretty. As intimidating as it might look to the non-weavers among us, weaving a lattice pie crust top is actually quite easy to do. Watch out though, you might experience flashbacks of kindergarten and construction paper.

Preparation

  1. Before starting the lattice top, roll out half of your >pie dough and line your pie dish with it. The dough should extend beyond the rim of the pie dish by about half an inch. Put it in the refrigerator to chill while you work on the lattice. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the other half of your pie dough to the same extent as the first half (about 3 inches beyond the diameter of your pie dish). It’s easier to work with the dough if it is chilled, so if it the dough has softened too much, put the rolled-out piece on a flat cookie sheet and chill it in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes.Step-1
  2. Cut the dough into even strips, 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch wide, depending on how thick you want your lattice strips. You can use a blunt knife with or without a ruler or straight edge to guide you, or you can use a pizza wheel or a pastry wheel if you have one.Step-2
  3. Fill your pie shell with the pie filling. Lay out 4 to 7 parallel strips of the pie dough, depending on how thick your strips are, on top of the filling, with about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch space between them. Fold back every other strip.Step-3
  4. Place one long strip of dough perpendicular to the parallel strips as shown. Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip.Step-4
  5. Now take the parallel strips that are running underneath the perpendicular strip and fold them back over the perpendicular strip, as shown. Lay down a second perpendicular strip of dough next to the first strip, with some space between the strips. Unfold the folded parallel strips over the second strip.Step5
  6. Continue this process until the weave is complete over the top of the pie.Step-6
  7. Trim the edges of the strips flush with the dough of the underlying pie dish, which should be about half an inch over the sides. Fold back the rim of the shell over the edge of the lattice strips, and crimp to secure.Step-7

Left: 3/4-inch strips. Right: 1/2-inch strips