Southern Favorite Meets Chocolate Chip

I suppose you could say that Pecan Pie is so awesome that it has two days of celebration and acclamation. The first is National Pecan Pie Day on July 12. The second is today, when Chocolate is added to the mix for Chocolate Pecan Pie Day. Hum, makes me wonder, will we have a Bourbon Pecan Pie Day as well?

My Dad’s all time favorite dessert has to be Pecan Pie. It’s a southern thing, no doubt. While I love pecans in candies or roasted and caramelized, I’m not a fan of Pecan Pie. Just as I love Pumpkin Soup but don’t care for Pumpkin Pie. I think, for me anyway, it’s a textural thing. Yet every year at Thanksgiving I bake a Pumpkin Pie for my guys and a Pecan Pie for Pops.

Something happens to the traditional Pecan Pie when something as decadently delicious as chocolate is added to the mix. Couple that with ice cream and chocolate sauce, and we’ve got a whole new dessert on our plates. Chocolate and nuts just naturally go together, so why not turn this combination into a treat? And yeah, it’s still considered southern in nature. Put pecans into anything and suddenly you’re talking southern.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
1 cup Light Corn Syrup
1 cup packed Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1-1/2 cups Pecans
3/4 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Butter
1 (9-inch) thawed Ready Bake Pie Shell
Vanilla Ice Cream for serving
Chocolate Sauce for serving

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the corn syrup, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla; stir with a spoon until thoroughly mixed.

Coarsely chop the pecans and melt the butter. Add the pecans, chocolate chips, and butter; mix well. Pour into the pie shell and bake in the heated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until firm.

Let cool to room temperature.

To serve, slice the pie. Top each slice with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.