Recipe - Caramel Crunch Pecan Pie

TOFFEE
2 cup Dark brown sugar, firmly
packed
1/8 teaspoon Salt
One fourth cup Unsalted butter or margarin
2 tablespoon Boiling water
1 tablespoon Cider vinegar

CRUST
2 cup Allpurpose flour
1 teaspoon Salt
Three fourths cup Butter flavored crisco
5 tablespoon Ice water (or more)
1 tablespoon Whipping cream

FILLING
Three fourths cup Granulated sugar
One half teaspoon Salt
1 cup Dark corn syrup
3 Eggs
2 tablespoon Butterflavored pancake
waffle syrup
2 tablespoon Butter or margarine,
melted
2 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Unsulfured molasses
2 cup Pecan pieces

SAUCE
2/3 cup Granulated sugar
1/3 cup Water
One half cup Whipping cream plus
1 tablespoon Whipping cream
One fourth cup Unsalted butter or margarin

TOFFEE Grease a jellyroll pan with Butter Flavor Crisco. Combine brown
sugar, salt, butter, boiling water and vinegar in large saucepan. Stir
until well blended. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a
boil. Cover and boil 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and brush brown sugar
crystals with wet pastry brush. Boil slowly wothout stirring until mixture
reaches hardcrack stage, 295 to 310 degrees on candy thermometer. Stir
gently without touching sides of saucepan. Pour into pan, spreading if
necessary. Cool to room temperature. Break into squares, then break up
enough squares to make 3 tablespoons small bits or pieces. Cover and store
remainder of candy for eating. CRUST Combine flour and salt in mediumsize
bowl. Cut in Crisco until all flour is blended to form peasized chunks.
Sprinkle with ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Toss lightly with fork
until dough will form a ball. Divide dough in half. Press between hands to
form a couple of 5 to 6inch "pancakes". Roll dough for bottom crust into
circle between sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet. Trim pastry 1
inch larger than upsidedown 9inch pie plate. Fit into pie plate. Press to
fit. Remove other sheet of plastic wrap. Freeze. Roll second "pancake" same
as for crust. Freeze 15 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut out 26 to 28
leaf shapes and 3 larger mapleleaf shapes from rolled pastry. Arrange
leaves in overlapping and slightly curved pattern on baking sheet. Brush
with whipping cream. Moisten tips of small leaves with ice water. Press
around edge of crust in overlapping fashion. Brush with cream. Bake leaves
at 400 degrees 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. FILLING Combine
granulated sugar, salt, corn syrup, eggs, syrup, melted butter, vanilla and
molasses in mediumsize bowl. Beat with whisk until blended. Stir in nuts.
Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees 10 minutes. Reduce
temperature to 350 degrees. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until filling is firm
when pie is shaken gently. Cover edge to keep from overbrowning. SAUCE
Combine granulated sugar and water in small saucepan. Cook and stir over
low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium. Boil without
stirring 11 minutes until mixture is deep amber color, brushing down sugar
crystals from sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Remove from heat. Stir in
whipping cream; mixture will bubble up. Add butter, stirring until smooth.
Cook and stir over low heat about 3 minutes or until color deepens and
sauce thickens slightly. Spoon One half cup over warm pie. Cool 1 hour. Cover
and refrigerate remaining sauce for ice cream topping. Sprinkle top with
toffee bits. Place leaf decoration to 1 side of pie. Refrigerate 4 hours
before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 9inch pie.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini