Sara Breckenridge-Sproat’s winning pecan pie was scented with red chile. The filling rested in a buttery crust enhanced with sweet little pastry autumn leaves. Because husband David loves heat with sweet, she decided to add New Mexico’s hot stuff to her holiday pecan pie. This winning combo was born!
Sara retired to Santa Fe in 2017 after three decades of military service as an Army nurse with the rank of Colonel. She met her husband, an Army family medicine practitioner, in her first post, at Fort Lewis in Washington State. When Sara married, a savvy friend implored her to master pie crusts. The admonisher said that they weren’t as difficult as they were made out to be. Plus, homemade was more delicious than store-bought. Sara has been baking pies in her own buttery pie shells ever since, along with cookies, and a crusty sourdough, too. She doubled down on baking during Covid and says that the couple hasn’t bought commercial bread since 2020.
Red Chile Pecan Pie Recipe
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Sara Breckenridge-Sproat’s New Mexican Red Chile Pecan Pie
- Yield: Makes a 9-inch pie 1x
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
Makes two crusts (save 1 for next time)
- 2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup chilled vegetable shortening
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 6–8 tbsp ice water
For the Pie Filling:
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 5 tbsp melted butter (71g)
- 2 tbsp prepared red chile sauce (I use my own, but Bueno brand can be used)
- 2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp ancho chile powder (divided use)
- 1–2 tsp cayenne, or to taste (divided use) (I used a total of 1 tsp – if you are feeling bold, add more!)
- 1¼ cup chopped New Mexican pecans
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Pie Crust:
- Combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add shortening, and process until the mixture looks like sand.
- Scatter butter cubes over the mixture and pulse lightly so that some butter chunks remain. Sprinkle with about 6 tbsp ice water, and pulse until combined. Add more water if needed to form a dough ball. Dump dough out onto a floured surface, divide into two fat disks, and chill at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out one of the disks of dough slightly larger than the pie plate. Place in freezer for 20-30 minutes.
- Blind bake the crust. Line cold crust with foil all the way up the sides and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Par-bake crust 20-30 minutes. Leave the oven on. (If you wish, cut any remaining dough into leaves or other decorative designs to add to the pie later.)
For the Pie Filling:
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs with a hand mixer until airy and light colored. Then beat in corn syrup, granulated sugar, melted butter, prepared red chile sauce, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, cocoa powder, 1 tbsp of the ancho powder, and ½ tsp cayenne until slightly airy.
- Toss pecans with powdered sugar and remaining tsp ancho chile powder and half tsp cayenne until covered.
- Combine pecan mixture with the beaten egg-corn syrup mixture, stirring lightly only to cover the pecans with the corn syrup mixture evenly. This keeps the pecans suspended, instead of sinking to the bottom of the pie. Spoon mixture into the par-baked crust. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated 350-degree oven about 40 minutes until set.
- Uncover, place any dough decorations you wish. If you do so before this point, they will sink into the pie. Continue to bake uncovered until set, but slightly jiggly at the center, about 45-50 minutes more. Transfer to a rack and let cool at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Slice and serve.
Recipe by Sara Breckenridge-Sproat
Story by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Photography by Tira Howard
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