by Kayla Johnson
The sugar-powered fun of Halloween is over, and the Christmas season is waiting just around the corner, along with other beautiful holiday celebrations. As much as I love carving pumpkins, and decorating for the holiday season, Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons. There’s something really heartwarming about gathering together with your friends and family and being grateful that you’re together, but for this holiday, there’s something that most of us enjoy just as much, if not more (we won’t judge): the food.
Whether your family and loved ones create a traditional feast with turkey and the fixings, or if you forge your own culinary path for Thanksgiving, there’s something about pecan pie that almost makes it mandatory this time of year. It’s a classic, sweet-with-a-hint-of-salty dessert that you can make before your holiday gathering with minimum effort, and depending on whether or not you make your own crust, you can make it a pretty potent treat for your holiday medicating needs.
Pecan pie has become even more popular in recent years thanks to a lot of customizations to the classic recipe. The one we’ve chosen to share is a classic recipe, but however you want to add some pizzazz to your pie, there’s a way: caramel pecan pies, chocolate pecan pies, mini pies, huge sheet pies, cheesecakes..the list goes on, so don’t be afraid to branch out a little. We won’t judge if you decide to bake more than one with different flavors added; you know, for research.
As always, make sure you keep your infused pie properly labeled or separated from the desserts for general consumption, just to keep anyone from any unexpected Thanksgiving-esque naps. It’s also important to remember that this recipe, however delicious it is, is infused, so eating multiple slices in a short amount of time may result in an extremely potent effect, so go back for seconds of this with caution.
Note: If you’re low on time or just not a fan of making your own crust, you can absolutely use a pre-made pie crust from the store, but if you want an extra opportunity for infusing your pie, we’ve also included a very simple recipe for a cannabutter pie crust, for all your infused pie needs.
Cannabutter Pie Crust
Ingredients:
1 ½ C all purpose flour
½ Tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. white sugar
½ C cannabutter – very cold
3 Tbsp. ice water
1 large egg yolk
Parchment paper and dry beans/pie weights for pre-baking
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425In a large bowl, combine your flour, sugar, and salt, and using either a fork or a pastry blender, cut in your cannabutter until the mixture looks like it’s coarse and crumbly.
- Add your yolk to your ice water, mix, and then combine with the flour and butter, until the mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour. While the dough chills, grease a nine inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray or oil, whatever you usually use to bake.
- Roll out the dough until it’s ⅛” thick, and carefully place it into the greased pie plate, making sure the crust doesn’t hang over unevenly on any side. Trim or crimp edges as you desire, then poke holes in the bottom with a fork. After greasing one side of a piece of parchment paper, place it grease-side down on the crust, top with the dry beans or your pie crust weights, and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove the weights and paper, cover the edges of the crust with foil, and bake for 5-8 minutes, or until it’s dry to the touch. Baking it lightly before adding the filling will keep the bottom crust from becoming overly soft, but if you prefer it that way, feel free to skip this step.
Canna-pecan pie
Ingredients:
Pie crust, either homemade or pre-packaged
1 C packed light brown sugar
¾ C light corn syrup
6 Tbsp. cannabutter, melted
2 Tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. Salt
3 large eggs
2-2 ½ C pecan halves
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together your cannabutter, corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla. Use a whisk to beat in the eggs, and stir in the pecan halves. If desired, save some halves to decorate the top neatly before baking.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees, cover the edges with foil if desired, and continue baking for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is set and golden brown. Cool for at least one hour, or until the middle is more solid.
