Brown-Butter Pecan Pie with Flaky Crust

Serves 8 
Prep Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes 

Ingredients 
For Crust 
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
½ cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into bite-sized pieces 
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or cider vinegar 
1 cup dried beans or legumes (for baking) 

For Filling 
6 tablespoons unsalted butter 
4 large eggs
1 cup light corn syrup 
⅔ cup light-packed brown sugar 
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
2 cups chopped pecans 

Special Equipment
(1) 9-inch pie pan 
Wax paper f
Sheet tray 

Directions 

1. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse texture but butter pieces are still visible, about 10 pulses. Combine ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon ice-cold water with lemon juice or vinegar and slowly pour in while pulsing until dough comes together, about 10 more pulses. Turn out dough onto a wide sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a 6-inch wide round. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. 
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 
3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough into a 14-inch diameter round. Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie pan, allowing extra dough to hang over the edges. Press dough into bottom and sides of the pan. Crimp and pinch the dough hanging over to create the crust. Prick the dough with a fork in several places (this will allow steam to escape and prevent pie from bubbling up). Place pie pan on a sheet tray. 
4. *Line the inside of the pie crust with a sheet of wax paper overlapping the sides of the pan. Pour dried beans into the center of the wax paper with the dried beans and flatten into an even layer. Bake crust in oven until edges are lightly golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove crust and allow to cool. Carefully remove wax paper filled with beans and discard. [see note below] 
5. Turn down oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. 
6. In the meantime, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow butter to bubble and white foamy milk solids to rise to the surface. Continue cooking butter, without stirring, until milk solids become amber in color, about 4 minutes total. Once butter begins to brown and smell nutty, shut off heat, and immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl and allow butter to cool. 
7. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, corn syrup, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Fold in pecans and stir in browned butter. Pour mixture into pre-baked pie crust. Bake until center is no longer jiggly, and crust is golden brown, about 55 to 60 minutes. 
8. Cool pie on a wire rack. Serve with vanilla ice cream! 

Note 
*This is a process known as blind baking: to precook the pie crust before adding a filling to ensure a thoroughly cooked crust. [see photo below]

*BLIND BAKING TECHNIQUE