Chocolate Pecan Pie with Salted Caramel

Nov 07, 2023 • Tom Jackson

Indulge in the ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie with Salted Caramel, a rich and decadent dessert that’s perfect for any occasion. This irresistible recipe combines the nutty crunch of pecans with velvety chocolate and a hint of bourbon, all nestled beneath a luscious layer of homemade salted caramel. Whether you're serving it as a classic whole pie or in charming mini cast iron skillets for a festive touch, Chef Tom’s expert tips will ensure your dessert is both stunning and delicious. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions and pro tips to achieve the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors!

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

This recipe makes two things simultaneously that could each be their own recipe: a from-scratch butter pie crust and a homemade salted caramel sauce. Both appear in the Salted Caramel Sauce standalone recipe and the Caramel Apple Cupcakes recipe. Here, they serve the same dessert — the pie crust is the vehicle and the salted caramel is the finishing layer. Making both from scratch produces a result that store-bought components cannot replicate; the from-scratch caramel's corn syrup prevents the crystallization that store-bought caramel sauces resist through other additives.
The mini cast iron skillet format is both visual and structural: Six individual 3.5" Lodge mini skillets serve twelve people at half a skillet each, producing a plated presentation that a standard sliced pie doesn't achieve. The cast iron retains heat, keeping each serving warm at the table. More importantly, the thick cast iron walls produce a uniformly baked edge crust that a standard pie pan's thin metal walls can't maintain.
Tapped Whiskey Barrel Aged Maple Syrup in the caramel adds oak and vanilla complexity beyond standard corn-syrup-only caramel: The whiskey barrel aging of the maple syrup deposits subtle vanilla, tannin, and caramelized wood notes into the syrup. When those notes enter the salted caramel sauce, they deepen the caramel character beyond what sugar and corn syrup alone produce. The effect is subtle but consistently noticed when compared to a plain version.
The 170°F internal temperature target for the chocolate filling is the doneness indicator — not visual cues: Chocolate pecan pie filling with eggs sets like a custard — it looks underdone while still safe and continues to firm as it cools. At 170°F, the eggs are fully cooked and the filling will set to the correct fudgy, dense texture as it cools to room temperature. Pulling earlier produces a runny center; pulling later produces a dry, overcooked filling that loses the fudgy character.

Chocolate Pecan Pie with Salted Caramel

Tom Jackson

Rated 4.4 stars by 7 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

12

Prep Time

45 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

567

Chocolate Pecan Pie with Salted Caramel is a delectable dessert that combines the nutty flavor of pecans and, a rich chocolatey texture with a dash of bourbon under a layer of smooth homemade salted caramel sauce. Chef Tom shows us how you can present these in mini cast iron skillets for a festive gathering or you can opt to keep it as a standard whole pie.

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Ingredients

Pie dough:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed, frozen
2 1/4 cup (12 oz) oz AP flour
3 tbsp (2 oz) sugar
3/4 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp (3/4 oz) cold water

Chocolate filling:

3/4 cup white sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp bourbon (or vanilla extract)
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Salted caramel:

1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp Tapped Whiskey Barrel Aged Maple Syrup
3 tbsp light corn syrup
3 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt
1 tsp bourbon (or vanilla extract)
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

Topping:

3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
1/2 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt

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Directions

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640S Pellet Grill to 375ºF, set up for indirect grilling.
To make the pie dough, combine the dry ingredients in a Vitamix Food Processor. Add the frozen butter. Process briefly, about 10 seconds, until the butter is broken down into small pieces. Add the eggs, one at a time. After the eggs are incorporated, add the cold water. Mix just until the dough goes from a sandy texture to starting to clump together. Turn out onto a work surface. Press into a one inch thick rectangle. Wrap in plastic. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out until it’s about 3/4” thick and large enough to cover six Lodge 3.5” mini cast iron skillets. Cut into six pieces and press each one into the mini skillet. Trim the excess around the edges, then crimp with a fork. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill.
To make the filling, combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Scoop about one quarter cup of the filling into each skillet, on top of the raw dough.
Bake the mini pies on the second shelf of the grill until the filling reaches an internal temperature of 170ºF, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the grill and let cool.
While the pie cools, make the caramel sauce. Combine the corn syrup, sugar, maple syrup and salt in a Lodge 8” Steel Skillet over medium heat. Don’t stir, but swirl occasionally to make sure all of the sugar is hydrated and melting. Cook until caramel in color. Turn off the heat. Add the heavy cream, bourbon and butter. Whisk until smooth and creamy.
Neatly arrange the toasted pecan halves on top of the pies. Pour the warm caramel over the top. Let the caramel set up slightly, then sprinkle the salt over the top to finish.

Image of Chocolate Pecan Pie with Salted Caramel

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

Why does the pie dough use frozen butter instead of cold butter?
Direction Step 2 specifies frozen butter — cubed and frozen before being added to the food processor. Frozen butter stays in discrete, hard pieces during the 10-second processing pulse rather than smearing into the flour. Each piece of butter creates a small steam pocket during baking as its water content evaporates, pushing the dough layers apart and creating flakiness. Cold butter softens faster during processing and can smear, producing a mealy, crumbly crust rather than a flaky one. Cube the butter and freeze for at least 30 minutes before using.

Why rest the dough in the refrigerator before rolling?
Direction Step 2 specifies at least 30 minutes of refrigerator rest after the dough comes together. During mixing, the gluten network in the flour becomes activated — it's elastic and will spring back when rolled, making it difficult to achieve a consistent thickness. The 30-minute rest allows the gluten to relax, making the dough easier to roll evenly. The rest also re-chills the butter, which softened slightly during processing, restoring the flaky-crust structure.

Why does the chocolate filling use cocoa powder and not melted chocolate?
Cocoa powder is dry and fat-free, which means it integrates into the egg-and-sugar custard filling without adding the extra fat that melted chocolate would introduce. Melted chocolate in a custard filling can destabilize the emulsion and produce a grainy or separated filling at the baking temperature. Cocoa powder distributes evenly throughout the custard base and produces a consistent chocolate flavor without changing the filling's set structure.

What does corn syrup do in both the filling and the caramel?
Corn syrup is primarily glucose, which interferes with the crystallization of sucrose (table sugar). In the chocolate filling, it keeps the filling smooth and glossy as it sets rather than developing a grainy sugar crystal structure. In the caramel sauce, it prevents the sugar from crystallizing as it cooks and as it cools on the finished pie — maintaining the smooth, pourable, glossy texture that makes the caramel topping visually distinctive. Without corn syrup, both components are prone to graininess over time.

Can I make this as a standard full-size pie instead of mini skillets?
Yes — the recipe card notes this explicitly. Use a standard 9" pie pan and double the dough and filling quantities. Roll the dough to approximately 1/8" thickness and fit into the pan, crimping the edges. The bake time will be longer — approximately 40–45 minutes at 375°F until the center reaches 170°F internal temperature. The caramel sauce quantity in the recipe is sufficient for the full-size pie as a topping.

Can I make this indoors?
5 out of 5 — Perfect for indoor or outdoor cooking. A home oven at 375°F produces identical results. The YS640s at 375°F indirect (diffuser installed) is functionally equivalent to a convection oven for baking — no smoke character is needed or expected in a dessert recipe. All other steps are stovetop and room-temperature preparation.

Recipe Highlights

Stop processing the dough the moment it starts to clump — don't overprocess: Direction Step 2 specifies mixing "just until the dough goes from a sandy texture to starting to clump together." Overprocessed pie dough develops gluten and produces a tough, dense crust rather than a tender, flaky one. The dough should still look rough and slightly shaggy when you turn it out — it comes together fully during the pressing and refrigerator rest, not during the food processor step.
Chill the dough-lined mini skillets before filling — don't skip this: Direction Step 3 specifies transferring the lined skillets to the refrigerator to chill after pressing and trimming. Cold dough going into the oven retains its shape better during the initial bake phase — the butter in the crust stays solid longer, creating more steam and better flakiness before the dough sets. Room-temperature dough shrinks during baking, pulling away from the edges and losing the crimped border.
Don't stir the caramel — swirl the pan instead: Direction Step 7 specifies swirling the skillet occasionally rather than stirring. Stirring introduces a spoon into the hot sugar mixture, which can introduce seed crystals that cause the entire batch to crystallize and become grainy. Swirling moves the mixture from the edges (where it's hotter and colors faster) toward the center without making direct contact that could cause crystal seeding.
Pour the caramel warm — not after it cools: Direction Step 8 pours the warm caramel over the arranged pecan halves immediately after making it. Caramel thickens dramatically as it cools — a warm caramel flows between and around the pecan halves, filling all the gaps and creating an even layer. A cooled caramel is too thick to flow and will pile on top rather than distributing. Make the caramel immediately before topping and pour within 2–3 minutes of removing from heat.