I didn't love the Butter Pastry crust recipe for this pie; the texture was a bit sandy and it wasn't terribly easy to work with. if you have a favorite pie crust recipe, feel free to use it. Or you can use a premade crust from the store. Some specialty markets sell frozen or refrigerated crusts that bake up nice and flaky (Trader Joe's markets have a very nice one in the refrigerator case), and if you only make pies for special occasions and hate to fuss around with the pastry, it's a good alternative.

You can make this pie with pecans for the classic Thanksgiving dessert, or you could use salted mixed nuts, for an interesting variation on the old classic.

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: about 12 servings

Butter Pastry (recipe below, or substitute your favorite single-crust recipe, or use a premade crust from the market, see note above)

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
Dash salt
1 1/4 cups pecan halves, or mixed salted nuts
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 Tbsp vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface, roll chilled Butter Pastry into a circle about 13 inches in diameter. Line a 9-inch pie plate or tart pan with the pastry. Trim the pastry even with the edge of the pan and flute the edges.

For the filling: In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Whisk in corn syrup, sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the nuts and 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Pour filling into the pan. Place the pan on a foil-lined baking sheet, and transfer to the oven. Bake pie for 25 minutes. If edges of pastry are getting too brown, cover with foil. Bake 30 to 40 minutes more, or until center quivers slightly when shaken. Cool on a wire rack, and refrigerate within 2 hours. Pie can be made one day ahead.

When ready to serve, melt shortening and remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a small saucepan, stirring until smooth. Cut pie into wedges and transfer to dessert plates. Transfer melted chocolate to a small plastic bag; cut off the tip of one of the bag's corners and drizzle the chocolate over the pie wedges. If desired, serve with sweetened whipped cream. (Melted chocolate can also be drizzled over the pie before it is sliced into wedges. Once it hardens, however, it becomes somewhat difficult to slice through, so I recommend drizzling the pie shortly before serving.)

Butter Pastry
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp cold water

I a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until pieces are pea-sized.

In a small bowl, beat together egg and cold water. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and knead gently with your fingers just until dough comes together (if necessary, add another 1 Tbsp of cold water). Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour. Proceed with recipe, above.