Salted Caramel Pecan Pie

I love pie. It makes it acceptable to eat things that-on their own-people would maybe judge you a bit for eating--you just throw it in a pie crust, call it pie, and everyone's cool with it! Like with this pie...it's pretty much just caramel (and a ton of tasty pecans) in a pie crust. If I had told people "I made salted caramel and am eating a huge chunk of it!" they'd be like "KAYLE NEEDS AN INTERVENTION!" but in pie form...everyone's cool. Everyone wants a piece. The magic of pie.

Um...so yeah. There's really nothing else to say to describe this pie--it's delicious salted caramel and pecans in a pie crust. With beautiful flecks of sea salt on top. It's pretty epic. Oooh! AND I actually think the pie got even more delicious the more days it had been in my refrigerator-it got exponentially harder to cut (I think the caramel was soaking into the crust?) but also the caramel flavor got more and more developed and it's gooey and wonderful and you all need some. Kay?

Salted Caramel Pecan Pie

From Bake or Break

Makes one 9 inch pie.

Note-to reduce the chances of your pie crust shrinking, refrigerate it for 30 minutes-1 hour after rolling it out into the pie pan.

Ingredients:

• 9 inch, unbaked, pie crust (I used a half batch of this recipe)
• 2-3 cups pecans
• 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (or 4 tbsp.) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 3 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt + extra for sprinkling

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
• Grease a 9 inch pie dish with butter and flour. Fit crust into the pie plate and trim excess dough from the edges. To create a fluted edge: press the knuckle of one finger into the rim of the crust while holding two fingers about a half inch apart on either side of your knuckle, continue all around the crust. Or get creative-up to you!
• Line the crust with parchment paper so that the paper has some overhang on all sides. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. 
• Bake approx. 25 minutes, until the edges of the crust are slightly browned. Remove the weights and parchment paper, cool completely.
• Place nuts in the baked pie crust (for a prettier appearance, you may want to reserve approx. 1/4 cup to put on top of the pie after adding the caramel.)
• In a medium-large, heavy, saucepan (the taller it is, the lower the chances of your burning yourself so I'd err on the side of larger) cook sugar and water over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves (don't freak out if first it get's solid and clumpy! Just try to break up all the clumps and it will melt and dissolve, I promise!)--stir constantly, breaking up any sugar clumps, as it melts down into an amber colored liquid.
• Remove from heat and carefully mix in heavy cream (it will bubble) until combined.
• Stir in butter, corn syrup, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth.
• Pour caramel over the pecans as evenly as possible. If desired, top with more pecans. 
• Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with course sea salt and refrigerate until set (this should take an hour or two). 
• Serve chilled! Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

I would like another piece now, please.