Joanna Gaines Gives Pecan Pie A Spicy Twist With Ancho Chile

Ah, pecan pie — whether refrigerated or left on a windowsill, is the quintessential dessert for fall, Thanksgiving, and of course, National Pecan Pie Day (July 12, for those asking). This iconic dish exploded in popularity during the 1940s and has been making mouths water ever since thanks to its moreish combination of pecans, butter, eggs, sugar, and other simple ingredients, all baked to perfection inside a flaky pastry shell. However, if you think these ingredients are the be-all and end-all when it comes to making this delicious treat, think again.

Home and lifestyle entrepreneur Joanna Gaines breaks from tradition when it comes to her own version of the dessert, firing things up with a touch of ancho chile. Gaines doesn't just chop up some peppers and toss them in, though — she reaches for ancho powder instead. The compelling spicy addition can be found in a recipe from her 2018 cookbook, "Magnolia Table," which sold nearly 170,000 copies the week it debuted and more than 2 million by the beginning of 2019. That's a lot of sweetly spiced pie!

Ancho chiles are dried, almost mature poblano chiles characterized by their sweet, chocolatey flavor (some people say they even have a raisin-like quality to them) and pleasant heat, which is less than half as hot as a jalapeño (a very mild 1000 to 2000 on the Scoville scale). Widely used in Mexican cooking, they're sold both whole and in powdered form, as in Joanna Gaines' pecan pie.

Now, before you start crying "sacrilege," consider that chiles (and other spicy ingredients, for that matter) are already used in a number of sweet treats — think spicy almond brownies, Mexican hot chocolate, and bars from brands like Lindt spiked with the stuff; it's clearly a combo that works. The opposite is also true: If you're familiar with the Mexican sauce mole, you'll know that many versions call for the addition of chocolate or cacao nibs.

By sprinkling ancho chile powder into her pecan pie mixture, Gaines balances the dish's signature caramelly sweetness while accentuating the toasted nuttiness of the pecans, bringing a welcome complexity and overall elevation of flavor. The author and culinary entrepreneur describes it best in her cookbook when she writes (via MyRecipes), "I'm not saying traditional pecan pie needs improving, but adding a bit of ground ancho chile creates a sweet-and-heat pairing that sends this pie into another stratosphere."

You'll need just 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder to recreate Joanna Gaines' pecan pie, though you could experiment with the quantity and other varieties of chile peppers depending on your tolerance for spice. For example, Ree Drummond makes a spicy pecan pie using a whole tablespoon of ancho chile powder and ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper in the filling, along with an additional teaspoon and ¼ teaspoon respectively to coat the pecans. Of course, you'll want to avoid chile blends that incorporate savory flavors (think garlic and cumin) and, above all, exercise caution when it comes to how much you add.

Gaines may have the status of a food celebrity these days, with a bakery, coffee shop, restaurant, and cooking show, but she still recognizes the power of keeping things simple and her pecan pie is no exception — she even uses store-bought pie crust. In fact, the whole process involves just two steps, with the bulk of the ingredients (including the chile powder, pecans, both light brown sugar and light corn syrup, and melted salted butter) mixed together in a bowl before being poured into the prepared crust and baked. While hers is ready to devour in just under an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (well, after it's done cooling and you've smothered it in whipped cream and cinnamon, that is) her clever inclusion is easy enough to try in your own favorite pecan pie recipe.