Chocolate Caramel Pie

  This pie is like a Snickers candy bar! YUM! No one in my family could finish a whole piece.  It is rich, chocolatey and ooey gooey...a definate do again recipe! I hope you enjoy it!  My friend, Dina, gave me a wonderful cookbook, King Arthur's Flour cookbook and I adapted it from a recipe in there.

~Recipe~
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) soft unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup (1 1/4 ounces) glazing or confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or dutch-process cocoa
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped pecans, toasted

Caramel Filling
2 cups (12 ounces) caramel
1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
1 cup (6 ounes) white chocolate

 Glaze
1 cup (6 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) corn syrup
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped pecans, toasted

Crust: In a medium-sized bowl beat the butter until fluffy. Add the salt, vanilla, sugar and cocoa, and blend until smooth. Add the flour and stir to blend. Finally, add the nuts; the mixture will be dry.

Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan. Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake it in a preheated 400°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until it's set. (The dark color makes it hard to tell, but it's done when you can just begin to smell the chocolate.) Remove the crust from the oven and set it aside to cool.

Filling: In a medium-sized saucepan set over low heat (or in the microwave), stir together the caramel, heavy cream and white chocolate till they're melted and smooth. Pour the filling into the cooled crust, and set it aside to firm while making the glaze.

Glaze: Melt the chocolate with the cream and corn syrup over low heat (or in a microwave), stirring till smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the filling, and sprinkle with the toasted pecans. *I added hte pecans after I chilled it, some of us don't like nuts and it was easy to remove** Refrigerate the pie for 1 hour or more before serving. It's best served chilled but not cold; remove the pie from the refrigerator about 15 to 20 minutes before serving Enjoy!