Not exactly sure why my pecan pie filling didn't set up. The eggs and
syrup weren't too old. Made the exact recipe on Karo (no HFCS)
bottle. Filling heated to 220F and was carmelizing, yet still didn't
set up. So, I ended up with a runny pecan pie, even after fully
cooled.

Fortunately, I put it in my best pie crust effort, yet. In fact, the
crust was so perfect and flakey, I tossed the filling and ate the
crust, jes to see if it was evenly baked and flakey, throughout. It
was! Naturally, there was enough residual pecan filling sticking to
the crust to make it quite tasty, but the crust was the thing.

I'm so happy to have finally hit on a good basic recipe/process.
Pshaw, I say, to those nay-sayers that claim an all butter crust is
tough. Nonsense. It was great. My crust is simplicity, itself. For
one crust, one cube of butter to one cup of flower, 1/4 cup of ice
water, using only as much as necessary to bring ALL the dough
together. Half a teaspoon of salt if you use salt-free butter. Rough
cut the butter into the flour, add water, chill dough fer 30-45 mins,
roll out. Not only does the crust come out very flakey, but tastes
great. Awesome buttery flavor.

I finally discovered the reason for the absolute minimum water
requirement. Sure, the pie crust will roll out great with too much
water. Unfortunately, it will also not dry out and bake properly. It
will remain soggy and tough. Barely enough water to get the last
flakes of flour/butter in the bowl to jes stick to the dough ball. No
more! Yes, I had a tad bit of splitting of crust, but by time it
began to split, it was more than big enough for a 9" pan. I even
trimmed off excess despite the crust being more than thick enough.

I noticed the dough appeared very much like Barb's crust for her apple
pie. Large chunks of butter visible in the dough. That cinches it.
No more cutting butter/fat into flour until it's small, even, and
granular. The bigger tha chunks, the flakier the crust. I've seen
the same advocated on cooking/baking shows many times, but never tried
it. I'm now a firm believer.

nb