Red Wine & Chocolate Pecan Galette

The name Red Wine & Chocolate Pecan Galette sounds fancy. But really, it’s anything but. Think of a galette as an easier, scrappier, sturdier pie. A flat pie. But a flat pie that will impress all your friends AND give you the option to whip out the rolling pin.

With this red wine galette recipe, you get all the best parts of pie, the flakey crust, the gooey inside, and the rich buttery sweetness, but with substantially less effort in the baking and chilling department.

This red wine galette is my riff on the bourbon chocolate chip pecan pie. And the best part is that the filling is fully plant-based and the crust can easily be made vegan. This dessert accommodates all diets, takes minimal prep time and was the perfect fit to round out my 2021 Thanksgiving menu!

Read on for a little bit more about the technique, ingredients and process for this red wine galette. It’s 100% from scratch, but so so delicious in the end.

Why you should make your own galette crust

Making a flakey dough is one of the simple pleasures in life. And while we can easily buy a rough puff pastry from the store, I always, always advocate for making one at home. The process moves quickly, so it’s not a time suck, and its only crime is that it tends to be a bit messy!

But there is nothing better than when someone takes a bite into your rough puff pastry, looks up and says “You made this?” And you can say, “Hell yeah, you can thank me and butter for that amazing crust!”

Truly, there is no judgment here if you prefer to go the homemade or store-bought route, but I highly recommend homemade. You can control the consistency, shape, and flavor so much more, and make it your own!

Plus I pride myself on having the lowest-effort, highest-reward rough puff pastry recipe out there, so I’m excited to finally share it with you all. 🙂

Ingredients you will need for the galette crust

The beauty of any crust is that it is so simple. I omit milk for water in mine because I’ve found it helps with the flakiness while minimizing ingredients and keeping the recipe mostly plant-based. Here are the ingredients I use for this rough puff pastry:

• 150 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter or vegan butter, frozen
• 3 tablespoons ice water
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup, to serve as the egg wash

What you will need for the chocolate chip pecan galette filling

As labor-intensive as the crust seems, the filling for this red wine galette is anything but. Here is what’s inside the filling:

• 90 grams dark chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
• 65 grams pecan halves (1/2 cup), plus 1/3 cup more for topping
• 3 tablespoons butter, or vegan butter of choice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon each of allspice, clove and salt
• 3 tablespoons red wine (one that is cheap enough to bake with, but good enough to drink)

How to make and prepare your dough

I keep the instructions for this chocolate chip pecan galette short because I don’t want it to seem intimidating. It’s all about cold hands and quick work, see below for the step-by-step!

• In a medium-sized bowl, toss together the flour and salt.
• Use a box grater to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture.
• When all the butter is grated into the flour mixture, toss with your hands until each piece of butter is coated with flour. Then crumble the butter with your hands until no piece is bigger than a lentil.
• Once the butter is crumbled, you’ll have a dry, gravel-like consistency. Drizzle the ice water evenly over the mixture. Switch to your hands to work the mixture into a rough dough.
• The dough will come together quickly with a few kneads and presses.
• Take the ball of dough you have formed and place it in the center of a sheet of plastic wrap. Push the dough down until it is 1 inch thick. Shape it into a square and wrap it tightly with the cling wrap.
• Once it is wrapped, take a rolling pin and roll over the dough until it is firmly packed throughout the plastic wrap.
• Chill the dough for 20-30 minutes, or longer.

How to make the red wine galette filling

The filling itself is just a one-step process. Add it to a food processor and pulse until a thick, creamy (but still chunky!) mixture forms. Think of it as chunky peanut butter, and see the picture below for reference!

How to fill this holiday galette dough

And the final steps, the rolling and filling. This is my favorite part because it’s the most satisfying. And unlike a pie, a galette doesn’t have to be perfect! Feel free to make it your own when you do the following:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Place a large piece of parchment paper on the counter and dust it with flour. Place the chilled dough in the center of the parchment paper and roll it out into a rough circle about 14-16 inches in diameter.
• If butter starts to break through the dough, lightly coat it with a bit of flour to help seal it, and continue rolling.
• As if you are topping a pizza, add the filling to the center of the dough and spread it around. Leave about 2-3 inches of space near the edges of the galette dough.
• Fold the corners of the dough on top of the filling, making a circular crust to keep the filling in.
• Keeping the galette on the parchment paper, transfer it to a baking sheet.
• Lightly brush the crust with a thin layer of maple syrup, and sprinkle with salt. Optional, add a circular pecan topping for decoration.
• Bake at 375°F for 20-23 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
• Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then slice and serve!

Looking for other simple holiday desserts?

‘Tis the season. Here are a few of my favorites:

And that’s everything for this Red Wine & Chocolate Pecan Galette!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories, and I’m so excited to see what you all make for the holidays.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you!