What do you think about spreading some chopped dark chocolate on the pie crust before pouring on the filling? Also, would this be just as good if...

Thanks for the update, should be helpful to others who read the Hotline about this particular recipe.

I'm not surprised it worked out well. Chocolate and nuts are a great combination; I did not have any of the apprehension voiced above that this would be way too sweet.

It sounds like you struck a good balance in your quantities in modifying this recipe.

Hey, everyone. Just to circle back on this . . . .

I ended up putting about 1.5 ounces of shaved dark chocolate on the bottom before pouring over the hot caramel pecans.

The family said the amount and flavor of chocolate were perfect.

This recipe is a keeper.

I used the vodka "Genius" pie crust recipe, blind baking the night before. The caramel came together easily. (I made it early on Thanksgiving morning. I always bake one yeasted breakfast treat or another before we head out for our hike, so it made a lot of sense to finish making the pie then.)

I used slightly less than 3/4 pound of pecans, which worked just fine.

Thanks so much, all of you. ;o)

Another opinion...as the recipe headnote suggests, this pie is a turn from traditional heavily sweetened pecan pie to one that highlights the nutty flavor...whether you stay with original pecans or choose one of the variations.
Adding chocolate, though rich & complementary to the nutty taste, seems like dialling it up to 11 (as Spinal Tap tells us).
If you still want to add the chocolate note, maybe make the recipe as written and serve as garnish a rich dark chocolate ice cream or shavings of artisanal chocolate.

I wouldn't be concerned about the sweetness. After all, a few pieces of chocolate really shouldn't tip the sweetness balance too much. Notably, dark chocolate tends *not* to be sweet compared with milk chocolate. If the chocolate pieces don't completely melt and blend with the pecan filling, they might provide a nice crunch and separate taste.

As to your second inquiry, I can't remember ever having a pie/tart that was as good the following day as the day it was baked.

That sounds way too sweet to me. But I'm sure my husband, mom, sisters, co-workers, etc would disagree with me.