A boozy twist on a Southern classic.
Pecan pie has been part of my Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. My grandma made the BEST pecan pie. She was from Louisiana and brought all of the Southern goodies into my life. Her pecan pie was something out of a fairy tale, and I wish she was here to taste my twist on this Southern classic.
I know my Grandma wouldn't be mad about the addition of bourbon to this pecan pie recipe. It takes it up a notch, and is the slightest addition of flavor. We don't add enough for the bourbon to overpower the pie, just enough to recognize there is something special in the filling.
The browned butter enhances the nuttiness of the pie. Browning butter is a great adjustment to so many recipes. It adds layers of flavor, and with pecan pie - really elevates the already beautiful pecan flavor without adding any kind of nut extract. Trust me, while you could skip this step, you wont want to.
I am also introducing a new pie crust with this recipe. This crust is an all butter crust that includes an egg and white distilled vinegar. It is an enriched pie dough that has a bit more structure due to the addition of the egg. I wanted something that was going to be able to stand up to the wet pecan pie filling, but is just as flakey and buttery as the pie dough I use for my Apple and Peach pie.
🏷 Keywords: #pie #thanksgiving #pecan
🏷 Time: 4 hours (1 hour active)
🏷 Serves 12
Ingredients
Pie Crust
3c AP Flour
1tsp Salt
1TBSP Sugar
1.5c Butter, cubed
1 egg
1TBSP Distilled White Vinegar
2TBSP Cold Water
Pecan Filling
1/2c Light Brown Sugar
3/4c White Sugar
1/2tsp Salt
1c Corn Syrup
1/3c Browned Butter
1tsp Vanilla
1/4c Bourbon
3 Large Eggs Beaten
1.25c Chopped Pecans, plus more for decoration
Directions
Pie Crust
Cut butter into 1/4 inch cubes and place in refrigerator
Add egg to a small bowl and lightly beat it
Add flour, salt, and sugar to a food processor and pulse 2 to 3 times to combine all ingredients
Add butter to food processor and pulse until mixture looks like sand. There shouldn't be an large chunks of butter or flour
Add lightly beaten egg, vinegar, and cold water. Process until a dough ball begins to form and pulls away from the side of the processor
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours
Pie Filling
Add butter to a skillet and cook over medium-low heat until the milk solids turn brown, stirring constantly. This can take anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside, and let cool completely
In a large bowl, mix together white sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, browned butter, bourbon, vanilla, and eggs. Set aside
The Assembly
Preheat oven to 350°F
Pull pie dough out of refrigerator and cut in half
Roll out the first half to 1/6in thickness, and large enough to hang over your pie dish. Wrap the second half and put it back in the fridge for your next pie
Press the pie dough into the pie dish - You will want to make sure the pie dough fully gets into the corners of the pie dish. Leave the overhang, we will cut it after we fill it
Mix the chopped pecans with the pie filling, and pour into the unbaked pie dish
Garnish the top with whole pecans (optional)
Trim the excess pie dough using a knife. At this point you can either crimp the edges or leave as is
Cover pie with foil and bake for 30 minutes
Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes
The pie filling should have a slight jiggle to it at this point, if it jiggling a lot, bake for another 10 minutes until set
Remove from the oven
Allow to completely cool before slicing into it to serve
Enjoy!
