Fall may be the season for pumpkin spice everything, but don’t let that interfere with your enjoyment of other seasonal flavors. Not only do I make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I also make my delicious maple bourbon pecan pie! Actually, I make two of each kind of pie, and we always finish the pecan pie, and then I’m left to finish the pumpkin pie on my own because my southern family can’t turn down pecans and bourbon. So don’t sleep on this pecan pie recipe, because you and your family will also love it.
A few quick tips on making this recipe…
Make sure the flour has time to hydrate once you make the crust dough. Overnight is best, but you should let the dough rest in the fridge for at least two hours so the dry ingredients, fats, and water can combine to form bonds. Also, hold off on adding the eggs to the filling until the last minute. Sugar can start chemically cooking the egg yolks before the mixture reaches the oven. Combine eggs into the liquid filling just before pouring the filling into your pecan pie.
My final tip is that more bourbon should go into the dish than into the chef. Save room to enjoy some spiked egg nog with a piece of pie once you’ve finished your holiday cooking. Not that I don’t recommend drinking while cooking, just be sure to enjoy in moderation while working with knives and hot equipment.
Now that I finished my PSA, let’s dive into the recipe!
Ingredients:
Crust-
9.2 oz. 1-to-1 flour blend
6 tbsp. butter (3/4 stick)
1.3 oz. granulated sugar
2.5 oz. vegetable shortening
¼ tsp. non-iodized salt
5-6 tbsp. ice-cold water
Filling-
3 c. pecan halves
¾ c. light brown sugar
¼ tsp. non-iodized salt
1 c. light corn syrup
¼ c. maple syrup
¼ c. bourbon
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
Directions:
- In a food processor, combine 1-to-1 flour, butter, sugar, shortening, and salt. Pulse until mixture reaches a wet sand texture.
- Set processor to low speed and gradually add cold water until dough forms a ball.
- Wrap dough in plastic and chill at least two hours to allow flour to hydrate. Overnight would be ideal.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Remove dough from refrigerator. Divide evenly between two deep-dish 9-inch pie plates or standard 10-inch pie plates. Press dough into bottom and sides of the pie plates. Blind bake at 350° about 15 minutes.
- While crusts blind bake, prepare the filling. Measure out three cups of pecan halves and set aside until ready to fill the crusts. In a medium bowl, measure out brown sugar and salt. Using a clear liquid measuring cup, combine syrups, bourbon, melted butter, and vanilla. Always look through the side of a liquid measure while adding ingredients.
- Pour liquid filling ingredients over brown sugar and whisk to combine. Once crusts are finished blind-baking, add the eggs to the liquid filling, always cracking on a flat countertop or cutting board and not the edge of a counter or bowl. Whisk to combine eggs and liquid filling.
- Divide pecans between the two crusts. Pour filling evenly between the two crusts. Ensure all pecans are coated with filling so dry pecans don’t burn during baking.
- Bake at 350° approximately 50 minutes. Check pies around the 40-minute mark and rotate to compensate for hot spots. Pies are done when edges are brown and center wobbles just a little, but is no longer liquid.
- Remove pies from oven and allow to cool two hours on cooling racks. Once pies are cool, they can be stored in the refrigerator until they’re ready to be served, or can be enjoyed immediately with a glass of egg nog.
So that’s how I make my pecan pie for the fall and winter holiday season! You might also just throw this together into a casserole dish and make pecan pie squares if you don’t feel like making two separate pies.
Don’t forget, I’m live-streaming my Thanksgiving prep live on twitch, and possibly streaming cross-platform on YouTube simultaneously. Thanksgiving prep will start Sunday, November 24th with scratch-made egg nog and homemade cornbread.
I hope you all will join me for my holiday live streams, and that you enjoy making my pecan pie at home in your own kitchen. Please leave your thoughts in a comment below, or get in touch with me directly by filling out the form on the contact page.
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