🍩TASTY TREAT TUESDAY🤤 #1 - Bourbon Pecan Pie

Time for something tasty!

I'm a pretty avid baker, and usually have something tasty kicking around the kitchen, so I wanted to make a new series, sort of along the lines of my FOODIE FRIDAY series, but with some sweet treats.

American Thanksgiving is only a couple days away, so what better time could there be to unveil both this new series, and this damn tasty recipe?! I mean, other than pumpkin pie, is there a more quintessential "Thanksgiving" dessert than Pecan Pie?! And, what could make something so exemplary even more tasty?! Why, BOURBON, of course!!! Just a little splash really makes all the difference. I'm not one to reach for a glass of the stuff, by any means... in fact, I'm pretty sure this is about the only time that bottle gets pulled out of the cupboard. But, let me tell you, it is worth it to make that trip to the store, to have that bottle taking up space in your cupboard, just for this one moment, its moment of glory. (Of course, having said all that, you could totally leave it out, and still be left with a delicious dessert. It just won't be quite as glorious. 😉)

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The first thing you're going to need to do is make the dough. I have made this by hand in the past, but decided to make my life easier this year, and use the good ol' food processor. If you have one, trust me, it's worth it to use it. If not, you can still totally do this by hand, but it's going to take 5x longer.

Here it is, all blended, and crumbly, just the way you want it.

You'll then want to dump it out onto your work surface, and press it together. It should stick very easily. Shape it into a disc, wrap in plastic, and let it chill.

Once it's chilled, lightly flour your work surface, and roll out the dough, to about 1/8"-1/4" thickness, trying to keep it in a fairly round shape. (I love my marble rolling pin - the weight makes rolling go much quicker, and the marble is naturally very cool, which keeps those beautiful little nuggets of butter in tact, which is how you get flaky crust!)

Then, lift the dough into your pie plate. I find it easiest to sort of place the rolling pin on top, and gently roll the dough onto the pin, then lift it and unroll it onto the plate. Once it's in the pie plate, gently press the dough into the corners, and fold the edge under, so it's basically even with the pan, then pinch (aka "flute") the perimeter.

Once you've got the edge fluted and shaped to your liking, it's time to par-bake it. In order to make sure you don't get any crazy bubbles, you'll want to gently dock (poke with a fork) the dough, and weigh it down. Make sure you don't poke too vigorously, or the holes will remain, after baking, and your filling will leak through and make a giant mess. Trust me, not fun - been there done that. Then, line the crust with foil, and pour in some pie weights, dry beans, or rice, as I did. (Once you let them cool, you can use the beans/rice for weights again, but you won't want to try to cook/eat them. 😉) I like to make sure the foil is covering most of the crust, as in my oven the edges start to brown before the bake time is done.

While your crust is baking, it's time to start on that delectable sticky filling. Put the butter, sugar, salt, and syrup into a saucepan. A little trick for getting that syrup out of the measuring cup: spray it with a little cooking spray first! A quick swipe with a spatula, and all your syrup is in the pot, not stuck to the cup!

Bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and continue boiling for one minute.

Remove it from the heat, and pour in your vanilla, bourbon, and toasted pecans. (I toast mine on a cookie sheet in the oven, for about 5-ish minutes, until I can smell them, and they start to get some color, but DO NOT let them burn!) Set it aside for about 5 minutes, to cool slightly, then whisk in your eggs, and pour the mixture into your warm crust.

Pop that bad boy into the oven, and bake until the edges are set and the center is just slightly wobbly. You'll want to make sure the pie pan is on a baking sheet, just in case you get a little spillage while it's baking. If the crust starts to darken too much, cover the edges with some foil to protect it from becoming over-done. Allow it to cool for a couple hours, to allow the filling to set, and poof you've got yourself one decadent dessert!

I like to serve it with a little dollop of whipped cream, but if you don't have any on hand, it honestly is so good on its own, you won't even miss it! And how do I know it's that good? (Other than the fact that I ate far more than my fair share of it...) Because I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of a plated piece before it was gobbled up! HAHA! 😂

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The Recipe:

Dough

1 1/4 c all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
2 tsp sugar
pinch fine salt
1/2 c cold butter, diced
1 egg

In food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it looks like cornmeal, mixed with bean-sized bits of butter. Add the egg and pulse 1 or 2 times, but the dough won't form a ball. (If the dough is very dry/powdery, add a few drops of cold water.) Pour the crumbly mixture onto your work surface, and form it into a ball by hand. Press it into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.
Once it's thoroughly chilled, sprinkle flour on your work surface, and the dough, and roll it out with your rolling pin, until it's approx 1/8" thick, and 12" in diameter. Transfer to a 9" pie pan, lightly press into the corners, and fold the edge under itself, to create a thicker crust that is even with the top of the pan. If you have some extra overhang on one side, and a hole on the other, you can easily trim and patch it together. Press/flute the edge, until you're happy with the way it looks, and put the shell/pan into the freezer for about 30 min.
Preheat your oven to 400F. Pull the shell from the freezer, lightly dock the bottom with a fork, just barely poking it through, so as not to create any lasting holes in the crust. Line it with foil, and place in your weights/beans. Place on center rack in your oven, and bake approx 20 min, until dough is set. Then remove the foil and weights, and bake another 10-ish min, until the crust is lightly golden brown.
Reduce the oven to 350F.

Filling

1/4 c + 1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c golden corn syrup
1/2 tsp fine salt
2 1/4 chopped toasted pecans
1 tbsp bourbon (you can add a little extra, if you love it, or omit if you prefer)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 eggs

While the crust is baking, put the first 4 ingredients into a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, and continue boiling 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in pecans, bourbon, and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly, for about 5-10 min. Once it's had a chance to cool, whisk in the eggs. Then, pour the mixture into the still-warm crust, and place (on a baking sheet) onto a rack in the lower third of the oven. (If your timing is off, and your crust has already begun to cool, place it back into the oven for about 5 min before pouring in the filling.) Bake 40-45 min, until the edges of the filling are set, but the center is slightly wibbly-wobbly. (You know, give the pan a little shake, and check how much action it has. 😄) Allow it to cool on a rack for an hour or 2 to set, or you can even make it ahead and leave it overnight.

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So there you go: THE recipe for Pecan Pie! I promise you, if you decide to make this for Thanksgiving dessert, no one will be upset. (Unless of course, they've got a nut allergy, but they're more to be pitied, because I promise they are truly missing out.) And, of course, you can make this at any time of year! It just seems to go so well with the holidays. I'm thinking about turning this recipe into little tarts for Christmas parties!

Have you ever made a pecan pie? What's your favorite Thanksgiving/holiday dessert to make?

I hope you give this one a try!

Megan