When we heard that this Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie used maple syrup rather than sticky corn syrup, we were intrigued. When we read that it called for bourbon, we were like: “we need this in our life right now.” And, this pie did not disappoint. We served it at our Friendsgiving celebration this year and it was met — well, devoured — with rave reviews. The maple syrup adds a depth of flavor we have not found with corn-syrup based recipes. And, the bourbon, although present in each bite, is mild and adds the perfect twist on a holiday favorite. We can hardly wait to make this pie again.
p.s. If you’re looking for ways to use the bourbon “leftover” in this recipe, we love it in Knockout Bourbon Punch.
Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crust (makes 2):
Note: This is the same recipe that we use for Mama’s Apple Pie. The Crisco/butter combo makes this dough very easy to work with (perfect for beginners!). If you’d prefer an all-butter crust, we like Smitten Kitchen’s recipe, too.
1 1/2 sticks very cold butter
3 Cups flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 T. sugar
1/3 Cup very cold crisco shortening
8ish Tablespoons ice water
Filling
1 Cup maple syrup (we used Grade B from Trader Joe’s)
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 Cup bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 Cups halved pecans
Make the crust:
Note: It’s very important that your ingredients are super cold.
- Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in food processor. Dice up the cold butter and add it and the cold crisco to the processor and pulse about 10 times. Through the feeding tube pour ice water (but not the ice) and mix until it forms a ball of dough.
- Dump it on your floured board and fashion into a ball.
- Cover with saran wrap and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to use, cut the ball in half. You can freeze the other one for another time.
- Roll the half on a board with a lot of flour on it and your rolling pin to your desired size before placing it in pie pan.
Prepare the Maple Bourbon filling:
- Start by whisking the brown sugar and maple syrup together in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the butter, bourbon, salt and vanilla. Allow the mixture to cool (we allowed to cool overnight because we were tight on time and had a pumpkin pie to make too!)
- Once the mixture has cooled down, lightly beat in the eggs. Mix until the mixture is fully blended and starts to thicken. (If the mixture is too warm, the eggs will begin to cook and the yolks will start to curdle.)
- Place the pie shell on a baking sheet and arrange the toasted pecans in the bottom of the pie shell. Slowly pour the filling over the top.
Bake the pie:
- Bake the pie at 350° for 40-45 minutes, until the filling is set (it should only slightly jiggle in the middle); rotating the pan halfway through. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely before serving.
Recipe modified from this one.