Pecan Pie

with Bourbon and Chocolate

Date Completed: 11/13/2021

Before Thanksgiving, I wanted to try out a new pie crust recipe from a blog my mom recommended to me. I decided to make it part of this project by using a filling from the Pies, Tarts & Fruit Desserts chapter of the America's Test Kitchen 20th Anniversary TV Show Cookbook.

I chose Pecan Pie mostly because I wanted to add chocolate chips and bourbon to it. Why not?

The funny coincidence about this baking day was that right at about the point that I was taking these crust photos, I got a text from my mom of a pumpkin pie that she had just finished using the exact same crust recipe.

We had not coordinated at all, but ended up making the same crust on the same day. Great minds think alike, indeed!

Once I had blind-baked the crust, I turned my attention to the ATK portion of my baking.

I set up this assembly line because the filling process had quite a lot of steps and rotated between on and off heat. I needed to make sure I did them all in the right order!

After melting butter, I added in the brown sugar and salt. Then whisked in eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla. That went back on the heat until the mixture became shiny and 130 degrees. I brought it back off heat to add 3 tablespoons of bourbon and pecans that I had already toasted and chopped.

Once I poured that mixture into the warm crust, I arranged dark chocolate chips over top.

I put the pie in the oven and baked until the filling was just set. My crust was still pretty blonde by the time I had to take this out of the oven. I think this was my own fault for customizing the baking temperature.

The pie then needed to cool for about 4 hours, so we invited some friends to go out to dinner and then come back to our place for pie and ice cream after.

Taste Report:

I wondered if I added enough bourbon that I’d be able to taste it in the baked pie. I definitely did! This filling was so gooey and rich. The pecans and dark chocolate paired together so well. The ice cream we served on top did not hurt one bit!

This pie was so good that Garrett gave me trouble for giving a few pieces away!

Mess Report:

I didn’t snap a photo of the mess this time, but I think my assembly line actually helped keep everything mostly organized.

Next time maybe I’ll get some color on the crust! But add enough ice cream and that doesn’t matter one bit.