WHISKEY PECAN PIE

When all else fails, spike your pie! This whiskey pecan pie turned me onto pecan pie in the first place. I needed to make dessert for my husband’s family holiday party and pecan pie is a favorite over there. I instinctively grabbed the bottle and poured in a nice hearty dose of whiskey. It’s possible I overdid it that first time, but it’s always a hit after I perfected it. The best part is that if you keep this pie crust recipe in your rotation, you will never have to start out making the pie crust (just grab one from the freezer!). If that’s the case, it will take no more than 10 minutes to fill and the rest is baking and resting time.

Whiskey Pecan Pie
Recipe: Candice Hunsinger
Makes: 1- 9″ Pie Plate, Serves 10-12

Pie Crust
(makes 3 – use one, freeze the rest for later!)

Ingredients
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 ½ cups (12 ounces) COLD, unsalted Butter, cubed
1 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
1 large Egg
4-5 TBS ice Cold Water

Pecan Pie Filling

  

Ingredients
1 ¼ cups Brown Sugar
¾ cups Corn Syrup (non-high fructose) or Agave Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ c. Whiskey or Bourbon, whatever you have on hand
¼ tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
3 large Eggs
2 cups Pecans, un-toasted

PROCESS
Side Note: Pie crust shaping is a true art form for some. If I’m trying to impress, I’ll spend a little extra time making cut outs for the crust, or perfectly fluting the edges. Pie is meant to be rustic, so don’t stress about spending 13 hours on pie crust art if you don’t have the time.

Crust

1. Combine flour, butter, salt and egg. Whisk with a fork until combined. Switch to your hands or a wooden spoon and break up the butter until a scraggy flake of butter in varying sizes appears throughout.
2. Split dough into thirds. Shape each dough section into a round disk. If only using 1 pie crust, now is the time to wrap the extra dough disks in plastic wrap and freeze (or be extra sneaky like me and shape the crusts into pie plates so they are ready to fill from frozen!). Save it for when the pie craving strikes!
3. With a rolling pin, roll dough in to a round, rotating 90 degrees after each roll. Place your pie plate on top of disk to measure the size. You will need a 3” diameter larger than your pie plate.
4. Place dough into pie plate and lightly trim edges. Shape the crust with your fingers or crimp onto pie plate lip with a fork. Have fun with this and don’t make it too fussy.
5. Place pie crust in refrigerator to cool until firm before filling.

Filling

1. Stir all ingredients, except pecans, together until smooth.
2. Roughly chop half of the nuts and mix with whole nuts. Set aside.

Assemble

1. Scatter Pecans into pie crust. Pour filling over pecans – do not mix once you pour the filling in.
2. Set pie plate on a cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 min or until set (no longer jiggly in the middle).
4. Let cool on counter for 2 hours before serving.