I am not sure how I missed National Bourbon Day, but honestly? Just about every day is bourbon day in our house. And I think we were in Kentucky for at least PART of bourbon day, so I think that counts for something.

Anyway, I’m a little late with this pie, but it’s so delicious that you shouldn’t need a special day as an excuse to make it. If you like pecan pie, you’ll love this.

 

I made my own crust, which is not as hard as it sounds. But you could totally use one of the frozen pie crusts available at the grocery store. No judgment.

Once the crust is made, you’ll need to make the filling. This mainly consists of heating and stirring some stuff, then pouring it over pecans and chocolate chips. That’s pretty easy, right?

 

The pie does have a noticeable bourbon aroma and flavor, but you don’t get a lot of actual alcohol per slice. I always use Maker’s Mark for baking, because it is a good bourbon that has a bit of sweetness to begin with. You can use what you’d like, but don’t use something you hate!

I will warn you that this is very rich… and that you might want to have some vanilla ice cream handy. Just in case.

Chocolate-bourbon pecan pie (Makes one 9-inch deep-dish pie, adapted from Southern Living)
1 pie crust (make your own or buy the frozen kind)
1 1/2 cups shelled pecan halves (or a combination of halves and chopped pecans)
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons cornmeal
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325F. Place the pie crust in a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan, making sure not to stretch it. Use your fingers to shape the edges of the pie crust. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips evenly into the pie crust.

Melt the butter and set aside.

Pour the corn syrup, sugars and bourbon into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium or medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a boil, stir constantly but keep cooking for three minutes, then remove the mixture from the heat.

Whisk the melted (and slightly cooled) butter, the eggs, cornmeal, vanilla and salt together in a medium bowl. Add about a quarter of the hot sugar-bourbon mixture to the egg mixture (while whisking, if possible) and whisk to combine well, then add that to the remaining hot mixture, whisking constantly.

Pour the hot filling mixture into the pie crust (over the pecans and chocolate chips).

Bake for about 55 minutes, or until the center doesn’t jiggle when you nudge the pie dish. Allow to cool for an hour before serving.