Bourbon Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie
This is a reasonably classic, delightfully formidable combination, with a little twist. Instead of the usual karo corn syrup, I use Lyle’s golden syrup. Golden syrup is British and also called light treacle. It’s a thick invert sugar syrup made from sugar beet or sugar cane. I prefer it to corn syrup because it adds a slight caramel note along with sweetness.
You can find Lyle’s at what the ads call “better” supermarkets, and places like World Market, King Arthur Baking or my new browsing favorite, Yummy Bazaar. (No one pays me for any of these suggestions, it’s just facts for facts sake. Please note, I am willing to be paid.)
The recipe below can make one 9-inch pie, or 4 5-inch mini pies. This pie is good warm or cold, with ice cream or whipped cream. Awww, I don’t need to tell you that.
Bourbon Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie
Ingredients
To make my easy, flaky pie crust dough
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups (157 grams) soft wheat flour (such as Gold Medal Blue Label)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon (4 grams) kosher salt
1/2 cup (115 grams or 8 tablespoons) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup (60 ml) ice water
How to:
Pour the flour, sugar and salt into the food processor bowl (with cutting blade) and pulse a few times to blend the ingredients.
Add the butter to the bowl and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, Fluff the mixture to make sure the dough doesn’t get compacted into the crevices of the processor.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of water over the dough and pulse. Keep adding the ice water 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough comes together in small lumps. You don’t need to add the entire 1/4 cup of water, but the dough should hold together easily. It may be a tad moister and stickier than you’re used to. It shouldn’t be wet.
Shape the dough into a one 4-inch disk (if making a 9-inch pie) or four 2-inch inch wide disks (if making individual pies) and wrap them in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can make the dough up to 4 days in advance. You can also freeze for up to 3 months and let it defrost in the refrigerator before rolling out.
On a well-floured surface, roll dough starting from the middle, using downward pressure and rolling to within an inch of the edge. Do not roll to the edge or over it or you will get an uneven dough that’s also a funny shape. Turn the crust 1/8th turn and roll again. Keep rolling and turning until the dough is between 1/4 and 1/2-inch thick. (Occasionally check if flour is needed underneath.) If making individual pies, repeat for each pie.
Gently lift the dough into into the pie pan. Smooth the dough gently into the corners. Cut off any dough that hangs over by more than 1 inch. If making individual pies, repeat for each pie.
To create a pretty edge: fold the overhanging dough underneath the other dough. It should hang only slightly over the edge of the pie pan. Crimp the dough.
Rest the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour (more if you can!), to let the dough rest and prevent it from shrinking down the sides of the pan when it bakes.
For the filling
Ingredients
1 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup Lyle’s golden syrup (you can use corn syrup if you can’t find Lyle’s)
2 Tablespoons bourbon
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 - 2 cups (200 grams/8 ounces) pecans
1 cup (6 ounces/170 grams) dark chocolate chips (I use Guittard extra dark to balance out the sweet)
How to:
In a large saucepan, put the brown sugar, golden syrup, bourbon and butter. Over medium heat, stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for one minute. Some foamy stuff will appear; just stir it back in. Set aside to cool slightly, about 15-20 minutes.
While the sugar mixture is cooling to lukewarm, you could have a shot of bourbon.. You should also preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Beat the 3 eggs in a small bowl until light and none of the mucus-y parts are still showing. Beat in the vanilla and salt.
When the mixture is cool, stir in a few tablespoons of the egg mixture. This is a good way to find out if the mixture is cool enough. If scrambled eggs appear… Anyhoo, they won’t, so blend the rest of the egg mixture into the syrup until combined.
Spread the pecans in the bottom of the pie shell. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top, then pour the liquid syrup over the top. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet and put into the middle of the oven.
Bake about 40 minutes for mini pies or 50 minutes for a 9-incher. The pie will puff and the center will just ever-so-gently jiggle. If you find that the center remains too jiggly and your pie crust is beginning to turn dark….pop some aluminum foil over the top as a shield(lay it on, don’t crimp it to the pie) and lower the oven temp to 325 degrees F
Cool on a wire rack. These pie freezes well if you aren’t going to eat it right away.
