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Bourbon pecan pie. The filling is sweet, gooey and uses no corn syrup. This flakey pie crust can be made by hand with no kneading or heavy mixing.

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Ingredients

Pie crust

FROZEN butter – The ol’ frozen grated butter trick! For those who don’t know; cold butter is essential for a rich, flakey crust. Traditional pie crust recipes call for a mixer and cold, cubed butter. I find that the easiest way to put together pie crust by hand is to freeze and then grate the butter straight into the mixing bowl. The butter pieces come out smaller and therefore easier to work with! Weigh, cover and place block of butter in freezer at least an hour beforehand.
bourbon (can be substituted for vodka or water) -Another pie hack for extra flakiness. Not only is this a great way to add flavour to your crust but the alcohol reacts differently to water when reacting with the flour. The alcohol cooks off when baking, leaving behind a buttery, flakey crust. This can be subbed for vodka or similar spirits- vodka doesn’t retain it’s flavour in the crust. Measure out bourbon and place in fridge to chill for 30 mins
chilled water – the temp helps keep the butter solid while mixing together, place water in fridge along with bourbon
plain flour
white sugar
salt

Pie filling

maple syrup – most traditional pecan pie recipes call for corn syrup. I’m not a huge fan of corn syrup, I am however a huge fan of maple syrup (which you will come to learn with a few of my baking recipes). Therefore, I have subbed in maple syrup for this recipe, which adds so much more character to this filling than corn syrup ever could pfft
melted butter – Just place butter in a microwave for 15 seconds until completely melted
bourbon – The bourbon adds a subtle but deep flavour to the pie, it pairs so well with the sweet filling. I have found that a shot is the perfect amount for this type of pie but feel free to adjust the amount to your taste
loosely chopped pecans – cut pecans to desired size, I usually lay them out on a cutting board and unevenly chop them. Just as long as they’re all at least halved I’m happy – it makes for a more varied texture
optional: pecan halves for tart decoration –
I use a handful approx, I like to arrange them around the edge as pictured.
eggs
brown sugar
salt and cinnamon

EQUIPMENT

Mixing bowl
Rolling Pin
Cling wrap
Cheese Grater
Pie Dish
Food scales

Pie crust instructions

Add flour, sugar, salt to a large mixing bowl and grate butter straight into bowl, work quickly as you don’t want butter to become room temp. Stir mixture through a couple times to distribute butter through flour
Sprinkle water and bourbon onto mixture

Mix gently a couple more times- just enough so there is an even ratio of butter/flour. Do not form a dough. The mixture should look like a lumpy but evenly distributed floury mess! It may look crumbly and crazy but it’ll come together after it rests in the fridge.

You’ll know you have the right consistency: grab a handful and squish in your hands – if the mixture clumps together then slightly crumbles away – then you got it!
Lay down a sheet of cling film and place mixture on top
Fold cling film over mixture and use your hands to press down on mixture to form a disc. Wrap tightly and place in fridge for 30 mins
This crust can be made a day in advance and left to rest overnight.

Take the crust out of the fridge – it should have formed more of a dough now and it should be a lot easier to work with.

Unwrap and use either your hands or rolling pin to flatten to about 1/4 inch. Lift crust to a pie dish, trim off excess and design to your liking.
Cover pie dish with cling film and place in fridge to cool for 15 mins
Preheat oven to 190c (375f)

This recipe requires you to blind bake the crust before the filling is added. This ensures the crust is cooked through evenly. There are many methods to blind baking, I use aluminum foil and uncooked rice. You can also use beans, coins, or specialty pie weights to name a few.
This process weighs down the crust so the right shape can be formed whilst cooking.

Place a sheet of aluminum foil in pie crust and fill with uncooked rice, bake for 25 mins.
Remove pie weights and foil and return to oven, bake for an additional 5-10 mins. The crust should be cooked through and slightly browned.
You’re ready for your filling!

Pie Filling instructions

The EASIEST filling you can make – mix all the ingredients in a bowl, add to your pie crust & bake!

Add eggs and sugar to bowl and stir until mixture is even
Add remaining ingredients to egg mixture and stir to combine

Scoop pie filling into crust

*optional* decorate top of pie with spare pecan halves

Cover crust edges with foil to prevent over cooking
Bake at 180c (356f) for 35-40 minutes. The surface of the filling will be golden and hard but pie should be slightly jiggly when bumped, as the inside will be nice and gooey.
Serve with whipped cream