Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Pie
Gooey, sweet, nutty, and with notes of smoky caramel, this browned butter bourbon pecan pie is a Southern classic spruced up with both browned butter and American bourbon. Famously made around the holidays, this pie is great anytime of the year as a spruced-up version of an American classic.
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie crust homemade or store-bought
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, (4 tablespoons) cut into 4-5 even pieces
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup light corn syrup
- ⅔ cup dark corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons bourbon/whiskey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups pecan halves, (1 10oz bag)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C.
- After rolling out your pie dough, transfer it to a 9” pie plate/dish and trim the excess dough, tuck it underneath itself around the edge and crimp/flute the dough how you’d like it to look. Using a fork, poke some holes in the bottom, place a sheet of parchment paper over the dough and fill with pie weights. Par bake the crust for about 12-15 minutes and set aside to cool some.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F/180°C.
- In a small skillet, add 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter and turn the heat to medium. Swirl the pan occasionally as the butter melts. Once the butter has melted completely, continue swirling the pan more often, keeping an eye on the color as well as the smell. The butter should froth up a decent amount, and as that subsides you should be able to smell a nuttiness. At this point you should see lots of small brown flecks, that’s the milk solids cooking. Once you get to this point, remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the browned butter to a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool. Start to finish this should take 5-7 minutes.
- While the butter cools, chop the pecans. Reserve 1 cup of pecan halves if you’d like to decorate the top of the pie and coarsely chop the rest. If you’re not concerned with aesthetics, feel free to chop all the pecans.
- In a large mixing bowl, add ¾ cup dark brown sugar, ⅓ cup light and ⅔ cup dark corn syrups, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons bourbon, cooled browned butter, and ½ teaspoon table salt. Whisk together until all the sugar has dissolved and there’s no visible lumps. Now add the 3 eggs, one at a time, whisking together between each addition.
- Now fill the pie crust with the chopped pecans and spread evenly across the bottom. Pour all the pie mixture over top of the pecans until the crust has filled. The pecans should float to the top. Now add the reserved pecan halves on top.
- Place the pie plate/dish onto a baking sheet and place into the oven. Cook for about 50-55 minutes. It should puff up slightly and remain slightly jiggly in the middle when done. Check around the 30-minute mark, if the crust looks like it’s browning more than you’d like, add a pie shield or tent the outer ring with foil.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow the pie to fully set before cutting, at least 4 hours.
Equipment Used
Notes
1) Browned Butter – While not difficult to do on the stovetop, it can go from just right to burnt in the blink of an eye. Cutting the butter into even pieces so that it will all melt at the same rate is important and keeping it moving and pulling off the stove as soon as it smells nutty and begins to have browned flecks is paramount. If you have issues doing this on the stove, you can also try it in the microwave.
Place the evenly sliced butter into a microwave safe container with a lid. Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes. Check the color after 3 minutes and continue cooking in 30 second intervals until nicely browned.
2) Chocolate – For a simple twist to this pie, you can also make it chocolate easily. Simply melt 2-3 ounces of chocolate and allow it to cool, adding it to the rest of the ingredients when you whisk them together. No other changes needed.
3) Bought Pie Crust – If you use a store-bought pie crust, follow the included directions for par baking that version. Also be sure to buy a deep-dish pie crust as a standard size will not hold all the filling.
4) Baking Sheet – I mentioned placing on a baking sheet when placing in the oven. For most pies, doing it this way makes it easier to remove the pie from the oven without breaking the pie shell. This method also gives you a backup in case any filling bubbles over the side of the pie dish.
Nutrition
Calories: 634kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 7gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 331mgPotassium: 221mgFiber: 3gSugar: 54gCalcium: 64mgIron: 2mg
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