Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

My fiance and I once took a roadtrip through Arizona. In addition to hitting up all 3 of Arizona’s national parks, we spent a lot of time exploring the food scenes in Phoenix and Tuscon. My foodie self was in heaven. We had some of the best sushi, Cuban sandwiches, and pizza I’ve ever had.

Yes you heard that right, that I’ve ever had. Arizona blew me away. And amongst all that great food, we had some of the best pie we’ve ever had. So good, that we went back there twice during the 1 1/2 days we were in Phoenix. It was a diner called Welcome Diner. We got chocolate chess pie and chocolate bourbon pecan pie. The chocolate bourbon pecan pie was jaw-droppingly good. I don’t know if I will ever be able to get it as good as theirs, but this recipe is a good start.

Tips for Perfect Pie Crust

Let me just say this now: you will fail the first time you make crust. You actually might fail the first 10 times you make crust. Or get it perfect the first or second time but the third and fourth are a disaster. It’s OK. Crust (and any type of dough) take a lot of practice and patience to master.

The number 1 rule is to make sure everything is cold. I go so far as to toss my bowl in the freezer in between preparing other steps. While I’m measuring out the butter or preparing the ice water, the bowl of dry ingredients is in the freezer. Keeping your ingredients cold will keep the butter from melting. Butter contains moisture, and as it evaporates it releases steam while it bakes, creating little pockets. If you have lots of little pockets, you have a flakey crust.

The next thing you need to keep in mind is how to properly cut your butter into the flour. I use a pastry cutter for this, but you can just a fork or a food processor. I don’t recommend using your hands unless you have naturally cold hands. You want the butter to be cold so it stays in nice little chunks. How large your butter chunks are will affect the crust texture. As a default, cut your butter until the largest chunks are the size of small peas. Right when it starts to get to this point I like to put my pastry cutter aside and use my fingers to quickly sift through for some larger pieces that aren’t quite small enough yet and flatten them out with my fingers.

The next tricky part is adding in the water. The best way to tackle this is to add in water one tablespoon at a time. Mix the dough in a food processor or with a fork. When the dough starts to come together, grab a small palmful and gently squeeze. If it stays in a ball, it’s ready. If it crumbles, it needs some more water. It’s ok if some pieces of your dough seem a little crumbly while other spots seem perfectly hydrated. As the dough rests, the moisture will be absorbed throughout the dough.

Other than getting the crust right, this pie is pretty easy! Just stir everything together and pour it into the crust. I do recommend toasting the pecans though. It brings out their nuttiness. Baking them in the filling won’t do that. I’m not exactly sure why, but I’ve just noticed that toasting it dry brings out the nutty flavor.

Bake until the center is puffed and slightly jiggly! Don’t bake for too much longer than that. The pie will continue to set as it cools.

• Apple pie
• Cherry berry pie
• Blueberry pie