Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Tuesday, Sep 28th - Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie

Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie
When I was a kid, my sister's and I used to love store bought Butter Tarts.  Though we unanimously did not like the raisins.  We had varying approaches on how to deal with them.  I don't remember whose was whose but you could either eat the tart and spit out the raisins as you went or poke your fingers in and loot them out.  We couldn't fathom back then why you would want to adulterate just a luscious treat with dessicated grapes.  Blech.  I'm pretty turned around on Raisins now but back then, I didn't even like chunky jam. 

So it was a wondrous thing to discover Pecan Tarts.  No noodling around in the sugary filling and ruining the crispy, mirenguey topping to fish out the offending fruit.  There was just what seemed to be the same filling, topped with candied Pecans.   I thought I would pay tribute to the neverending, bottomless jar of Maple Syrup in our fridge and try to make one with only Maple Syrup and no Corn Syrup.  I have gotten on and off that anti Corn Syrup bandwagon.  I'm along for the ride right now.  We have some in our pantry, though I don't know what for.  I think the last time anyone used it was for BBQ sauce.

The all Maple Syrup resulted in possibly a more sharp sweetness rather than the roundness I'm used to.  I think next time, I may cut out an Egg if I use all Maple Syrup.  Or 2/3 Maple and 1/2 Corn Syrup next time.  Though, it was quite nice and the Bourbon added a nice subtle Mae West-esque appeal, it wasn't quite there from a nostalgic point of view.  Of course, my nostalgia is probably fuelled by 100% Sugar/Corn syrup since it was store bought.

This is the way I baked it.  It was nice but I will make the adjustments I mention above within the next few months and try again.  I bought enought Pecans for two pies.  You can make your own crust or buy.  I prefer to use all vegetable shortning or butter crusts but that is a matter of preference.   I will not go into it here.  Blind Bake the crust before filling, meaning, bake in a 400F for 10 minutes on the lowest rack with Pie Weights sitting in the crust.  You should place them in the unbaked crust with a very lightly oiled piece of parchement paper.  Oil the side that will touch the dough.  You can use pie weights that are sold for that purpose.  D has some but I could not find them.  Or use any dried beans.  Today I used the Pecans I was going to put in the pie.  Just be sure to cool the crust and the Pecans before continuing.

Leave the oven on from blind bake but reduce to 350. 

Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie

1 deep 9" Pie Crust, blind baked

1 c Pure Maple Syrup
3 Eggs
40 g melted Butter, cooled
1/2 c packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Vanilla Bean, scraped (or 1 t Vanilla Extract)
2 T real Bourbon (Maker's Mark or Knob Creek)
1/8 t (pinch) Salt
1 1/2 c Pecan Halves

Whisk the Maple Syrup, Butter, Eggs, Bourbon, Vanilla, Salt and Sugar together well. 

Add the Pecans and stir.

Pour into the Pie Shell and bake on the lowest level for 45-50 minutes until set.

MMMMM

5 Leave a / Read COMMENTs:

Joanne said...

Your pie has stolen my heart. It just sounds too good not to try.

Jennifer- Adventuresome Kitchen said...

I love this pie! I too, use maple syrup and bourbon in my pecan pie- but I also add choc-chips. If you weren't happy with the maple syrup sharpness, you could try reducing by 1/4 cup and adding an additional 1/4 cup of brown sugar.... I refuse to use corn-syrup- but I never grew up with this kind of pie, so I'm not battling a flavor memory...Thanks for an awesome post!

Me said...

Thanks for the tip. My original objective was to eliminate Corn Syrup altogether. I'll try cutting it back next time and I'll share how it goes.

Cheers!

Carolyn said...

I love butter tarts (raisins and all) and I love pecan pie. And I love maple syrup. Great recipe!

Unknown said...

Hmmm pecan pie, with maple bourbon too! I'm in heaven.