Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie (or something vaguely similar)


Those of you who follow me on my personal Facebook page, are well aware that I am a bit of a reluctant baker, and often end up with disastrous results. It's probably because, as I've said so many times, I don't like to bake, but I do like to make people happy. So when I go out to have lunch with my dad, I like to take him something special. And by special, I mean good. And by good, I mean edible.

Pretty much these days, if I make a dessert, I'm happy enough if it's edible. I just don't like doing it. This morning when I got up I decided I was going to take my dad a pie. I'm always going through dessert recipes, I print out a lot of them, and set them aside for making later. This morning, while rifling through my stack, I saw a recipe for something I thought dad would like. It was called Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie. Chocolate. Bourbon. Pecan pie. What's not to like there? Pecan Pie is one of my dad's favorites, so I thought I would give this recipe a try.
I started off making the piecrust. I had it in the pan, the edges not fluted as expertly as they could have been, and headed for the freezer to get out some pecans to toast. It was then that I realized that I didn't have any pecans. I had three brand-new bags of walnuts, but no pecans. So, I thought to myself, does it really make that much difference? I mean, nuts are nuts, right?
So I used the original recipe and just substituted walnuts for the pecans. That done, I reached into the pantry for semisweet chocolate chips to pour into the crust along with the pecans, err, walnuts. It was then that I realized that I didn't have chocolate chips either. Well, I had chocolate chips, just not semisweet chocolate chips. 

I have entire shelf in my pantry full of baking chips. I have cinnamon chips, pumpkin chips, white chocolate chips, salted caramel chips, Butterfinger chips (Yes, they make those, but I haven't tried them yet, I'll report.), mini M&Ms, Bits of Brickle (both with chocolate coating and without), and I also happened to have a few remnants of mini chocolate chips, and milk chocolate chips. So, in place of the 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips that the recipe called for, I emptied the bag of mini chocolate chips into a measuring cup (it came up about 1/4 of the way), then I emptied the rest of the milk chocolate chips into that same measuring cup (bringing the measurement to 1/2 cup), and then I reached for the Bits of Brickle (those covered in milk chocolate), and dumped enough in to fill up the cup. Huzzah! I sprinkled this creative mixture on top of the toasted walnuts, and then continued on with the recipe as written.


 As it turned out the pie was pretty darn good. Dad was more than happy with it, but that in itself is no recommendation, because he is a guy who eats a lot of Marie Calender and Aunt Jemima frozen meals. At any rate, the original recipe, a product of Southern Living, is below. The reason I shared this story is so that you won't be held hostage by recipes for which you may not have the exact ingredients. Feel free to use my example, or make some substitutions of your own. As long as the ingredients for the custard are there, you really can get a little creative in a pinch, as long as you substitute cup for cup.
Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie
As seen in Southern Living  

1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts (or make your own, please make your own)
 1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon or water
4 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons plain white cornmeal
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt

Preheat oven to 325°F. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate according to package directions; fold edges under, and crimp. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate evenly onto bottom of piecrust.
Stir together corn syrup and next 3 ingredients in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients. Gradually whisk one-fourth of hot corn syrup mixture into egg mixture; add to remaining hot corn syrup mixture, whisking constantly. Pour filling into prepared piecrust.

Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until set; cool pie completely on a wire rack (about one hour).

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11 comments:

Mary@mydogsmygardenandmary said...

It looks pretty good to me and I am sure your dad loved it. I think he has a sweet tooth. I remembered the recipe with the brownies, icing, etc. I loved that recipe and have made it several times.

I do love pecan pie and this sounds really good.

Have a terrific week and hopefully you are having wonderful weather.

Mary

Alycia Nichols said...

Pecan was my Dad's favorite, too, and he LOVED both walnuts and pecans, so any way you put it he would have put puppy eyes on your Dad asking him to share! See what you can do when you just jump in there? And the crust looks fine to me! Glad your a Dad enjoyed it, and glad you just took that plunge!

thepaintedapron.com said...

I have told you this many times before Pattie, but just about every recipe you post is right up my alley, and this is no exception!

Linda said...

The last photo is the money shot for me. :D
Enjoyed reading about your inventiveness! I love malking pies and eating them. My husband is a pecan pie purist and prefers my usual recipe, but I love to try different pecan pie recipes. I made a chocolate version a few years back that he loved. I hate to admit that one of my favorites was PW's version that beat Bobby Flay. :-/ But I do love a bit of bourbon in mine! Does the cornmeal make it like chess pie?

Chloe Crabtree said...

Has my mouth watering! I made a chocolate pecan pie for Thanksgiving one year. It was very popular and so delicious. This was a nice reminder to maybe try one again! Thanks for sharing at Celebrate Your Story!

Sandra Lee said...

I'm the only pecan pie fan in the house so all I'll need for this is a fork and a napkin. Well maybe a gym membership also! Have a great Holiday!

Stone Cottage Adventures said...

Mmmm... this sounds divine, both the original recipe and your twist on substitutions! Thank you for sharing this post at Tuesdays with a Twist! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

The Charm of Home said...

Oh, my! One of my favorite pies with chocolate! YUM! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!

The Charm of Home said...

I will feature this tomorrow at Home Sweet Home!

Unknown said...

This sounds COMPLETELY amazing! :)

I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

The Lazy Gastronome said...

I love pecan pie! Sorry it took so long to visit - I've been off on vacation!