Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie, or make it without the alcohol. Either way, this is one amazing pie that’s perfect for Thanksgiving, the Holidays, or any occasion you like.
Originally published. Nov 2020.
Our family’s love of pecan pie is very well established as regular readers of Rock Recipes will know. It’s the one pie that everyone can agree on.
That’s not to say that we make it often. Because it is so rich, we reserve it for special occasions when there will be extra people around to enjoy it.
On occasions here we do not want to bake an entire pie, our extremely popular recipe for Pecan Pecan Pie Bars, fills the gap. It is always one of our most popular Thanksgiving recipes too.
Pecan pie is almost always an addition to our Christmas Day dinner. Sometimes, I’ve even made it in place of cake for my own birthday.
I love it that much.
With Thanksgiving on the horizon for our American friends, I thought I’d try a twist on my standard pie in time for the Holiday season. Once again, the inspiration came from one of my southern road trips.
Road trip inspiration.
In New Orleans, I remember seeing chocolate pecan pie on many menus. It seemed to be quite popular in that corner of the south in particular.
On one of our visits to the city though, ( I think it may have been K-Pauls Louisiana Kitchen) I sampled one version with bourbon added to the filling. It really seemed to heighten and enhance the flavour of both the pecan filling and the chocolate.
I wanted to post a new pie recipe in advance of American Thanksgiving, so what better pie than one I’d loved in the southern states.
Developing my own version of Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie.
As usual, rather than copy another recipe, I decided to try a twist on my own, very popular Pecan Pie recipe. The result was almost exactly as I remember it from that southern road trip.
If, of course, you do not want to add the bourbon, just omit it completely and the pie will bake just fine. It will be just as tempting, I guarantee.
The scent of this pie baking was, in a word, amazing. It’s the perfect way to fill your home with the aromas of the holidays.
If you try this one for Thanksgiving, don’t be surprised if you get requests for it again at Christmas!
If you are a big pie lover like me, be sure to check our collection of Rock Recipes Best Pies.
Like this Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie recipe?
You’ll find hundreds of other sweet ideas in our Cakes & Pies Category and even more in our Desserts Category.
It’s easy to keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes. Be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram.
Plus you’ll see daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals too.
You can also sign up for our FREE newsletter to know immediately when we add new recipes. You’ll also get weekly suggestions for great family friendly meals and desserts too!
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie, or make it without the alcohol, either way, this is one amazing pie that's perfect for Thanksgiving, the Holidays, or any occasion you like.
Ingredients
For the butter pastry
- 1 cup butter , very cold & cut in small cubes
- 2 ½ cups flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup ice water + 2 tbsp white vinegar added. (Use only enough liquid to make a dough form.)
For the filling
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I find dark is best because it adds less sweetness to an already sweet pie, but semisweet is fine too.)
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup bourbon (optional)
- 1 1/4 cups lightly packed brown sugar
- 4 large or extra large eggs, or 5 medium, or 6 small
- 1 1/4 cups dark corn syrup (light corn syrup is fine if that's what you have on hand)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips ( in addition to the chips melted in step 1)
Instructions
To prepare the butter pastry
- Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible.
- Pour vinegar into cold water then pour over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.
- Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. (This pastry recipe makes sufficient for two pie crusts, so wrap one of the pastry rounds tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it for later.)
- You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes or so, to warm slightly before rolling out.
- Roll the dough into a 12 - 14 inch round and place in the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate.
- Push the dough into the corners and ensure that it is not stretched at all or it will shrink from the edge.
- Trim dough to about an inch past the edge of plate.
- Fold the ends under and pinch with fingers or fork to shape the edges into whatever design you like best.
- Place in freezer while you prepare the filling.
To make the filling
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (or 350 degrees F for glass pie pans)
- Melt 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips with the 2 tbsp melted butter. You want this just melted and slightly warm but not hot.
- Add the melted chocolate to a bowl, along with all of the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the pecans and the additional 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.
- Whisk all together until the brown sugar is almost completely dissolved.
- Stir in the pecans.
- Pour the filling into the prepared pastry shell.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips over the surface of the pie. Then, using a teaspoon, tap the chips so that they partially submerge under the pecans. This will ensure equal distribution of the chips throughout the pie.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes at 375 degrees F (350 F for glass bake-ware) or until the center is set and jiggles like jelly.
- Cool completely before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 401Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 74mgSodium 230mgCarbohydrates 50gFiber 2gSugar 40gProtein 4g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.