Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie

Even if you only bake pies once or twice a year, there's something magical about shaping dough,  filling it, then baking and sharing your creation with those you love.  A homemade pie is a labor of love.  It is effort put forth to take simple ingredients and turn them into something special, something memorable.  Food brings people together and memories are made around food, both in the kitchen and around the table.  Let's make those memories extra special this year with a little extra (homemade) effort and lots of love.  

​This year for Thanksgiving I decided to jazz up the pecan pie a bit with maple syrup and bourbon.  We use real maple syrup all the time so I decided to substitute it for half of the corn syrup.  It was a good syrup blend and worked well for both flavor and texture.  Bourbon seemed like a natural addition to a maple pecan pie especially since we have been official Kentuckians for a couple of years now.  

I went light on the bourbon adding only 2 Tablespoons.  Many recipes call for 3 to 4 Tablespoons of bourbon.  I thought 2 Tablespoons added  just the right amount of flavor without overpowering other flavors.  You can always start with 2 Tablespoons and add more if you think it needs it.  

​Since we're talking food memories and bourbon, I'm getting into the Holiday family memories mood.  I have the fondest memories of going to my great grandmother, Doddin's house in Cynthiana, KY every Christmas.  We usually only saw Doddin once a year because we lived a 12 hour drive away.   Her house was pretty formal and my sisters and I had to mostly sit quietly while we visited in her sitting room.  My great grandmother always had a tray of homemade bourbon balls.  If I remember correctly they were strong and we weren't allowed to eat them.  But that was ok because we always got to go in her kitchen for a special treat of Reese's cups and Coke.  

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Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie
Ingredients:
​1 unbaked pie crust
​1/3 C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. packed light brown sugar
1/2 C. light corn syrup
1/2 C. maple syrup
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. bourbon
1 1/4 C. pecan halves

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  Whisk ingredients together to combine and pour into unbaked pie shell. 
3.  Bake 40-45 minutes until crust has browned and filling has set.  I make foil pie shields to cover the crust edges and protect them from over-browning and leave them on for most of the baking time.  Let pie cool before serving.

Serve with whipped cream and enjoy!  

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