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A Sweet Van Winkle Tradition: The Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

  • 2 min read

A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN

The holiday season is upon us! At Pappy & Company, we’re looking forward to celebrating with our friends and family, especially around the dinner table.

Would it be any surprise that our favorite Van Winkle holiday tradition includes bourbon? Although, not in the way you might think. We’re talking about pie. Chocolate bourbon pecan pie to be exact.

Delicious, decadent, and surprisingly easy, this holiday dessert is a family favorite that we all eagerly anticipate at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s the perfect combination of chocolate, pecans, and bourbon.

In the spirit of the holidays, we’re sharing our beloved recipe with you. From the Van Winkle table to yours, enjoy this holiday dessert with friends and family. We hope it becomes one of your favorite holiday traditions, too!

CHOCOLATE BOURBON PECAN PIE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

Piecrust
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick (4 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • ¼ cup ice water
Note: When we are pressed for time around the holidays, which is almost always, we cheat and use store-bought piecrust. It’s all about the filling anyway!

Pie Filling
  • 2 cups (about 7 ounces) pecans
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¾ cup dark brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons bourbon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
  • whipped cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Piecrust


In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the ice water. Knead the dough two or three times on a lightly floured surface, and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12-inch flat, round crust. Fit the dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the overhang, and crimp the edges or mark them with a fork. Refrigerate until firm.

Pie Filling

Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toast the pecans for about 8 minutes, or until fragrant. Coarsely chop half of the toasted pecans and leave the rest whole.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, melted butter, bourbon, and salt until blended. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Pour the filling into the firm pie shell. Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for about 55 minutes, or until the center of the pie is set. Tent the crust with foil halfway through the baking time if the edges are browning too quickly.

Transfer the pie to a rack, and let cool for at least 1 hour before serving. We like to serve our pie with fresh whipped cream!