Bourbon Pecan Pie

Author: Mark
Serves 8-16

3 eggs, beaten	1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt	1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup corn syrup (light or dark)	1 cup pecan halves
2 Tbl bourbon	1 Pie Shell, preferably deep dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix eggs, sugar, salt. Fold warm butter in slowly, so that eggs don't set. Add syrup and bourbon, and mix until well blended; stir in pecans. Pour all into pie shell and bake 50-75 minutes at 375; if shell begins to darken too much, reduce heat a little. Ideally, a toothpick stuck into the center should come out clean, but it is generally enough to get it so that the filling no longer "sloshes".

Notes and Variations

To make "normal" pecan pie, substitute 1 tsp. vanilla for the bourbon; I find the flavor a little less satisfying, but it's useful if people are really worried about alcohol in the pie.
To make straight bourbon pie, omit the pecans and increase the bourbon to 3 Tbl. This tends to be a little looser, but is a very good pie nonetheless, and is excellent if anyone is allergic to nuts. (Which is how I came across the recipe in the first place.)

A variation to try, from a dessert at J's in Nashoba Valley. (This is an attempt to reverse-engineer that.) I believe that what they did was melt chocolate and pour it into the pie crust in advance; pour in just enough for a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom. Probably chill the crust so that the chocolate hardens. Then pour in the filling and nuts, and bake as usual. When cool, drizzle the top with a bit more chocolate and chill until ready to serve. Omit the bourbon -- make it as straight pecan pie. J's served with a white-chocolate sauce, but that's basically a goodie; this should be plenty good with just some whipped cream. Result is quite hard on the bottom, but yummy.

Sources

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking, 70's edition; this is essentially a hybrid of the Pecan and Bourbon Pies there.