Joy the Baker

Bourbon Pecan Pie with Dark Chocolate

by 73 Comments

bourbon pecan pie with dark chocolate

I have two superhero skills.  Two!  So good, really… that I’m tempted to call them skillzzzz.

My two superhero skills are: catching things that are falling (anything really, it’s cat-like agility) and making PIES!  Sometimes you’re just endowed with talents beyond your ability to learn them.  That last sentence I totally made up and it can’t possible be true.  Suffice it to say, I can catch a falling wine glass without spilling a drop, and I can whip up a rich chocolate pecan pie in the blink of an eye.  Do not, however, throw a baseball my way (I can’t catch that!!!) or ask me to make you croissants (not in my superhero wheelhouse!!!).

Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

What’s your superhero skill?  If your answer is ‘long division’, I’m super impressed.  Maybe your answer is ‘dish washing like a ninja’, in which case please come over, flex your skills and eat this pie.

bourbon pecan pie

Maybe your superhero skill is ‘not eating all the cookie dough before it’s baked’.  That really would be something.

Maybe your superhero skill can be pie baking.  I really think it should be.  It’s just butter+flour, pecans+eggs.  Rub it together.  Whisk it up.  Be a pie ninja.  It’s all so very possible.

Let’s make this Bourbon Pecan Pie with Dark Chocolate.  We’re showing off for the Kentucky Derby.  Flexin’ because we can.

Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

I like where this pie starts.

Pecans and chocolate.  To chop and to snack profusely upon.  Eggs are the large variety, and here in New Orleans they sweat.  Melted butter meets sugar meets dark corn syrup.  A good butter and buttermilk pie crust.  Bourbon, for always.

Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

Some people think corn syrup is a naughty word(s).  It’s got a reputation it can’t shake.

When paired with eggs, pecans, and chocolate… I think corn syrup (especially the dark variety) is elevated out of its unfortunate reputation.

Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

Eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter, and bourbon are whisked together into a… goop (for lack of a better word).  Sweet and sticky (super delicious) pie filling goop.  Don’t tell Gwyneth Paltrow.

Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

This Bourbon Pecan Pie is a single crust pie.

Here’s the oldest trick in the book:  when making one pie crust from scratch… just make two.

Cutting butter into flour for two crusts is just as easy as it is for one.  Use one crust… and then be the kind of baker that has an extra homemade pie crust just hanging out in the freezer for when, you know… you need to just whip up a random pie.

Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

Chopped pecans and lots of dark chocolate are sprinkled across the bottom of the unbaked pie crust.  It’s pretty.

Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

Sweet and thick pie filling is poured over the chocolate and pecans.  Yes it is.

Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

Pecan pie is sweet and thick.  The filling is like a soft, sweet, sugar pudding… without the cream.  The chocolate adds a nice, smooth bitterness.  The pecans add a big, toasty crunch.

I enjoy this pie two times a year, during the Winter holidays and on Kentucky Derby day.  Here’s to our super hero skills paying off, and here’s to hoping our measly horse bets pay off too!

Bourbon Pecan Pie with Dark Chocolate

makes 1 9-inch pie

Print this Recipe!

adapted from The Pioneer Woman and Garden & Gun

For the Crust:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold buttermilk

For the Filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons bourbon

1/3 cup melted unsalted butter

1 heaping cup chopped pecans

3 ounces coarsely chopped dark chocolate

To make the crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.  Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers (or a potato masher), work the butter into the flour mixture.  Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture, some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes, some will be the size of peas. Create a well in the mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk.  Use a fork to bring to dough together.  Try to moisten all of the flour bits.  Add a bit more buttermilk if necessary, but you want to mixture to be shaggy and not outwardly wet.

On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture.  It will be moist and shaggy.  That’s perfect.  Gently knead into a disk.  Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator will help rechill the butter and distribute the moisture.

To roll out the pie crust, on a well floured surface, roll the crust 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter.  Transfer it to a pie pan.  Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan.  Fold the edges under and crimp with your fingers or a fork.  Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.

To make the filling, in a medium bowl whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, eggs, vanilla extract, bourbon, and unsalted butter.  Whisk until well combined.  The mixture will be thick and syrupy.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sprinkle pecans and chocolate around the bottom of the pie shell.  Whisk the liquid filling and pour over the chocolate and nuts.

Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven.  Pie will bake for about 45 to 55 minutes.  You’ll know it’s done when the pie no longer jiggles in waves, but is rather puffed and jiggles uniformly.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating.  I think this pie is best served cold the following day.  

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jenny

    I have to let you know that I made this today to test it out ahead of time for thanksgiving – Pecan pie is intimidating because everyone has a favorite, and no ones can match that! I was so worried that the crust would split and the filling would leak, but this was way easier than I imagined it would be! The crust held up great and – guess what – it baked beautifully in my TOASTER OVEN :D (I live in a studio so most recipes are a challenge)

    Reply

  3. Christine

    I made this pie for Thanksgiving this year and it was seriously, ridiculously good. I followed the recipe exactly and it was a total hit. Even my brother who absolutely hates nuts admitted that it was good. Now I want to make it for everyone I know…except I mostly want to eat it all by myself. Thanks for such an awesome recipe!!

    Reply

  4. lauratogo

    Thanks for this awesome recipe! It has become my standard – and I actually made the crust (with whole wheat flour b/c I was out of white) to top our turkey pot pie tonight.

    Reply

  5. Jonna

    Made this yesterday and just ate it for dessert, and it was sooo delicious! The dark chocolate made it so much tastier- which says a lot since pecan pie is already such a treat! Yummy, thank you so much for this recipie! I’ll make it many more times for sure! :)

    Reply

  6. Kelly Polhemus

    If I was looking to use this recipe but make mini pie bites (using a cupcake/muffin tie) would I need to change anything to the crust? I’ve made it before for thanksgiving and this pie is amazing! I’m looking to recreate but make for a Derby party where I think bites would be easier to serve!

    Reply

    • joythebaker

      Try using honey instead, that’s a bit thicker and closer to the consistency of the corn syrup instead of the maple syrup.

      Reply

  12. Kim Goldsmith

    Have you ever made this in mini pie pans? I want to make a bunch of mini pies for Thanksgiving this year, I have both tin & glass pie pans. Which do you prefer? I am lightyears away from being a pie superhero!!

    Reply

    • joythebaker

      I have not tried that before…but that sounds amazing! I’d say you’re good to go with the tin pans, I like those better for baking pie!

      Reply

  15. MIchelle

    Is the dark chocolate from a chocolate bar or is it baking chocolate? This looks absolutely amazing and I want to try it for Thanksgiving this year.

    Reply

  16. shivani sood

    Joey I just can’t stand eggs except for in a cake. All pie recipes use egg and this has kept me away from baking a pie, though my son would love a home made walnut or chocolate pie. Can you suggest a replacement for egg (I am in India and commercial egg substitutes are hard to find) or may be a recipe without egg? Thanks.

    Reply

  17. Mira

    Hi! I made this pie for mothers day and everyone loved it! The only problem was even after cooking it for 55 minutes, the next day when we cut into it the inside still oozed….What is the best way to make sure it sets? Thank you!

    Reply

  18. Amber

    Baked yesterday. Usually pecan pies are too sweet for me, but the darkness of the chocolate and the liquor cut the sweet just enough. Used whiskey instead of burbon and my great grandmother’s crust and it was perfect. Definitely needed to use a deep dish pan, though. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  20. Tracy

    I wish I had pie superhero skills! I definitely have mad cupcakes skills! And maybe some science teaching skills, but that’s about it! Love this pie!

    Reply

  23. Shikha la mode

    You know, I never thought to make pecan pie at any other time than the holidays, but the Derby was such a great idea to bring this back! Well all know it’s one of the best pies to eat anyways. I think my superhero power (skillz?) would be cheesecake!

    Reply

  25. emmajeanne16

    I am glad for your pie making skills. This is just amazing!! I am drooling over the chocolate addition. Yum, yum!!

    Reply

  26. Deirdre

    Pecan pie is pretty amazing, adding bourbon and chocolate can only increase deliciousness!

    Adding maple syrup instead of corn syrup also sooo good.

    Reply

  27. Izy

    I had a slice of chocolate pecan pie at Four & Twenty Blackbirds in NY last year and it was incredible. I can tell that bourbon would’ve made it even better!! I might have to make myself a personal bourbon-chocolate-pecan pie (not a smaller version, just a whole pie…for me..) – that’s probs actually my superpower: being able to eat an inordinate amount of any kind of pecan pie.

    Reply

  29. lindalw666

    absolutely, I think I too will make this pie twice a year; once at Christmas, to share with family, and the other time, just for me to eat.

    Reply

  30. Hannah

    Hi! I’m from Australia and I’m making this pie tonight! I have a question about the dark corn syrup- we had heaps of trouble finding it. We researched and apparently we call it glucose syrup here and it’s meant to be nearly the same, however it isn’t dark. Do you think it will matter much for the recipe? Or maybe there’s something we can add to give it a bit more oomph? Sorry for all the questions! Hope you can help =D thank you!!

    Reply

  32. Ellen

    I’ve always fancied myself a pie ninja too! Although I haven’t won the kcrw contest…yet;) I wish I had your catching skilzzz! I am good at grabbing cats. That sounds way weirder than it is. And I imagine I could still learn a thing or two about pie too. The more you know! (Cue cheesy star animation)

    Reply

  34. Toyota

    I would wash all the dishes to eat this dish!! Pies are definitely not my super power because I really suck at it. Pies hate me! But I’m willing to try again for this one

    Reply

  39. George Mulvaney

    This is a great pie. I know this because I’ve baked several. And Karo corn syrup is not to be confused with high fructose corn syrup; Karo (especially the dark) is almost as good as molasses. That’s what some of the old-timers used to make pecan pie.

    Your choice of Bourbon is cool because it’s a sweet whisky; I probably would have chosen a Tennessee sour mash (either Jack or George). This got me to thinking of a fruit pie filling using sloe gin. lol

    My super power is making connections from unlikely things – if that could be a super power. I’m pretty good with pies, but it’s not in the super power category. Although I just came up with a pie dough that acted like puff pastry. I’m still working on that one. Yes, I’ll tell you about it; mail me.

    Reply

  40. Sue

    Joy, we all believe in your superpower skillzzzzzz….though until now I had no idea that catching a falling glass of wine without spilling a drop was one. But, really, waiting a whole day to try your pie sounds pretty super powery, too! I can more easily imagine burning my mouth on the first bite.???? BTW, what percentage chocolate did you use? “Dark” can be so many things. Thank you for what has to be an earth-shaking recipe!

    Reply

  46. Taylor

    Yum! This pie sounds delicious! Last summer I entered a pie contest at our local fair, but didn’t win. I have full intentions of beating all those stay-at-home Mom’s this year and this may just be the pie to do it with.

    xoxo
    Taylor

    Reply

  47. Mira C.

    I want making a pie to be my superpower! My goal this summer is to overcome my fear of pie crust and make so many that I can whip it out easily. I am a pretty good baker, but pie crust has eluded me…. until now (or, rather, soonish).

    That pie look super delicious and super intense, but I imagine dark chocolate is a nice way to down the sweetness of the pecan syrup goodness.

    Thank you, Joy!

    Reply

  48. Pam

    I have sat many times in the white shuttered dinning room of the Melrose Inn enjoying a slice of Derby pie. I can’t wait to try your recipe.

    Reply

  50. Laura @ Raise Your Garden

    Looks awesome. Pecans. Major weakness of mine.

    But my pie crusts…..flop every time. Eager to try yours. Cross your fingers for me because pecans are 10 bucks a pound here, can’t afford to mess up =)

    The flavor combination here is just popping!!!

    Reply

  51. Rebecca

    chocolate pecan pie is my heaven! A friend asked me to make one when we came to visit and I melted part of the chocolate with the butter. So the “goop” was slightly chocolate-y and there were still small pockets of chocolate throughout from the rest of the chopped chocolate. She took one bite and said, “This is what I was hoping chocolate pecan pie was!”

    Reply

    • Nancy

      Hi Joy,
      I’ve been having trouble with my pie shell being under baked. The edges and filling are great but the bottom is always slightly under. How can I fix it without buying the top?

      Reply

  54. shelly

    my superpower is getting everyone else’s life around me orgranized, but not my own. need your taxes done? let me help you with that. my own… meehhh let me extend til october. go figure.

    this pie looks amazing! one day i will work up the courage to make my own pie crust. i have a mental block against things requiring rolling pins.

    Reply

  55. Devvon Hinds

    It’s like you’re in my head! Friends and I are having a gumbo and whiskey party tonight and I was planning to make a chocolate bourbon pecan pie! I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have all the ingredients on hand for this! I’ll let you know how it turns out. :)

    Reply

  57. Erica

    My super power is not cleaning dishes, but girl, if I lived closer to New Orleans I’d pretend so I could get some of that.

    Reply

  58. Bonnie-Jean

    Pecans weren’t something we grew up with in the tropical regions of Australia and I’d only ever read the word in books (never heard it) so thought it was pronounced ‘pee-cans’ – the ‘cans’ as in a tin can or maybe like you would say a trash can. Sometime in my 30’s I finally heard the word pronounced by an American and I had them repeat it about 100 times until I could pronounce it properly myself – it just wouldn’t roll off my tongue as smoothly as it does for y’all. Then last week I actually saw pecans in my local supermarket and I just had to buy some. I had no idea what I was going to do with them…until just now! Here in Sydney the weather has just turned a corner and there is now a definite chill in the air as we begin the descent into winter. So the timing seems to be perfect on all counts! Thanks Joy – going to give it a burl this weekend!

    Reply

    • Erica

      Hi Bonnil! Some of us Americans actually call them pee-cans too (myself included). Peh-cawns just feels weird on my tongue. Maybe I’m secretly an Australian ;)

      Reply

  59. Mir

    This pie is so exciting! I think my favorite part of the Derby is the pie. Along with your mint julep recipe, I’m all set now!

    Reply

  61. Janika

    That looks amazing.

    My superhero skill has to be timing in the kitchen. I always get up to check on my baking/cooking about 10 seconds before the timer goes off. And I think I’ve burned something beyond edibility exactly once (when using a new oven for the first time).

    So yes, kitchen timing. It’s a jmad skill.

    Reply

  65. foodnessgracious

    Hmm, my super hero skills could be being able to carry both of my kids with an open beer bottle in my shorts pocket and not spilling a drop (or the kids) true story..love the pie!

    Reply

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