Maple-Bourbon Pumpkin Pie

Caution: Death by pie lies ahead.

You have been warned. Oh yes….You have been warned.

Although this was a Thanksgiving pie, I chose not to post it during that time because I think it is ok to have pumpkin pie at any time of the year, not just Thanksgiving. But let this serve as a reminder to myself for next year to post something during the week of Thanksgiving, even if it’s not pie…

Let’s get real though. Who is not too busy during the holidays to post on their food blog? Well, I was too busy suffice to say, but there are no regrets here, as I believe in better late than never!

This is the most unique, and BEST pumpkin pie recipe I’ve ever made/eaten, and I borrowed it from Bon Appétit! You can find the original link here. I also do not think I’ve ever tried chocolate pie crust before. Can you believe that?

I’m going to be frank and say that it was a little more advanced than your typical dump and bake pumpkin pie, but it was definitely worth the labor.

Without further ado, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

Chocolate Pie Dough

¼ cup plus 1 Tbs cocoa powder
3½ Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1¼ cups plus 1 Tbs all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
6 Tbs (¾ stick) chilled butter, cut into pieces
2 Tbs chilled shortening, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk
½ tsp apple cider vinegar

Filling

All-purpose flour (for dusting)
4 large eggs
1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin purée
¼ cup sour cream
2 Tbs bourbon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground allspice
⅛ tsp ground mace (optional)
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbs sugar

Directions:

Pulse cocoa powder, granulated sugar, salt, and 1¼ cups plus 1 Tbsp. flour in a food processor to combine. Add butter and shortening and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk egg yolk, vinegar, and ¼ cup ice water in a small bowl. Drizzle half of egg mixture over flour mixture and, using a fork, mix gently just until combined. Add remaining egg mixture and mix until dough just comes together (you will have some unincorporated pieces).
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, flatten slightly, and cut into quarters. Stack pieces on top of one another, placing unincorporated dry pieces of dough between layers, and press down to combine. Repeat process twice more (all pieces of dough should be incorporated at this point). Form dough into a 1”-thick disk. Wrap in plastic; chill at least 1 hour.
Do Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled, or freeze up to 3 months.

Roll out disk of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14” round. Transfer to a 9” pie dish. Lift up edge and allow dough to slump down into dish. Trim, leaving about 1” overhang. Fold overhang under and crimp edge. Chill in freezer 15 minutes.
Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350°. Line pie with parchment paper or heavy-duty foil, leaving a 1½” overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until crust is dry around the edge, about 20 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake until surface of crust looks dry, 5–10 minutes. Brush bottom and sides of crust with 1 beaten egg. Return to oven and bake until dry and set, about 3 minutes longer. (Brushing crust with egg and baking will prevent a soggy crust.)
Whisk pumpkin purée, sour cream, bourbon, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mace, if desired, and remaining 3 eggs in a large bowl; set aside.
Pour maple syrup in a small saucepan; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean (reserve pod for another use) or add vanilla extract and bring syrup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and small puffs of steam start to release, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add cream in 3 additions, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition until smooth. Gradually whisk hot maple cream into pumpkin mixture.
Place pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet and pour in filling. Bake pie, rotating halfway through, until set around edge but center barely jiggles, 50–60 minutes. Transfer pie dish to a wire rack and let pie cool.
Just before serving, sprinkle pie with sugar

Serve with whipped cream, coffee, or can be enjoyed plain

I hope you dig making and eating this pie as much as I did. Of course I had to get a little more artistic with the pie crust and made little fall leaves made out of marbled dough.

I found some fondant presses shaped like leaves at Michael’s arts & crafts store, and cut out shapes of dough, adhering them to the edge of the crust with a little water.

There you have it!

And of course I had to go nuts (pun intended) with the pecans. You can never have too many pecans! Or whipped cream. Load it on! Have a second slice. Heck, eat the whole thing. No one has to know.