Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

The Run For The Roses

One of my favorite days of the year is the first Saturday in May, the run for the roses, the Kentucky Derby.  I am giddy the entire week leading up to it.  It is such a timeless event fraught with elegance and tradition.

The Derby is a magical place.  Strolling the grandstands and surrounding the paddock are many elegantly dressed people, drinking mint juleps out of silver glasses or souvenir cups.  The air is thick with the smell of expensive cigars.  Just before the hallmark race, all of these fine people stand and sing in harmony to the tune of “My Old Kentucky Home”.  Once the horses are loaded into the gate, the crowd becomes so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  Then the bell sounds and the horses thunder out of the gate to the roar of the crowd.  It’s a little hard to see the race over the infield, but everyone watches on the big screen.  Then the spectators go wild as they catch the first glimpse of the horses coming around the final turn, flying down the homestretch.  It is truly a sight to behold.

Pops and the Derby

I got my love of horse racing from my grandpa, Pops.  He could frequently be seen with a copy of the racing forms in hand, studying the contenders and removing the mechanical pencil from his shirt pocket to make notes.  I remember a story he told me about his trip to the Derby as a young boy.  Sadly I don’t recall the year, but my mom remembers it falling between 1930-1932.  I like to think that maybe he was there in 1930 when Gallant Fox won the Derby on his way to becoming the second Triple Crown winner.  Pops’s father, who also followed horse racing, took him and his two brothers to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.  However, he left the boys in the car while he went to watch the race.  While he was gone, the mischievous brothers crawled through the open windows of the other cars in the lot, started the cars and stole the keys!

My Derby Story

When I was in fifth grade, I began to follow horse racing.  I remember having a horse racing journal and scouring the newspapers for articles about horses.  After finding an article that struck my fancy, I would take my scissors and cut out pictures of the horses and the respective articles, pasting the clippings in my journal.

The Promise

In sixth grade, my dad made one of his grand promises (which he always keeps) that he would take our family to the Kentucky Derby if I got straight A’s in my first year of middle school.  Spending thousands of dollars on a trip was quite the reward for getting A’s in pre-algebra.  You’d better believe I earned those straight A’s and four years later, we went to the 2010 Kentucky Derby.

The Event

Ironically, the 2010 Kentucky Derby was the second rainiest Derby recorded at that time.  We dressed in our finest outfits complete with wide-brimmed hats only to buy plastic ponchos to put over our clothes.  But we didn’t mind.  We were at the Kentucky Derby.  I remember betting on a horse named Star of David, who didn’t even place, simply because I liked the name.  My mom bet on the filly, and I instructed my dad to bet on Super Saver, the only horse who had prior success running on a wet track.  Well, if you’re familiar with the history of the Derby, you will remember that Super Saver ended up winning that year with Calvin Borel riding astride to earn his third Derby win in four years.  My dad had placed $25 on him, and at odds of 4-1, he came away with $100.

The Pie

I fully intend on celebrating the run for the roses in true Derby fashion with a mint julep in hand.  However, I really wanted to bake something for the occasion.  As I was thinking about what to make, I thought, what could be more perfect than a chocolate bourbon pecan pie?  Bourbon is the liquor of choice in mint juleps and pecan pies are very much a southern staple.

I love pies, but they aren’t necessarily my favorite dessert to make.  Pie crust has always been my nemesis.  I can never seem to roll it out sufficiently without it falling apart.  It is especially difficult when I go to transfer the dough from the floured surface to the pie plate.  So I decided to create my own recipe.  This pie crust is so easy to work with.  I also learned a trick on how to transfer the dough to the pie plate.  You first want to roll out your dough on well-floured parchment paper.  Once your dough is rolled out, place the pie plate upside down in the middle of your dough and flip the work surface so that the dough is touching the pie plate and the parchment paper is facing up.  Gently peel away the parchment paper.  Keep in mind your work surface has to be well floured for this to work.  Trim the edges and shape the dough to your desired design.

I hope today you’re choosing to don a fancy hat, pour yourself a mint julep and indulge in a scrumptious slice of chocolate bourbon pecan pie.  I will be placing my money on Justify to win.  He is a big impressive chestnut colt who looks like Secretariat and has been turning in impressive workouts and races.  My other picks after that are Bolt D’Oro and Audible.  However, My Boy Jack is also looking impressive as well as Magnum Moon and Mendelssohn.  As I watch Justify hopefully join the winner’s circle, I will be sipping on a mint julep and eating a slice of this delicious pie.  I hope you do likewise, and join me in celebrating the greatest two minutes in sports.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Serves 12

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour*
• 2/3 cup shortening, chilled
• 1/3 cups ice water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 2 cups pecan halves, toasted
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2.5 Tablespoons bourbon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Crust:

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour and the salt.
2. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in the shortening until the dough contains small pea-sized bites.
3. Add water two Tablespoons at a time, mixing just enough to moisten the dough.
4. Bring dough together to form a ball, then press into a disk and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in the fridge and let chill for an hour.
5. Place dough on a well-floured sheet of parchment paper.  Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is  approximately 1/8″-thick and a couple inches wider than the diameter of the pie plate you’re using.  Trim and shape the edges to your desired design.  Place back in the fridge to chill until ready to use.

Filling:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Toast pecans on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan for five minutes or until fragrant.  Watch carefully so pecans do not burn.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together everything except for the pecans and the chocolate chips until smooth.
4. Stir in the pecan halves and chocolate chips.
5. Pour mixture into your prepared pie crust.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the center of your pie is set.  At around the 30-minute mark, loosely cover your pie with foil to prevent your pie crust from becoming excessively browned.
6. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

*You can substitute this for all-purpose flour.

*For more bourbon and chocolate desserts, check out my bacon bourbon chocolate chip cookies.