How To Use Bourbon To Amp Up Your Pecan Pie

We mostly see a classic pecan pie recipe come out of the woodwork at Thanksgiving celebrations, but there's no reason to limit this tasty treat to a fall holiday. The ingredient list for this dessert is short and as sweet as the pie itself, with only the nuts and other baking staples making the cut, so there's no need to wait until the weather starts getting crisp. But if the flavors of pecan pie only sound exciting in the context of Thanksgiving, there's one easy addition that will make yours much more appealing any time of year: soaking the pecans in bourbon first.

Everything is more fun with a boozy twist, and you can use bourbon to add one here. The nutty, buttery taste of pecans pairs well with dark liqueurs, but it goes especially nicely with the warm, caramel notes in bourbon, creating a richer dessert with an overall deeper flavor. You'll want to soak your nuts in the alcohol ahead of time, then incorporate them into your recipe like you normally would. In general, go for about 3 tablespoons of booze for every ½ cup of whole pecans. You can do this for just an hour if that's all you have, but overnight is ideal for the strongest flavor.

Once your nuts are ready, you have a few options on how to proceed with the rest of the pie, depending on how strong you want the bourbon flavor to be. Feel free to stop at the presoak, or go further by incorporating booze into your filling as well, which should mostly bake off in the oven. Just as you didn't use much when soaking the pecans, you should only need about 2 to 3 tablespoons here, which you'll stir together with filling ingredients like eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar. Before you add the bourbon-soaked nuts to the mixture, make sure to drain off any excess alcohol so your pie doesn't end up with too much liquid.

For the bourbon enthusiasts, there's room to keep going. Make extra soaked pecans and arrange them in a pretty pattern on top of your pie before baking, and beat together whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and bourbon to make a boozy homemade whipped cream topping. There's also no need to stick to using your liquored-up nuts in a pie recipe. Try expanding their reach to pecan pie bars, tarts, cheesecake, cookies, or even muffins. Then test them out in banana pecan brownies, pecan sandies, and butter pecan cake.