Foodie Friday -- Molasses Bourbon Pecan Pie

Here is a pecan pie with a little bit of a twist.

Molasses Bourbon Pecan Pie

Crust:

1 ½ cups flour

¾ tsp. salt

6 Tbls. shortening

5 to 6 Tbls ice water

Filling:

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

¾ cup corn syrup

½ cup molasses

3 Tbls. butter

½ tsp salt

3 eggs, beaten

2 Tbls. Bourbon whisky

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups pecan halves

In large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until easy to handle.

Roll out pastry to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry to ½-inch beyond edge of plate; flute edges. Refrigerate.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, butter and salt; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. (Mixture will thicken when cooled.)

When filling is cooled, stir in eggs, bourbon and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Cover edges with foil during the last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

Cool on wire rack.

Tips & tricks:

·         The crust that came with this recipe was easy and quite good.

·         The molasses (Brer Rabbit—full flavor) that I used was pretty strong, overpowering in this recipe. If I made this recipe again, I would use ¼ cup of molasses and ¼ cup more corn syrup.

·         This recipe calls for pecan halves. The problem with pecan halves is that they are difficult to cut when you are ready to serve the pie. I would suggest chopping the pecans, but retaining a few halves to use as decoration on top.

·         If you have any pie leftover after cutting, then refrigerate the remaining pie.