Bourbon Pecan Pie
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Made with brown butter and a splash of bourbon, this bourbon pecan pie has a richer, more complex flavor than the typical pecan pie.
This is truly an outstanding bourbon pecan pie, and the recipe credit goes to longtime reader Jeff Winett of Sherman Oaks, California. Jeff is an avid baker, so when he emailed me his “never-fails-to-thrill” pecan pie recipe, I knew I had to save it for the holidays. Made with dark brown sugar, golden syrup, brown butter and a shot of bourbon, the pie is richer with a more complex praline flavor—and also less cloyingly sweet—than your typical pecan pie. And the best part? It doesn’t take much more effort. The only extra step is browning the butter, which takes just five minutes but makes a world of difference in flavor. The payoff is totally worth it!
“I have made this pie several times and feel it is hands down the best pecan pie I have ever tried.”
What You’ll Need To Make Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Pie crust – I like to make a homemade crust for my pecan pies—it’s easy once you get the hang of it—but a store-bought crust will work well, too. It’s up to you!
- Unsalted butter – Browned, adds deep, nutty flavor and richness to the filling.
- Dark brown sugar – Brings sweetness and a deep, molasses-like flavor that complements the pecans and bourbon.
- Light corn syrup – Sweetens the filling and helps bind the ingredients, creating that classic gooey texture.
- Golden syrup – A thick, amber-colored sweetener with a slightly toasty, caramel-like edge. You can find it in the baking aisle of most large supermarkets near the corn syrup and molasses. The most well-known brand is Lyle’s, which is widely available in the UK (and sold at Whole Foods in the US) but King Golden Syrup is more common in the US.
- Eggs – Binds the filling together and provides structure as it bakes.
- Bourbon – Adds warmth and depth of flavor, enhancing the richness of the pie.
- Vanilla extract – Adds warmth and rounds out the flavors of the filling.
- Salt – Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors of the filling and pecans.
- Pecans – The star of the pie, bringing crunch and nutty flavor to every bite. Reserve a few whole pecans for a decorative touch on top.
- Beaten egg, milk, or cream, for brushing the edges (optional) – Creates a beautifully golden, shiny crust.
- Unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving – The perfect creamy contrast to the rich, sweet pie.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Crust
If using a store-bought refrigerated crust that is already rolled, simply unroll it, and fit it into a 9-inch by 1½-inch deep-dish pie pan. If using a homemade crust, roll it out into a 12 to 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
Carefully lift the dough by draping it over your rolling pin, then transfer it to the pie pan.
Gently press the dough into the pan, ensuring it is smoothly eased into place without stretching. Trim the edges of the dough to extend about ½ inch beyond the pie pan’s lip. Crimp the edges with a fork or flute them with your fingers to create a decorative edge. Refrigerate until ready to fill, up to 1 day ahead of time.
Preheat the Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the lower third position. Place a baking sheet on this rack to preheat as well. (This acts like a pizza stone, providing a hot surface to help the bottom crust of the pie crisp up effectively.)
Step 2: Make the Filling
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter smells nutty and is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Once you smell that nutty aroma, take the pan off the heat and pour the browned butter into a large heat-proof bowl to cool. (The milk solids will darken and settle on the bottom of the saucepan. When you transfer the brown butter to the bowl, try to leave as much of this sediment in the pan as possible but don’t worry about it too much.)
To the bowl with the brown butter, add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and golden syrup and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, bourbon, vanilla, and salt.
Sprinkle the pecans in the pie crust.
Pour the syrup mixture over top. If you’ve set aside a few whole pecan halves, arrange them on top in a decorative pattern, pressing them slightly into the filling before letting them rise back up to ensure they’re coated. Brush the edges of the pie crust with the beaten egg, milk, or cream, if using.
Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet in the oven. Bake until set and golden, 50 to 55 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack, about 4 hours.
Serve at room temperature with unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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Bourbon Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked homemade pie crust, or store-bought 9-inch (23-cm) deep-dish pie crust, chilled
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- ⅔ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup golden syrup (such as Lyle’s or King)
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups pecan halves, coarsely chopped (save 8 to 10 whole pecan halves to create a decorative pattern on the surface of the pie, if you like)
- Beaten egg, milk, or cream, for brushing the edges
- Unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (optional, for serving)
Instructions
Prepare the Crust
- If using a store-bought refrigerated crust that is already rolled, simply unroll it, and fit it into a 9-inch by 1½-inch (23-cm by 4-cm) deep-dish pie pan. Press the dough gently into the pan to ensure it fits snugly without stretching. Trim the edges of the dough to extend about ½ inch beyond the pie pan's lip. Crimp the edges with a fork or flute them with your fingers to create a decorative edge. Refrigerate until ready to fill, up to 1 day ahead of time. If using a frozen crust, keep it in the freezer until you are ready to fill it.
- For a homemade crust, roll it out into a 12 to 13-inch (30 to 33-cm) circle on a lightly floured surface. Carefully lift the dough by draping it over your rolling pin, then transfer it to the pie pan. Gently press the dough into the pan, ensuring it is smoothly eased into place without stretching. Trim the edges of the dough to extend about ½ inch (13 mm) beyond the pie pan's lip. Crimp the edges with a fork or flute them with your fingers to create a decorative edge. Refrigerate until ready to fill, up to 1 day ahead of time.
- Preheat the Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the lower third position. Place a baking sheet on this rack to preheat as well. (This acts like a pizza stone, providing a hot surface to help the bottom crust of the pie crisp up effectively.)
Make the Filling
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter smells nutty and is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Once you smell that nutty aroma, take the pan off the heat and pour the browned butter into a large heat-proof bowl to cool. (The milk solids will darken and settle on the bottom of the saucepan. When you transfer the brown butter to the bowl, try to leave as much of this sediment in the pan as possible but don't worry about it too much.)
- To the bowl with the brown butter, add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and golden syrup and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, bourbon, vanilla, and salt.
- Sprinkle the pecans in the pie crust and then pour the syrup mixture over top. If you've set aside a few whole pecan halves, arrange them on top in a decorative pattern, pressing them slightly into the filling before letting them rise back up to ensure they're coated. Brush the edges of the pie crust with the beaten egg, milk, or cream.
- Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet in the oven. Bake until set and golden, 50 to 55 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack, about 4 hours. Serve at room temperature, plain or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Comments
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Hi Jenn – so sorry if this is duplicative. I thought I sent a comment a couple of days ago but not sure it went through since you’re very responsive and I don’t see an answer.
I was wondering if I could use a regular glass pie pan rather than a deep dish. I read another comment that someone did that but it was too crumbly because there might have been too many pecans. Is there a way to revise the recipe for a regular pie plate?
Thanks so much for your help.
Ellen
Hi Ellen, You can definitely use a regular 9-inch pie pan here — I would just hold back some of the filling and pecans if necessary.
I made this for my family for Thanksgiving last year and we all loved it! This recipe will be the only one I use going forward!
Jenn, Haven’t made it yet. But, can I substitute either butter pecan syrup or maple syrup for the king syrup? This is what I have on hand.
Hi Dina, I wouldn’t use those alternatives, but if you can’t find golden syrup, I’d sub 1/4 cup light corn syrup and 1/4 cup brown sugar (in addition to the amounts already called for in the recipe). Hope you enjoy!
Hello there, I am planning on making this pie but I’m not sure what to use instead of corn syrup. I live in France and have never seen this in any of the shops here so would I just be able to use extra golden syrup, or maybe maple syrup?
Hi Tricia, it’s fine to replace the corn syrup with more golden syrup. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn! Planning to make this pie for Thanksgiving! I am just curious why the instructions say to leave out as much of the toasted milk solids as possible? Does it mess with the texture or burn from the baking or something? Very excited to try this and will come back with a review!
Hi Lauren, leaving the milk solids behind gives a cleaner taste and texture. If the milk solids are really dark they can taste a bit bitter and have a grainy texture. Hope you enjoy the pie!
Hi Jenn, could I substitute the corn syrup with agave syrup? I already have it on hand.
Hi Joy, I’d actually replace the corn syrup with more golden syrup.
Thank you for sending this recipe at the perfect time. I couldn’t decide which of the 5 pecan pie recipes I have that I should make, but I saw this one and it sounds better than mine! So putting mine back in the recipe book and I’m going to make this one. Can’t wait to try it! Will let you know! Happy Thanksgiving!
This is a delicious pie, very rich and most important not overly sweet. I could not find golden syrup so as a sub I used 1/4 c light corn and 1/4 Steen’s cane syrup. Turned out great. The crust is also exceptionally delish. The only issue I had was that my cooking time is much longer than called for. I cooked for an hour and a half and still had to finish it by bumping up the temp to 365 at the end for 10-15 minutes to get it fully cooked. That was the case both times I made it so don’t know if it could have to do with the cane syrup, seems unlikely. At any rate, the best pecan pie I’ve ever had so worth the effort to figure out the cook time!
I’m having the same issue. It seems like the pie has much more filling than the pictures. I just put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes and I’ll keep checking it.
Thanks for the comment, it clarified whether to put it back into the oven or see if the wobble set as it cooled.
I made this at the request of a coworker. He stated it was amazing. I am not great with pie crust but this turned out better than I expected (I used all butter as I am not a fan of anything hydrogenated). Definitely a keeper. Will make again.
Hello, this recipe looks so delicious. Can you tell me the grams for 1 cup, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon? I just have a scale^^;;
I actually don’t know those offhand. Here’s the conversion tool we use for converting to metric/grams. You won’t find everything (i.e., baking powder) there, so I’d suggest you Google them. Keep in mind that it will likely require a little math. 🙂
This pie was delicious and so easy to prepare. It got rave reviews at a BBQ today. Used Fordy Creek whiskey as we Canadians don’t normally keep bourbon in our bar and was perfect.
Amazing! Best Pecan pie recipe as it is filled with pecans and the browned butter enhances the nutty taste.