Perfect Bourbon-Chocolate Chunk-Pecan Pie with Homemade Crust (a.k.a Friday Pie)

Bourbon. Chocolate Chunks. Pecan Pie. Three things that should go hand-in-hand... permanently. This pie is the bomb. As a Southerner, I obviously love pecan pie. We have it at every holiday. It truly is a main-stay in our home. But if you add some good ole' bourbon and dark chocolate chunks into the mix, well my friend, you have a perfect pie in my eyes. The bourbon complements the dark brown sugar and corn syrup, but also gives an amazing depth to the dessert that is missed without it. And then, the dark chocolate chunks, not chips, chips are whimpy to me, so go get yourself a good bar of chocolate and whack it up into chunks and toss it into the pie shell. It really makes a difference. The chocolate stays melted throughout the pie and gives it a nice creaminess, but also a bitterness to balance all the sweetness. Just a lot of "ness" as you can see. Yum is really all I can say. Don't save this perfect pie for holidays, make it every day (I know it's not realistic). I just started calling it "Friday Pie" because I tend to make this almost every friday to enjoy throughout the weekend!! Enjoy :)

The Topping is Perfectly Crispy & Crackly, but Underneath is Amazing Gooey-ness!! 

Perfect Bourbon-Chocolate Chunk-Pecan Pie with Homemade Crust

For the Homemade Crust:

1 ¼C AP Flour (plus extra for rolling)

½t Salt

1 ½t Sugar

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Very Cold

3-4T Ice Water

For the Bourbon Chocolate Chip Pecan Pies:

1C Sugar

2T Brown Sugar

½t Salt

1C Dark Corn Syrup

1t Vanilla

½C Browned Butter, Melted & Slightly Cooled

3 Whole Eggs, Beaten

2C Toasted Pecans, Chopped

½C Chocolate Chunks   

2T Bourbon

Directions:

1. To Make the Pâte Brisée: Start by cutting the sticks of butter into ½inch cubes and placing in the freezer bag, along with the flour, salt, and sugar. Place the bag of flour into the freezer and chill for at least 1-2 hours. In a food processor, pour the frozen flour bag in and pulse 6-8 times until the mixture resembles a course meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add water 1T at a time, pulsing until the mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch of some of the crumbly dough and it holds together then it’s ready. Remove the dough from the machine and place on a clean surface. Shape the dough into a disc. Do not over knead the dough. You should still be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. Sprinkle the discs with a little flour on all sides and wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour. Remove the disc from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disc. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12inch circle (1/8inch thick). Place rolled out disc on to a deep dish spring form pan, lining up the fold with the center of the pan, trimming the excess and crimping the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
2. To Make the Pecan Pie: Mix together the sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, browned butter, eggs, vanilla, and bourbon until smooth. Toss together the chopped pecans and chocolate chips until combined. Pour them into the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. Pour the liquid mixture over the top of the pecans. Cover the top of the pie and crust gently with foil.
3. Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, remove the foil, and then continue baking for another 30-45 minutes. The pie should not be overly jiggly when you remove it from the oven, if it is then bake it for an additional 10-20 minutes (I baked my pie a total of an hour and a half, but sometimes I do need the extra cooking time).
4. Allow to cool for several hours or overnight.