Description
This maple-bourbon pumpkin pie goes so well with the salty, sweet pecan-graham crust. To put it over the top, add meringue and toast it up.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust:
- 3/4 cup pecans
- 6 full graham cracker sheets (~1 cup crumbs)
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 15oz can pumpkin puree (or 1 3/4 cups of pureed fresh pumpkin or winter squash)
- 1/4 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat, Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Pinch ground cloves
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon bourbon, dark rum or brandy (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
Meringue:
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Toast nuts: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet. Toast for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Cool. Keep oven on.
- Prebake crust: Add cooled pecans, graham crackers, sugars and salt to a food processor. Pulse until fine crumbs form. Drizzle in butter and pulse to combine. Pat graham mix along the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Prebake the crust for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven to 325°F.
- Reduce maple: Add maple syrup to a small pot. Bring to a simmer and cook about 3-5 minutes to thicken slightly. You should have about 2/3 of a cup of syrup remaining.
- Mix filling: In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sour cream, ginger, salt and spices. Whisk in cooled maple syrup. Whisk in eggs. Add cream, bourbon and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Bake: Carefully pour filling into cooled crusted. Gently knock on counter to pop any air bubbles. Bake on center rack of oven for 60-70 minutes or until mostly set with a very slight jiggle in the center. Start checking at 50 minutes, as all ovens are different. Cool on wire rack for several hours until room temperature.
- Make meringue: When pie is completely cooled, add egg whites, sugar and salt to the bowl of a standing mixer. Place on stove top over a pot filled with 2-3 inches of boiling water (like a double boiler). Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Whisk over heat until sugar is dissolved in egg whites, about 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to stand mixer, fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Increase to high and beat until glossy, about 6 more minutes.
- Top the pie: Spoon meringue over top of pie. Using the back of a spoon, press bottom layer slightly into pie to help meringue adhere. Top with remaining meringue. Decorate using an offset spatula or tool of choice. You may also apply the meringue using a piping bag.
- Torch it: Using a culinary torch, hold on a 90° angle 3-4 inches from pie and move back and forth until all of meringue is lightly browned. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
The meringue was adapted from Martha Stewart.
The pumpkin filling was adapted from Bon Appetit.
As an alternative to torching the meringue, place pie under your broiler for a few minutes to brown, rotating if needed.
You can bake the pie 1-2 days before serving. I suggest to wait until the day you plan to serving to make the meringue topping.
Store the pie in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To freeze the pie, cut and wrap individual slices in plastic wrap. Store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. To defrost, place the pie in the fridge overnight or on the counter for several hours.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10 of pie
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 41g
- Sodium: 300mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 7g
