Bourbon Pumpkin Pie

In the spirit of Thanksgiving food that can (and should) be eaten all season-long, I thought I’d post this pumpkin pie. Wait, you know how to make pumpkin pie? You just made one last week? The recipe is on the can? Silly me. I guess I shouldn’t tell you about this revelatory pumpkin pie I made last week then, with a filling that was light as air and yet still extraordinarily full of essence of pumpkin, plus a little je ne sais quoi that I think the bourbon had a lot to do with.

Oh. You do want to hear about it? Well, good.

I do love all pumpkin pie, from the kind you get in a cafeteria to the most elaborate, but this one is really one of the best I can remember making. Usually, I make two pies: pumpkin and something else. The something else pie being the star, the pumpkin being the understudy, there to help sate people’s sweet tooths and provide a little comforting tradition. This year, though, I decided not to spend all 72 hours before Thanksgiving in the kitchen, and so decided to only make one pie, which for me would have to be pumpkin.

Particularly since I was doing a Gourmet tribute dinner of sorts, with my entire menu from their November 2009 last issue ever. And, as if in a gift from the culinary gods, that last issue happened to hold what for me has been a kind of holy grail of recipes: Bourbon Pumpkin Pie.

I got the idea for a bourbon pumpkin pie last year, back when the internets had no clues for how to attain such a wondrous feat. No clues! How is that possible? I don’t know, but I forged ahead anyway, which basically meant dumping a lot of bourbon into a bourbon-less pumpkin pie recipe. The pie was good, but I thought I could do still better.

This pie was great. I’d like to give the credit to the bourbon, but really, I think it was the sour cream that is added to the pumpkin puree that pushed it over the edge. Oh, and I had a crust failure for the first time…ever? In years, at least. So I’m here to tell you that you can survive a crust failure. Mine, despite being weighted down with foil and pie weights, still shrank massively in the oven. I despaired for a moment but then I pulled out the Julia Child within me and just poured the filling in anyway. And you know what? It came out perfectly fine. That’s the thing about pie pans; you don’t even need a crust, really. As it was, this one was buttery and flaky and wonderful, it was just small. Not sure if that was a problem with the recipe or with me. So because of that, and also because Epicurious isn’t linking to the pastry dough recipe, I will leave you to use your favorite pie dough recipe. Or use this one, which comes with my pie-crust tips, though seems to have lost the slideshow in our move to the new web site (this one mixes butter and vegetable shortening; the Gourmet recipe calls for an all-butter crust, FYI).

And, a last note, I used Knob Creek in this, but if I did it again I’d try for Woodford Reserve or some other similarly intense, smoky bourbon. I think it would add a lot, and it’s only 3 1/2 Tbsp., after all, and then you have the whole nice bottle to see you through the rest of Thanksgiving.

Bourbon Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from Gourmet

Serves about 8

Ingredients

Pastry dough
1 (15-ounces) can pure pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons bourbon
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Equipment: a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate (6-cup capacity); pie weights or dried beans

Accompaniment: lightly sweetened whipped cream (add 1 teaspoon bourbon per 1/2 cup cream if desired)

1. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and lightly press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (or freeze 10 minutes).

2. Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.

3. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until side is set and edge is golden, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil and bake shell until golden all over, 10 to 15 minutes more. Cool completely.

4. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour into cooled shell.

5. Bake until edge of filling is set but center trembles slightly, about 45 minutes (filling will continue to set as it cools). Cool completely.  Serve with whipped cream.