I'm often a fan of the traditional Thanksgiving recipes but even I'll be throwing tradition to the wind this year with this variation on a Bourbon Pecan Pie - made with a BLONDIE Crust and absolutely no corn syrup. It's SO much better than the regular old pastry crust pies - and balances the often sickeningly sweet gooey insides of a pecan pie with a little more heft ( but still lots of gooey goodness.)
Truth be told, I had no intention of making anything close to an actual pie with this recipe. At first I thought it had been a massive failure. I wanted to make more of a thick blondie with a layer of pecan on top.
Instead, the pecan layer sunk down into the blondies, creating a sort of bread pudding type effect, but with a little more heft to it.
I almost threw it out. Then I looked at it and thought, "wow, this is really gorgeous. And oh yeah ... pecans are EXPENSIVE and maybe I don't want to throw out a pan of them."
So I cut a piece, and took a bite.
Absolutely heavenly!
Somehow this hot mess express turned into something that is better than any traditional pecan pie I've ever had or made.
TBH You should also just make this blondie crust sometime and enjoy it as is.
For one thing, this pecan pie made without corn syrup uses maple syrup to bind and sweeten instead. Then, the blondie layer gives something for all that deliciousness to soak into.
Oh and there's bourbon.
Did I mention the bourbon yet???
There's bourbon in all of it. Layers and layers of bourbon.
The bourbon gives a bite that cuts through all the sweetness and gives this pecan pie blondie thing some soul.
I am not kidding - I will never make another pecan pie again.
This is all I want from now on.
Blondies.
Pecans.
BOURBON.
CanIGetAnAmen???
If you love pecans, you have got to try some of my other pecan recipes:
Bourbon Pecan Pie with Blondie Crust
Ingredients
- For the Blondies:
- ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup melted butter
- 2 cups unbleached All Purpose flour
- 2 cups brown sugar loosely packed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 2 teaspoons bourbon
- For the pecan filling:
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¾ cup brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 Tablespoon bourbon
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cup pecans pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Tear a sheet of parchment paper and place it in a 9" cast iron skillet that is fairly deep. My standard Lodge 9" skillet was perfect. No need to do anything fancier with the paper than place it in the skillet and fold a few edges into it so that it roughly sits in the pan with its corners hanging over the edges.
- Make the blondies first: Stir together the melted butter and sugar. Stir in the vanilla and eggs. Once they are all combined, stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Spread the blondie batter into the lined skillet, trying to keep as much of it as possible from getting caught in any wrinkles in the paper ( this is not as hard as it sounds, I promise. )
- Baked at 350 for 25 minutes.
- While the blondie crust is baking, prepare the pecan pie filling: Combine the maple syrup and melted butter in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar, bourbon, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the eggs until they are well combined. Stir in the pecan pieces.
- When the blondes come out of the oven, let them rest for about 10 minutes, then pour the pecan pie filling on top and place the skillet back in the oven for 30 minutes.
Please share your thoughts on this recipe!