I love a good classic pumpkin pie like the Libby’s recipe I used for years, but this Vanilla-Bourbon Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Bourbon Crust is something special.
The crust recipe, of course, is optional, but it does add a boost of flavor. Use a normal homemade crust or a storebought one, but be sure to follow the instructions to blind-bake. You don’t want to end up with the dreaded soggy bottom–though the use of a hot cookie sheet will lessen the odds of that as well.
I wouldn’t say the pie tastes “boozy” but the bourbon adds a very fresh note that complements everything beautifully.
Also, I want to link back to the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie I posted recently that uses the same crust recipe! If you get a tiny pocket-sized bottle of bourbon, it’ll be perfect for these two recipes.
Bready or Not Original: Vanilla Bourbon Pie Crust
Equipment
- food processor
- plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 3 Tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 10 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla paste or one scraped vanilla pod
- 1 Tablespoon cold bourbon
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- In a large food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, and salt. Add about a third of the butter and pulse. Add the remaining butter and pulse into it’s the size of peas. Add the vanilla paste, bourbon, and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pulse until it comes together, adding a little more water if needed.
- Turn dough out on a surface to knead until it fully comes together. Flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic to chill for at least an hour or up to a few days. It’s also great to freeze for future pies.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Vanilla Bourbon Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- pie crust shaped into pan and chilled
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons bourbon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- Cool Whip or whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 425 degrees. Place a cookie sheet in oven to heat up as well.
- Line the crust with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Place on hot cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until turning lightly golden at edges. Carefully use foil to lift out beans/weight, setting them on another baking sheet.
- Continue to bake crust another 5 to 10 minutes, until dry across bottom. Set aside and begin making filling.
- Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees. Place the cookie sheet back in the oven to stay hot.
- On the stovetop, place the heavy cream, bourbon, and cinnamon stick in a small-sized pot. Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat.
- Transfer the hot liquid to a sturdy mixing bowl and let cool slightly. Mix in the pumpkin, the eggs one at a time, both sugars, and the pie spice. Once everything is combined, remove the cinnamon stick and throw it away.
- Pour filling into the crust. Place pie on hot cookie sheet. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, checking near the hour point to cover the edges with strips of foil if it is getting too brown. When the pie is done, it is not jiggly in the middle and a butter knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely, then cover with foil to store in the fridge or at room temperature. Serve with Cool Whip or whipped cream.
