Hello, and happy Pi day! Not that one needs a reason to celebrate pies, or to cook with bourbon, but just in case you are interested in doing just that, I’ve got a recipe for you.  It comes from the fine website Doughmesstic, with a few changes suggested by my wife Jen.

Last year, my work celebrated Pi day with a pie-potluck of sorts, where people brought in pies of all shapes and sizes, including quiches, breakfast specialties and some desert items.  That’s when Jen first made this Bourbon pie, and even included bourbon whipped topping.

I won’t lie, it was a bit of a wake up at 8 in the morning…

But that said, at the end of the day, I took home TWO empty pie tins, and regretted we had not made a third just for our own consumption.

So make the pie with the recipe below, and enjoy!

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
1/4 tsp. salt
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon bourbon (I prefer Woodford Reserve for this)

Combine flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a food processor (if possible) and combine with ‘pulse’ mode

Take the butter pieces and lay over dry ingredients. Once more, ‘pulse’ to allow butter to cut in.  It will be in varied sizes – that’s ok.

Break up the yolk and stir it in, slowly, ‘pulsing’ with each small addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses–about 10 seconds each–until the dough, whisk will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds.*

Add bourbon.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

To press the dough into the pan: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked.

Don’t be too heavy-handed–press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.*

*italicized text from Doughmesstic website

Filling:

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Vanilla Sugar (or regular sugar – vanilla sugar can be difficult to find)
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Melted Butter
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/3 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
3 Tablespoons Bourbon (I prefer Elijah Craig for this)
1 Tbsp Vanilla

Combine flour and sugar, then add beaten eggs. Pour over melted butter and stir to incorporate. Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Pour into frozen pie crust, and bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, until a nice crust forms on top and appears set. Do not overbake. Also, be careful of burning crust – if it appears to be getting too brown, wrap it in foil and continue to bake the remaining time.

Jen’s Bourbon Whipped Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp Bourbon

Mix well and chill