"Derby" Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

While I wish I was posting a Peanut Butter Pie for Jennie today in honor of her husband, this will have to do.  Please join me in sending prayers for her and her family her way, and take a look around the blogosphere to see everyone who's honoring Mikey's memory today.
This, ladies and gents, is my first pie.  My very first pie that I made all by myself.
You can picture my proud-and-accomplished face here.

This pie was my contribution to a "Throwdown" between me and my friend Jim - who hopefully will be guest-posting his chicken thigh recipe soon!  This basically just meant that he cooked dinner, I made dessert, and our friends and family consumed and greatly enjoyed them!  This Throwdown was also followed by the most epic game of Apples to Apples I've ever played.  I think everyone won :)

One of our favorite desserts at a restaurant near our place in WV is called a Kentucky Derby - it's a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a pecan pie, served warm with whipped cream and hot fudge.  It's insanely delicious.
When I found a version of the Derby on She's Becoming Doughmesstic (one of my favorite blogs, and another VA girl!), naturally, it was the first pie I wanted to try to make.  I mean, warm chocolate pecan cookie pie?  What's not to love?

Of course, we had to kick up the decadence too - we topped the gooey pie with vanilla bean ice cream, homemade hot fudge (recipe coming soon!), caramel syrup, and freshly whipped cream.  It was positively dreamy.  I can see this recipe being made and enjoyed over and over again in the future.

Those slices disappeared SO quickly.

And now I want more pie.

"Derby" Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Source: crust from How to Cook Everything, filling adapted from She's Becoming Doughmesstic

For the deep-dish pie crust:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1-1/2 tsp sugar

10 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water, plus more if necessary

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and sugar until combined.  With a pastry blender, cut in the butter in two stages - 6 tbsp until some pieces the size of peas remain, then the remaining 4 tbsp - until the mixture looks like cornmeal.  Add the ice water and mix with your hands until you can form the dough into a ball, adding another tablespoon or two of water if necessary.  If you overdo it and the dough becomes sodden, just add a bit more flour.  Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for at least 30 before rolling it out.

To roll out, place the dough on a floured surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour.  Use a rolling pin to roll with light pressure out from the center into a circle, using ragged edges to repair any tears.  Once the diameter of the dough is about 2 inches greater than that of your pie plate, fold the dough in half, gently transfer halfway onto the pie plate, and unfold to settle into the plate.  Trim the edges of the dough to 1 inch over the edge, fold it underneath itself around the edge of the plate, and flute the crust with your preferred method.  Freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 30 before filling.

For the filling:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 cup pecans, chopped (I used 1/2 cup coarsely chopped and 1/2 cup finely chopped)

1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup milk chocolate chips

1 tbsp vanilla (I use Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla)

2 tbsp Kentucky bourbon

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚F

Combine sugar and flour in a large bowl, then add the beaten eggs - the mixture will be thick and pale yellow.  Pour over melted butter and stir to combine.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate fully.  Pour into the refrigerated or frozen pie shell and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a nice crust forms on top and it appears set.  A table knife should come out clean when inserted into the filling.  Allow to set up until cool enough to slice and serve with any desired toppings - vanilla bean ice cream, whipped cream, and hot fudge encouraged!  Enjoy!