Bourbon Pumpkin Pecan Pie

Preparation

1. Par-bake the crust: Place oven rack in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. Do not prick chilled crust. Line the crust with a double layer of foil. Bake 10 minutes. Remove foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Return crust to oven to bake 5 minutes more, or until edges are lightly golden and bottom is dry. Remove crust and set aside while you prepare the filling.

2. Make the pumpkin layer: Stir together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pie spice, eggs, cream, and bourbon in a mixing bowl. Pour pumpkin filling into par-baked shell and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.

3. Make the pecan layer: Combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar, maple syrup, butter, bourbon, vanilla extract, salt, and chopped pecans in a mixing bowl. Gently spoon on top of pumpkin layer and continue to bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until top layer is puffed up, set, and crust is golden brown.

4. Let pie cool completely, at least 2 hours. Filling will set further as pie cools. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 8 hours before serving. (Once cool, the baked pie can be covered and chilled up to 3 days or wrapped tightly and frozen up to 1 month.) Bring to room temperature, or warm slightly, to serve. Top with bourbon whipped cream (recipe follows), if desired.

5. Bourbon whipped cream: Beat the cream and powdered sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed to soft peaks; add the bourbon. Beat to stiff peaks.

6. Tip: If crust begins to brown before the pie has set, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil during the last half of baking.