Fall is such a beautiful time of year! I love when there is a warm breeze blowing outside. I go through the house and open all the windows. There’s just something refreshing about a clean house and open windows….it’s  just the best!

A couple days into the fall season an organic can of pumpkin that had sat in my cabinet for far to long kept calling my name. Hmmm, what could I make with this? I remembered that I had won a pumpkin pie contest the year before. I thought about what I made, and decided to take it a step further! What I ended up with was spectacular! I mean, pumpkin pie is good on its own, but when you add a brown butter pecan crust, and a maple bourbon whipped cream, that’s just another level of pumpkin goodness!

We don’t want to forget that pumpkin is super healthy! It’s packed with vitamin A, has more potassium than a banana, and it’s full of beta-carotene!

Pumpkin Pie with Brown Butter Pecan Crust and Maple Bourbon Whipped Cream

Pumpkin pie

• 1 can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup 1/2 1/2
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of each ginger, Cardamom, and nutmeg
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp bourbon
• 2 eggs

Crust

• 1 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup crushed pecans
• About 1/4 cup ice water

Whipped cream

• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp Bourbon

Directions 

• Preheat oven to 400.
• In a small skillet place 1 stick butter over medium heat. Allow butter to melt. Stir the butter frequently. It will start to look foamy and you should see brown bits forming and it will smell nutty. Stay right with it, and be careful it doesn’t  burn. It should look like this
  
• After butter is browned, place in the freezer to harden.
• In a food processor, place pecans and pulse them a couple times to crush them into small pieces.
• In a medium bowl with a wooden spoon mix flour, salt, sugar and pecans.
• Remove the hardened brown butter from the freezer and cut into flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until butter is pea size.
• Add water a tablespoon at a time stirring after each tablespoon. Continue to add until dough just comes together.
• Turn dough into a lightly floured surface and roll with a rolling pin until it’s about a 1/4 inch thick.
• Place into the pie dish removing any excess and making edges look nice. Set in fridge to stay cool while you make the filling.

FILLING

• In a medium mixing bowl place all the ingredients for the filling. Mix with a hand mixer for 3-4 min on medium High, then pour into pie shell. Bake 10 minutes on 400 then reduce to 350. Cook 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
• While pie is cooling make whipped cream.

WHIPPED CREAM

• In a small skillet over medium heat place maple syrup, and Bourbon. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until it starts to bubble and thicken.
• Remove from heat.
• In a medium bowl, place whipping cream.
• With a hand mixer, mix on medium high until it starts to get thick. Pour in maple syrup, bourbon mixture and mix until peak forms. ( do not over mix or it will turn lumpy and start to turn into butter!)