Bourbon Pecan Pie Brownies | How Sweet It Is

Bourbon Pecan Pie Brownies.

November 22, 2010

In search of the perfect non-pumpkin dessert?

You are in luck. I have just the ticket.

This is one of the most scrumptious recipes I have posted to date. I know I say that all the time, but this I mean it.

How do you know a recipe is good? When the batter alone makes you feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven. I squealed like a little kid when I realized I had this whole bowl to lick by myself.

These brownies are to die for. They are a cross between gooey fudge and dense, dark chocolate. I think this is by far the best brownie recipe I have ever tried.

And the topping? Well… let’s just say it gives pecan pie a run for it’s money.
The original recipe called for corn syrup, but I was out of luck. I did, however, have some brown rice syrup, and it worked perfectly.

And what worked even more perfectly was a straight shot of whiskey right into the sugar + butter + syrup mixture. Sweet, sweet bourbon.

There was no shortage of this behind our bar.
I chopped a big pile of pecans by hand because I wanted a more rustic pecan topping. Instead of uniform pecan chunks, some came out smaller and some out larger. Chunky and crunchy.

I was half tempted to not even top the brownies, because they were that good. But after a few hundred spoonfuls of the pecan topping, I knew it could only get better.

And it did.

Waiting for these to bake was the longest 35 minutes of my life.

Scratch that… waiting for them to cool was the longest 35 minutes of my life.
And you should learn something from that. They definitely need longer than 35 minutes to cool. But I couldn’t wait any more.

Does that not look like pure perfection? It makes me want to dive in head first. Clearly, I did.

I was afraid that these may be a bit too rich even for me, but I think the key is cutting them into small squares so they only last a few bites. After one, you will crave another. And after two, you will probably be satisfied. But they are so delicious that you will eat a third anyway. And maybe even a seventh.

Especially when they look so pretty basking in the morning sunlight. Bourbon pecan pie brownies are an excellent breakfast choice, let me tell you. Black Friday breakfast anyone?

And they only get better with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Don’t fear adding more sugar on top. It helps cut the sweetness, the richness, and the chewiness. It’s like when the Cheesecake Factory tops their 1275-calorie slice of cheesecake with two cups of whipped cream. It breaks up the rich desserts… and helps you eat more.
And would you believe that I don’t love any sort of nuts in my dessert? And I also don’t love pecan pie. But really, you just can’t go wrong with the chocolate, the salted pecans, the bourbon… it transforms this dessert. Don’t let the ingredient list intimidate you – it is really quite simple! And completely worth it, even if you only end up licking the bowl.

Bourbon Pecan Pie Brownies

slightly adapted from NBC SNF Cookbook

makes about 16 brownies

for brownies:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups sugar

10 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325.

In a small bowl, beat eggs and vanilla and set aside. In a double boiler, add butter, cocoa, sugar and salt. Mix until the mixture becomes a batter – this will take approximately 10 minutes and at first will just look like clumps of cocoa power. Be patient! Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the egg mixture and combined. Stir in flour until batter is smooth, then pour in a baking dish (I used 6 X 10 dish). Bake for 20 minutes, then let cool completely.
pecan filling:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons whiskey

2 cups chopped pecans

Using an electric mixer, cream rice syrup and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until combined, then add butter and whiskey. Once mixture is thoroughly combined, fold in chopped pecans, then pour over brownies. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until pecan filling is set.

Let cool completely, then refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Top with freshly whipped cream.