My favourite dessert is pecan pie, and I was attracted to a recipe in the New York Times that added bourbon to the mix. How could that be a bad thing? This recipe is modified from the one in the Times.
For the crust, add a quarter teaspoon fine sea salt to a cup and a quarter all-purpose flour in your food processor and mix well. Take a quarter pound of butter, cold, cut into small squares and add to the mix. Slowly add 2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, until the mixture comes together, moist but not wet. You will know the difference. Remove and knead slightly to form a ball, push the ball down to form a disc. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour to overnight.
For the pie filling, beat three eggs together with an egg white from one egg, then mix in 2/3 cup white sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2/3 cup light corn syrup, 1/3 cup melted butter, 3 tablespoons bourbon (you can use rye whiskey or rum in the absence of bourbon), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt.
Take your dough from the refrigerator about an hour ahead of baking time, roll it out and place on a well-buttered pie pan, crimping the edges. Roughly chop 1 and 1/4 cups of pecans (I used whole pecans for my first attempt and they make the pie more difficult to slice when serving) and spread on your unbaked crust. Pour the pie filling over the pecans.
Having set your oven to 375 degrees F, bake the pie for 50 minutes, until the crimped edge of the crust is golden brown. Once done, let your pie cool down for about an hour. Slice and serve with whipped or ice cream.