{"id":680,"date":"2010-10-22T19:00:09","date_gmt":"2010-10-22T23:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gandgmag.wpengine.com\/articles\/uncategorized\/bourbon-pecan-pie\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T14:28:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T18:28:19","slug":"bourbon-pecan-pie","status":"publish","type":"recipe","link":"https:\/\/gardenandgun.com\/recipe\/bourbon-pecan-pie\/","title":{"rendered":"Bourbon Pecan Pie"},"content":{"rendered":"

The only tree nut indigenous to the South, the pecan has been used in the region\u2019s cooking since the earliest colonists met Native Americans. But the rise of pecan pie\u2014sometimes called Karo pie\u2014came centuries later, commonly traced to a product-based recipe printed on jars of Karo corn syrup, circa 1930.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t surprise me,\u201d says Hilary White, the chef and co-owner of Bistro Hilary<\/a> in Senoia, Georgia. \u201cThere was a day when family favorites were a mix of recipes clipped from the Sunday newspaper and Ladies Auxiliary books. Others came straight off the flour sack.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While pecans grow throughout the South, Georgia has been the nation\u2019s largest producer since the late 1800s. The state\u2019s growers even donated enough pecan trees to create wood handles for more than ten thousand torches carried during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. With peak harvesting months October to December, it makes sense that pecan pie became a traditional Southern holiday dessert, and the rich, nutty flavor matches the aromatic spices used in savory Thanksgiving recipes. \u201cEvery year my father\u2019s parents would drive from Florida to Ohio, where my family lived at the time, stopping in Georgia to buy pecans,\u201d White says. \u201cI remember it was dark outside and we\u2019d sit in the eat-in kitchen, picking them. My grandfather would use the nutcracker, and my grandmother and I would use the nut picks. It was delicate work because you didn\u2019t want to crush the pecans but keep them perfect halves for the pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Johnny Autry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

White\u2019s maternal grandmother contributed the piecrust, and like most inherited family recipes, it has a few \u201cmiracle\u201d ingredients. The flaky tenderness comes from fresh white lard, testament to the recipe\u2019s age. And the acidity in the vinegar enhances the workability of the dough, keeping it so pliable you don\u2019t even have to rest it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPie making is sort of a lost art,\u201d White says, \u201cand this is a good old recipe.\u201d Though she did add one other miracle ingredient to her grandparents\u2019 version: bourbon. \u201cIt has the same flavor nuances of the dark corn syrup and makes the pie even more Southern.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to beat a fresh pecan pie, unless you add a little bourbon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":54306,"template":"","categories":[1780,2391],"tags":[34,51,19,3048,1747,279],"authors":[1825],"issue":[2380],"recipe-type":[2505],"class_list":["post-680","recipe","type-recipe","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-drink","category-recipes","tag-anatomy-of-a-classic","tag-bourbon","tag-georgia","tag-holiday-recipes","tag-holidays","tag-sweets","authors-francine-maroukian","issue-oct-nov-2010","location-georgia","recipe-type-sweets"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nBourbon Pecan Pie – Garden & Gun<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s hard to beat a fresh pecan pie, unless you add a little bourbon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gardenandgun.com\/recipe\/bourbon-pecan-pie\/\" 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