Make spirits bright with a slice of eggnog pie! A layer of rich chocolate covers the pecan cookie crust for a delicious twist on this quintessential holiday flavor.
Eggnog is a mainstay of the season and I miss it when the holidays are over. Come January, it slowly disappears from the dairy case, not to return until Santa does next year. We’ve been relishing this treat nightly with gingersnaps around a cozy fire. It’s like our own tiny celebration of the season.
This pie offers a different way to celebrate with eggnog – a sliceable version wrapped in a pecan cookie crust. It’s rich with a bottom stripe of chocolate and lots of whipped cream on top.
Nearly a whole package of and a little melted butter make the crust for this pie. It’s a simple foundation that gets a quick bake. Chocolate chips are scattered across the bottom of the hot crust and melt quickly for the ‘black bottom’.
A hefty dose of bourbon in this pie keeps with tradition, but if you’re serving this to kiddos or have other considerations, replace the bourbon with an equal amount of whole milk.
Yields one 9-inch pie
2 cups (200 grams) ground pecan shortbread cookie crumbs
1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (85 grams) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
2 1/4 cups (532 ml) heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 ml) bourbon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water
6 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
3 whole pecan shortbread cookies
More freshly ground nutmeg for garnish
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Stir together cookie crumbs and melted butter in a mixing bowl; press firmly into the bottom of a 9″ deep-dish pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove crust from the oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate morsels onto warm crust. Let stand 5 minutes or until morsels melt; carefully spread melted chocolate over the bottom of the crust with a spatula. Set aside to cool completely.
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together whipping cream, sugar, bourbon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Stirring constantly, heat the mixture until it steams but do not boil.
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl and let stand 1 minute.
Whisk egg yolks lightly to break them up in a separate medium bowl. Gradually whisk 1/4 of the warm cream mixture into the bowl of egg yolks. Add the yolk mixture to remaining warm cream mixture in the pan, whisking constantly. Stir in the bloomed gelatin. Cook at a simmer 3 to 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until the gelatin is melted and the custard reaches 160°F on an instant read thermometer.
Remove from heat, and stir in 1 tablespoon of butter until it melts. Cool custard filling to room temperature, about 25 minutes. Pour the filling into the crust. Chill pie in the refrigerator at least 4 hours or until firm.
Transfer whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with an open star tip and pipe a thick rope of whipped cream around the outside edge of the pie. Crumble the 3 whole pecan shortbread cookies and sprinkle on top of the pie; sprinkle on ground nutmeg for garnish.
Use a sharp knife and gentle pressure to slice pie, as the chocolate layer in the crust will harden as the pie chills in the refrigerator. This pie can be stored in the refrigerator up to one week.
Note: 1/2 cup whole milk can be swapped in for the bourbon in this recipe.
