“I had lunch at a historic spot in Berryville, Virginia, called the Battletown Inn,” says Judy Owens of Round Hill Virginia. “For dessert, I ordered bourbon walnut pie. If chef Robin Smith would share her recipe, I know that baking the pie during the holidays would become a family tradition.”

The sweetness of the filling is offset nicely by the bourbon. Serve the dessert with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

INGREDIENTS

  • crust
  • 2cups all purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4teaspoon salt
  • 3/4cup (11/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1large egg
  • 1tablespoon milkfilling
  • 1cup dark corn syrup
  • 1/2cup sugar
  • 3large eggs
  • 2tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 1/2tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4teaspoon salt
  • 3/4cup chopped walnuts (about3 ounces)
  • 3/4cup walnut halves (about3 ounces)

    DIRECTIONS

    for crust: Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and process using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk egg and milk in small bowl to blend, then add to processor. Blend until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball and flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour. (Dough can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let dough soften slightly before rolling out.)

    for filling: Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk syrup, sugar, eggs, butter, bourbon, flour, vanilla and salt in large bowl to blend. Mix in all walnuts.

    Roll out dough on floured surface to 14-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold edge under; crimp decoratively. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake until crust is golden and filling is set in center when pie is shaken slightly, about 55 minutes. Cool pie completely in pan on rack.