Thanksgiving is a holiday that relies on the classics, the favorites that people crave year in and year out. It’s tough for a new dish to make it into the annual rotation, but some just feel right. For Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert, that was the case with this bourbon chocolate pecan pie, a “lost” family recipe that surfaced while they were writing their first cookbook, Does This Taste Funny? Recipes Our Family Loves. Paired with a sumptuous dessert wine, this pie is a great way to close out a feast with friends and family.
Both born in Charleston, S.C., the couple initially started the cookbook as a pandemic project, gathering recipes from across their family. One of the first, for cheese biscuits, came from McGee Colbert’s mother, Patti, who was a large force in getting this book off the ground, scouring her attic for recipe boxes and her own collection of “dog-eared cookbooks.” With other recipes from family added to the mix, the Colberts built a book filled with Southern-accented dishes like pickled shrimp, fennel-bourbon candied peppers and courgette “madeleines.” “You could laugh and say we’re not healthy eaters,” says McGee Colbert. “I think that’s more the heritage … It’s not that we’re all foodies, but we all find the joy of eating and sharing meals together is a real part of how we communicate as a family.”
The book is dedicated to Patti, who passed away in November 2022, shortly before Thanksgiving. Hearing the news of her passing, one of McGee Colbert’s college roommates reached out with her condolences and sent along this recipe for a bourbon chocolate pecan pie—which Patti had sent to that friend to help with her own cookbook project.
“[My friend] didn’t know that I was working on a cookbook,” says McGee Colbert. “She just said, ‘I was so grateful to your mom for sharing this with me all those years ago.’ The really fun thing to me was I didn’t know my mother had done that; it’s not actually something I remember my mom even making. My mom was one of those people who would always try new recipes and go through phases. When my friend sent it to me, it felt like my mother saying, ‘I’m still here.’”
Then and there, McGee Colbert and her children decided they needed to make the recipe. While they mixed it together, the family shared memories of Patti. “It was such a gift to me,” McGee Colbert says. Thankfully, the pie turned out tasty too.
“A taste of dishes our loved ones shared with us years before can instantly transport us back, gratefully, to tender and intimate moments,” Stephen wrote, prefacing the recipe. “Long after those we love are gone, the gift of their food and the love that fed us lives on.”
The Colberts like to spend Thanksgiving with their neighbors in New Jersey, gathering roughly two dozen people around the table. Such a big group requires a substantial amount of wine. For the past few years, the Colberts have been working through a collection of wines they sourced during a family trip to the south of France, including Provence. While McGee Colbert prefers a glass of white in day-to-day life, on Thanksgiving, they’ve been breaking out the bottles of Châteauneuf-de-Pape and Gigondas that they acquired.
But earlier this month, Francis Ford Coppola stopped by “The Late Show” to promote his latest film Megolopolis and he brought Stephen a bottle of his own wine: the Inglenook Rubicon Rutherford 2015. “[Stephen] liked it so much, he’s decided that’s what we’re serving for Thanksgiving. He’s ordered cases of it,” says McGee Colbert.
When the turkey has been picked down to the bone, that means it’s pie time. To pair with this bourbon chocolate pecan pie, Wine Spectator selected a dozen fantastic dessert wines, from tawny Port to an expressive Vin Santo to Hungarian Tokaji that won’t break the bank.
Mrs. McGee’s Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie
Excerpted from Does This Taste Funny? Recipes Our Family Loves by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert. Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors and reprinted with permission of Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell, homemade (see recipe below) or store-bought
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Large pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons bourbon or more
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
Preparation
1. Blind-bake [bake without any filling] the pie shell according to the package instructions or according to the note below. Let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
2. Whisk the sugar, flour and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, melted butter and bourbon together until smooth. Scrape the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and whisk briefly until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips.
3. Scrape the filling into the baked pie shell. Bake until the edges of the crust and the top of the pie are golden brown and the center is firm, about 50 minutes. Let cool completely.
4. If you like, serve the pie with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Serves 8.
All-Purpose Food Processor Pie Pastry
Ingredients
- 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water
Preparation
1. Cut the butter into small cubes. Put the butter in the freezer while you measure out the other ingredients.
2. Put the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Scatter the butter over the flour and pulse quickly, just until most of the mixture looks like very coarse cornmeal. The rest of the mixture will be coarser and there’ll even be some pea-sized pieces. (This is the little secret most recipes don’t tell you! It’s OK—even necessary—for the butter to be of different sizes throughout.) Take the top off the processor bowl and sprinkle 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) ice water over the soon-to-be-pastry. Pulse a few times and check the pastry by squeezing some between your fingers; the mixture should barely stick together. If it is at all crumbly, add some or all of the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time and blitzing as quickly as possible, until you get to that texture.
3. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured countertop. Push it together, kneading it very lightly, just to get the whole ball to stick together. Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into a rough circle. Smooth the edges of the circles with the side of your hand. (You’ll be happy you made a nice round circle when it comes time to roll out the dough!) Wrap the pastry rounds in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. Or, if you’re making a one-crust pie, freeze one of the circles for later. Makes enough for two single-crust 9-inch pies or one double-crust 9-inch pie.
Note: To blind-bake a pie shell: Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position. Line the pastry with parchment paper. Fill the lined shell about halfway full with pie weights, dried beans, or rice. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment with the weights and set aside so the weights can cool. Poke the bottom of the shell in several places with a fork. Bake until the bottom of the shell is a very light brown, about 10 minutes. The edges of the shell will be a little darker. Cool the shell completely before filling. The dried beans or rice can be stored and used again for this purpose.
12 Sweet Wines to Pair with Pie and other Thanksgiving Desserts
Note: The following list is a selection of outstanding and very good sweet wines from recently rated releases. More options can be found in our Wine Ratings Search.
BADIA A COLTIBUONO
Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 2015
Score: 96 | $46
WS Review: A mixture of caramel, dried fig, orange peel, molasses and roasted walnut flavors permeates this lean, intense Vin Santo. Vibrant and mouthwatering on the long aftertaste. Really stays with you. Trebbiano and Malvasia. 400 cases made, 395 cases imported. Drink now through 2040. From Italy.—Bruce Sanderson
COCKBURN
Tawny Port 20 Years Old NV
Score: 94 | $77
WS Review: Singed hazelnut, candied pecan and argan oil notes lead the way, with singed alder, dried persimmon and toasted sesame accents filling in throughout. Gorgeous. 2,000 cases made, 500 cases imported. Drink now. From Portugal.—James Molesworth
TAYLOR FLADGATE
Tawny Port 20 Year Old NV
Score: 94 | $61
WS Review: Offers a supple-edged feel—think burnished leather—while notes of dried peach and cherry, cinnamon, graham cracker and toasted pecan meld steadily through the lengthy finish. 8,000 cases imported. Drink now. From Portugal.—J.M.
DONNAFUGATA
Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé 2022
Score: 94 | $48/375ml
WS Review: A gorgeous sweetie, showing a fragrant orange blossom nose, with an enticing range of glazed tangerine, apricot, dried mint and candied ginger, plus rich hints of graham cracker, vanilla and white chocolate. Long and lightly mouth-coating, with tangy blood orange peel acidity focusing this through the juicy finish. Drink now through 2034. 9,500 cases made, 700 cases imported. From Italy. —Alison Napjus
FONSECA
Tawny Port 20 Year Old NV
Score: 93 | $61
WS Review: Bright and fresh in feel, with dried white peach, jasmine and praline notes streaming through, backed by light hazelnut and pecan accents on the racy finish. 2,000 cases imported. Drink now. From Portugal.—J.M.
ROYAL TOKAJI
Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Red Label 2018
Score: 93 | $61/500ml
WS Review: Bright and beautiful, this harmonious version integrates mouthwatering acidity with a rich range of pureed apricot, dried raspberry and orange marmalade, with hints of praline, crystallized honey and sea salt. There’s a plushness to the texture without being weighty; this is long and expressive on the finish. Furmint and Hárslevelü. 22,779 cases produced, 1,850 cases imported. Drink now through 2038. From Hungary.—A.N.
CROFT
Tawny Port 10 Year Old NV
Score: 92 | $30
WS Review: An alluring hint of singed hazelnut husk leads off, followed by dried cherry and red currant notes, plus a flurry of wood spice. Shows nice zip and length. A textbook version. 500 cases made. Drink now. From Portugal.—J.M.
FONSECA
Tawny Port 10 Year Old NV
Score: 92 | $34
WS Review: Walnut husk, black cherry paste and black tea notes meld nicely, with underlying cut and tension to offset the sweetness. Delicious. Drink now. 2,400 cases made. From Portugal.—J.M.
QUINTA DO NOVAL
Tawny Port 10 Year Old NV
Score: 92 | $34
WS Review: This is solidly built, with a core of kirsch, red licorice and dried cherry notes backed by light toffee and fruitcake hints. Drink now. 800 cases imported. From Portugal.—J.M.
DISZNÓKÓ
Tokaji 1413 Édes Szamorodni 2021
Score: 90 | $30/500ml
WS Review: This off-dry version is lush and expressive but trimmed nicely by well-cut, citrus-laced acidity. Offers a finely meshed range of blood orange sorbet and passion fruit coulis flavors, with accents of salted Marcona almond, lemon oil and chamomile. Creamy finish. Drink now through 2029. 2,000 cases produced. From Hungary.—A.N.
OREMUS
Tokaji Late Harvest 2022
Score: 90 | $46/500ml
WS Review: This late-harvest version is lightly sweet and refreshing, offering a floral overtone of elderflower and honeysuckle, with a lively mix of lychee, candied lime zest and blood orange sorbet notes. Furmint, Sárga Muskotály and Zéta. Drink now through 2029. 3,230 cases produced, 486 imported. From Hungary.—A.N.
