Browned Butter Maple Pecan Pie

Prepare the pie crust:

1. Roll the dough out on a generously floured work surface. Keep turning the dough after every roll to ensure it doesn’t stick to the counter and is of even thickness. Make sure you’re not rerolling the same sections too many times and overworking the dough. Use your hands to cup the edges of the dough to keep it smooth and prevent cracks. Add additional flour to the dough, the counter, and your rolling pin as needed. Roll out into a 12 to 14-inch circle, depending on how deep your pie tin is.
2. Gently roll the dough up and around the rolling pin then unroll and drape over a 9-inch pie tin. Gently press into the pie tin, being careful to avoid stretching it to fit. Use scissors or a knife to trim the excess dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under itself and crimp or flute. Pierce the base of the dough with a fork.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Blind bake the pie crust:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and adjust baking rack to the lower third position.
2. Line the chilled crust with foil, pressing all the way to the edges to ensure they don’t slump down. Fill the crust completely to the top with pie weights, granulated sugar, rice, or dried beans.
3. Place on a rimmed baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until no longer raw. Remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Toast the nuts:

1. To toast the pecans, place on a small rimmed baking tray in the 350°F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once, until fragrant. Let cool before coarsely chopping the nuts. Maintain oven temperature.

Brown the butter:

1. In a medium stainless-steel skillet set over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Stirring with a rubber spatula occasionally, continue to cook the butter, increasing the heat to medium. It should become foamy with audible cracking and popping noises. Once the crackling stops, continue to cook, stirring every 30 seconds, until the butter develops a nutty aroma and brown bits start to form at the bottom. Once the bits are amber in color, remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl, scraping the brown bits into the bowl. Let cool slightly.

Finish the filling:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs until well beaten. Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, flour, bourbon (if using), vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually whisk in the warm browned butter until combined.
2. Place the chopped pecans evenly in the bottom of the still-warm partially baked pie crust. Pour egg mixture into the crust, over the pecans.
3. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet at 350°F for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until the edges of the filling are set but the center is still slightly wobbly. If the crust begins to brown too much, cover with a pie shield or foil and continue baking. Remove from the oven and brush with about 1 tablespoon of extra maple syrup, then sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
4. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing and serving.