In the bowl of a food processor, add 1 and 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 and a half tsp of granulated sugar, and 1/2 tsp of table salt, and pulse it a couple of times to mix the dry ingredients.

Add 1 stick of cold unsalted butter that's been cut into pieces. Pulse this till the pieces of butter are the size of small peas. Add 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp of ice-cold water, and pulse till the mixture just comes together.

Transfer this mixture into a large mixing bowl. Knead the mixture into the bottom of the bowl with your hands until it forms a cohesive dough. Wrap this dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or 15 minutes in the freezer. The dough should reach 55 to 60 F (13 to 16 C).

Flour your clean counter, place your cold dough on the flour and roll it into a 12-inch diameter circle using a lightly floured rolling pin.

Gently fold it into quarters, transfer it into a 9-inch pie pan and unfold. Making sure not to stretch the dough, gently press it into the pie pan from the outside-in, to make sure it fits snugly. Our ceramic pie shells are very slippery, and our pie crusts tend to slip and shrink during par-baking. So, I like to press my thumb on the dough, and use my forefinger and middle finger to make a V-shape pressing from outside towards the inside. This way, the crust will cling onto the pie shell rim during the par-baking process, and will create a nice wavy pattern along the outside of the pie. Put the formed pie crust in the freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Place an oven rack in the lowest position, and preheat your oven to 400 F (205 C) for a minimum of 15 minutes. Place your frozen pie shell in the middle of a sheet pan or baking dish. Cut a round piece of parchment paper that has the edges cut into frays so that it folds into the pie shell easily. The parchment paper will prevent the foil from sticking to the crust.

On top of the parchment paper, place a double-layer of aluminum foil that is also circular in shape with the edges folded up, and press the edges of the foil against the edges of the pie crust. The double-layer of foil will help support the walls of the pie crust and prevent it from sagging during the par-baking process. Finally, place baking beans/weights on top of the foil and spread them out.

Par-bake your crust on the lowest rack at 400 F (205 C) for 10 minutes. Then take the crust out of the oven, and carefully remove the foil (with baking beans/weights) and the parchment paper. Dock the bottom and sides of the pie crust with a fork to deflate any puffing up in the crust.

Tent the sides of the pie crust with a ring of aluminum foil to prevent the edges of the pie crust from getting over-baked. Return this pie crust (along with the baking dish it is on) to the oven and continue par-baking on the lowest rack at 400 F (205) for another 10 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, peel off the ring of foil (save it, as it will get used again later). Dock the bottoms and sides of the crust with a fork again to deflate any puffing up, as needed. And let the par-baked pie crust rest at room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F (175 C).

Pecan Pie Filling:

In a large baking sheet, spread 2 cups of pecans and toast in the oven at 350 F (175 C) for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once or twice so that they toast evenly. Set aside until needed.

In a small saucepan, add in 5 tbsp unsalted butter, and melt it over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown. It is done when the butter has a golden-brown amber color and starts to smell nutty, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add in 3/4 cup of maple syrup and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Cooking off the extra moisture from the maple syrup will help the pie set. After 3 minutes, turn off the heat and make sure to scrape up any dark flecks of browned butter stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let this cool for at least 30 minutes.

While the maple/butter mixture is cooling, take the bowl of your stand mixer and add in 1 packed cup of dark brown sugar, 1 tbsp of all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp of salt, 2 tbsp of bourbon, 2 tsp of vanilla extract, and 3 eggs. With the paddle attachment, mix on medium-low speed until well combined.

When the maple/butter mixture has cooled for 15 minutes, with the mixer still on medium-low, slowly pour the maple/butter mixture into the egg mixture. Make sure to scrape in all the little dark flecks of browned butter. Continue to mix just until everything is well combined. Then scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure there are no unmixed bits at the bottom.

Assembling and Baking the Pie:

Before filling the crust, take a small mixing bowl, add in 1 egg and beat it till it's smooth. Brush all surfaces of the crust with the egg wash. This will give the final crust a golden-brown finish, and help seal the bottom of the pie.

Arrange the 2 cups of toasted pecans at the bottom of the crust. We like to arrange them so all the pieces are facing the same way, using the smaller broken bits to fill spaces at the bottom and saving the prettiest unbroken pieces for the top layer. And we arrange the top layer to make a somewhat decorative pattern.

Carefully pour the filling over the pecans and into the crust, creating an even layer as much as possible. Then using a fork and spoon, dunk the top pieces of pecans into the batter to make sure they're all coated in batter, then let them rise back up to the top. Re-arrange any pieces that may have moved during the addition of the batter, returning them to the original decorative pattern.

Bake on the lowest oven rack for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes of baking, if you see that the exposed edges of the crust are already golden brown, use the aluminum foil ring from earlier to tent the sides of the pie crust and prevent the edges of the pie from getting over-baked. As before, crimp it down and secure it to make sure it doesn't fall off.

Return the pie to the oven at 350 F (175 C), facing the opposite direction so it's rotated to bake more evenly, for another 20 to 30 minutes.

It's done when the top surface is firm and nicely golden brown. Remove the foil ring, and let it cool completely to room temperature on a wire rack, at least 2 to 3 hours, to finish setting.

Serve the pie warm or at room temperature. We highly recommend serving it with vanilla bean ice cream. Enjoy!