derby pie

Derby Hand Pies

Derby Hand Pies by Wood and Spoon. These are mini pop tart pies filled with bourbon pecan pie filling and topped with a chocolate ganache and pecans. Inspired by the famous Kentucky derby party dessert, these little bite sized desserts are great for feeding a festive crowd while watching the derby. Read more about making these tiny southern pies on thewoodandspoon.com by Kate Wood.

Today’s post will be short and sweet. I am knee-deep in nesting mode (hello chalk paint! hello oxyclean! hello rearranging the furniture!), and have set aside this week to prep my kiddos’ rooms as much as possible prior to baby girl arriving. Yes, we’re only 31 weeks into this pregnancy, but when the urge to nest hits, Mama Bird can’t back down, okay? Today we’re talking about these mini derby hand pies just in time for the Kentucky derby. It’s my favorite sporting event of the year, and once you get a taste of this chocolate and bourbon goodness it might end up being yours too.

Brett and I were married on my grandparent’s Kentucky farm the week before the Derby. I keep memories of the day tucked in the corners of my brain like well-loved photographs that I get to revisit over and over again. The ceremony, party, and events leading up to both were far from perfect, but it felt cozy and personal and will forever hold a warm and fuzzy place in my heart.

Derby Hand Pies

Derby Hand Pies

These derby hand pies remind me of that day. Loaded with chopped nuts and rich chocolate, these bourbon-spiked bars contain all the essence of classic derby pie flavors in each and every bite along with an extra-thick shortbread crust that is really so delicious. Derby pie is the quintessential Kentucky Derby dessert, and those rich flavors always make me think of the bluegrass state and our wedding day.

If you’ve hung around this blog long enough, you probably recall the derby pie bars and derby pie cookies I made in the past. These derby hand pies are another take on the classic race day dessert, and they are a cute and sassy way to level-up just a regular old pie. I love anything that can be served in mini or individual servings, and if you’re planning a Derby Day party (or to celebrate our anniversary?) these would be a fun and cheeky treat to consider serving.

Derby Hand Pies

Making the Hand Pies

To make them, we start with a pie dough. My favorite flaky pie crust comes together quickly and can be made in advance. Allow the dough to chill for a few hours or overnight and make the filling in the meantime. Just like a pecan pie, brown sugar, corn syrup, nuts, and more simmer on the stove until thick and goopy. We let the filling cool completely so that it stays scoopable and doesn’t squish out the sides of the pie dough.

Roll out your dough as thin as your dare and cut out rounds of dough. Stuff as much filling in between two circles of two as you can and then crimp the edges with a floured fork. After a quick brush of an egg wash, these derby hand pies bake up golden and flaky. To finish them off, we make a simple ganache to spoon on top of each pie and sprinkle with toasted pecans. Delicious, y’all.

Derby Hand Pies

I hope you consider cheers-ing to these derby hand pies this weekend. Be sure to check out a few of my other bourbon favorites below to meet all of your baking needs for the weekend’s festivities. Happy Tuesday and Happy Baking!

If you like these derby hand pies you should make:

Derby Pie Cookies

Derby Pie Bars

Bourbon Truffles

Brown Butter Bourbon Madeleines

Brown Sugar Apple Bundt Cake

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Derby Hand Pies

These derby hand pies are miniature versions of the classic Kentucky Derby dessert! Give these tiny pies with bourbon, chocolate, and nuts a shot!

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 35
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 14
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

For the pastry:

  • 13/4 cups (210 gm) of all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 11/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (85 gm) butter
  • 1/3 cup (70 gm) shortening
  • 5 tablespoons (approximately) of ice water

For the filling:

  • 1 cup (200 gm) sugar
  • 2/3 cup (200 gm) corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup (40 gm) unsalted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 11/2 cups (170 gm) pecans, finely chopped
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon

For the hand pies:

  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup (60 gm) heavy whipping cream
  • 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • Extra pecans, if desired

Instructions

To prepare the pastry:

  1. Combine flour, salt and sugar in a medium sized bowl.
  2. Cut in the butter and shortening with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until it is the consistency of a course meal with small, pea-sized chunks of butter throughout. Add water, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, tossing gently until pastry comes together in moist clumps. Pat the dough into a round, flat disk. Wrap with Saran wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

To prepare the filling:

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter, and eggs. Stir in the pecans, salt, and bourbon. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce the heat to low and keep at a simmer for 10 minutes. Once thickened, remove from heat and pour into a separate bowl and allow to chill in the fridge until barely scoopable.

To prepare the hand pies:

  1. Allow the dough to sit out about 5-10 minutes to allow it to become rollable. On a floured surface using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to just shy of 1/8”. Make sure to keep your surface under the dough floured so it doesn’t stick! Cut out 2-1/2” rounds of dough using a biscuit cutter or a sharp knife and rim of a glass. Place the rounds on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Whisk the egg in a small bowl with a teaspoon of water and using a pastry brush or basting brush to brush a thin layer of egg wash around the perimeter of the dough on half of the circles. Spoon 2-2-1/2 teaspoons of the cooled filling into the center of these dough pieces and top each with a round of dough that doesn’t have the egg wash. Use the floured prongs of a fork to crimp the edges and arrange them on the baking sheet 1-1/2” apart. Repeat this process with any remaining dough by re-rolling and cutting and filling. Place the prepared pies in the freezer for at least 3 hours to chill.
  2. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 and brush a thin layer of  the remaining egg wash on the top of the pies. Vent the top by pricking a fork into the top of each and bake until bronzed, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven to cool while you prepare the topping.
  3. Gently heat the heavy whipping cream on the stove or in the microwave until just barely bubbling. Pour the cream over top of the chocolate in a small bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap for 5 minutes. Whisk the melted mixture together to combine and allow it to sit out about 10 minutes until it becomes a thickened mixture that won’t spill over the edges of the pies. Spread a small round of the ganache on top of each cooled pie and top with additional chopped pecans, if desired.

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Derby Pie Cookies

Derby Pie Cookies by Wood and Spoon Blog. These are chewy chocolate chip cookies filled with toasted pecans and bourbon whiskey. Inspired by the famous Kentucky derby dessert, these cookies take all of the favorite pie flavors and stuff them into one chewy chocolate chunk cookies. With molten centers and buttery crisp edges, these chewy treats are fun to make for a party or holiday dessert. Find the recipe on thewoodandspoon.com by Kate wood

You can take the girl out of Kentucky but you can’t take the Kentucky out of the girl.

I was born in Lexington, Kentucky and spent the first few years of my life in a small town about an hour away. Over the years that followed, I regularly visited family across the state; it was there that my love affair with Southern culture began. Although my short stint in Danville hardly qualifies me to claim Kentucky as my home sweet home, I have enough roots situated beneath that bluegrass to know that good things happen in the land of bourbon and basketball. Consequently, those rolling hills have always felt like home, so I can’t wait to share today’s recipe.

Derby Pie Cookies by Wood and Spoon Blog. These are chewy chocolate chip cookies filled with toasted pecans and bourbon whiskey. Inspired by the famous Kentucky derby dessert, these cookies take all of the favorite pie flavors and stuff them into one chewy chocolate chunk cookies. With molten centers and buttery crisp edges, these chewy treats are fun to make for a party or holiday dessert. Find the recipe on thewoodandspoon.com by Kate wood

Derby Treats

In just a few weeks, Southerners, socialites, and gamblers alike will join to participate in the Kentucky Derby. You had better believe I wish I was one of them. Although I’ve never been to the Derby, it’s my absolute favorite sporting event to celebrate. If you’ve not done so before, I’d challenge you to giddy-up, too. In preparation for last year’s races, I gave you derby pie bars, a gooey, nutty shortbread bar filled with booze and chocolate. As a sequel to those decadent treats, you’re getting these ridiculous-delicious derby pie cookies.

Derby Pie Cookies by Wood and Spoon Blog. These are chewy chocolate chip cookies filled with toasted pecans and bourbon whiskey. Inspired by the famous Kentucky derby dessert, these cookies take all of the favorite pie flavors and stuff them into one chewy chocolate chunk cookies. With molten centers and buttery crisp edges, these chewy treats are fun to make for a party or holiday dessert. Find the recipe on thewoodandspoon.com by Kate wood

Derby Pie Cookies

These derby pie cookies are extra: extra chocolatey, extract chewy, extra boozy. They’re loaded with Derby Pie flavor but without all of the time and hassle that is required to make and bake a pie. In under thirty minutes, you can have buttery, caramel and bourbon-flavored cookies that are chock-full of nuts and dripping with morsels of chocolate. Regardless of whether or not you watch the Derby, you need these.

Derby Pie Cookies by Wood and Spoon Blog. These are chewy chocolate chip cookies filled with toasted pecans and bourbon whiskey. Inspired by the famous Kentucky derby dessert, these cookies take all of the favorite pie flavors and stuff them into one chewy chocolate chunk cookies. With molten centers and buttery crisp edges, these chewy treats are fun to make for a party or holiday dessert. Find the recipe on thewoodandspoon.com by Kate wood

Making the Cookies

To make derby pie cookies, we start by melting butter. First, two sticks of liquid gold combined with brown and white sugar, bourbon, and vanilla. Next, eggs add in, followed by the dry ingredients. Lastly, the crescendo of these cookies are the hunks of dark chocolate and chopped nuts. Once integrated,  oversized dough balls roll onto a baking sheet and pop in the oven until the tops of the cookies have begun to crack.

Derby Pie Cookies by Wood and Spoon Blog. These are chewy chocolate chip cookies filled with toasted pecans and bourbon whiskey. Inspired by the famous Kentucky derby dessert, these cookies take all of the favorite pie flavors and stuff them into one chewy chocolate chunk cookies. With molten centers and buttery crisp edges, these chewy treats are fun to make for a party or holiday dessert. Find the recipe on thewoodandspoon.com by Kate wood

I like to finish these derby pie cookies with an extra sprinkling of salt and pecans, but you can skip this step if you’d prefer. Alternatively, you can also substitute some or all of the pecans for walnuts, although I like them with toasty pecans the best. A key ingredient to these derby pie cookies is the bourbon. Be sure to choose a quality variety that will lend a sweet, caramel flavor to the dough. (Shameless plug: Blanton’s is the favorite in our house, but Basil Hayden’s, Woodford Reserve, and Eagle Rare make regular appearances as well.) If two tablespoons of bourbon isn’t enough for you, feel free to add a third. No judgment here.

Derby Pie Cookies by Wood and Spoon Blog. These are chewy chocolate chip cookies filled with toasted pecans and bourbon whiskey. Inspired by the famous Kentucky derby dessert, these cookies take all of the favorite pie flavors and stuff them into one chewy chocolate chunk cookies. With molten centers and buttery crisp edges, these chewy treats are fun to make for a party or holiday dessert. Find the recipe on thewoodandspoon.com by Kate wood

Get on your marks, get set, and GO bake these derby pie cookies ASAP.

If you like these derby pie cookies you should try:

Derby Pie Bars 

Candied Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Pecan Toffee Blondies 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Homemade Chocolates and Bourbon Balls

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Derby Pie Cookie

These derby pie cookies are loaded with dark chocolate chunks, toasted pecans, and bourbon. Make these Kentucky-inspired treats for derby day!

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 25
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 16

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup (170 gm) unsalted butter, chopped
  • 11/4 cup (250 gm) light brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup( 50 gm) sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons good quality bourbon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (280 gm) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 4 ounces (about one cup) coarsely chopped dark chocolate

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a small saucepan, melted the butter over medium low heat just until melted. Do not allow to sizzle, boil, or bubble. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  3. Pour the butter into a large mixing bowl and add the brown sugar and sugar. Whisk to incorporate before adding the egg, bourbon, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. In a separate bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, powder, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Once incorporated, fold in the pecans and chocolate. If the mixture looks greasy and soft, place the dough into the fridge to chill for 10 minutes. Otherwise proceed to the next step.
  4. Use a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons of dough) to scoop rounds of dough onto the baking sheet. You can smooth your dough by quickly rolling it in your hands. Place the dough rounds 2 inches apart on your baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until the top of the cookies have barely begun to crack and the centers no longer look wet. Sprinkle with additional salt, if desired, and enjoy!

Notes

  • For large pools of chocolate on top of the cookies, include a few large chocolate chunks on top of the dough balls.
  • If your cookies spread too much refrigerate the dough balls for several minutes prior to baking.

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Derby Pie Bars

Derby Pie Bars Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog. This buttery shortbread bar is based on favorite Kentucky recipe. With a crumble crust, bourbon pecan pie and brown sugar filling, and a drizzle of chocolate these simple bars bake up quickly and are enjoyable for a crowd. Get the recipe in time for the Kentucky derby at www.thewoodandspoon.com.

In two days, I’ll be celebrating my fourth wedding anniversary. Yes, I already know what you’re thinking. You think I’m going to spend the next few paragraphs spouting about marriage, right? About love. About how my husband is the best, or how married life is hard, or about any number of silly things that I may have learned over the course of the past four years. Well, joke’s on you! Today we’re talking all about these derby pie bars.

Our Kentucky Wedding

Brett and I got married on my grandparent’s farm in Kentucky the week before The Derby. It was a small, outdoor ceremony on a private corner of the farm’s rolling green hills. I shivered through the ceremony, half nervous, half chilled from the wet air that blew on that gray day. We said “I Do,” tried not to make out in front of all of our friends and family, and headed to the reception which took place in a tobacco barn a short walk away.

Derby Pie Bars Recipe

Derby Pie Bars Recipe

Derby Pie Bars Recipe

Derby Pie Bars Recipe

Derby Pie Bars Recipe
Photos by 509 Photo

Like any good Kentucky party, we served stout bourbon cocktails and danced to the music of a five piece bluegrass band. Our caterer passed small plates of Southern-inspired dishes to our guests, while others picked at the dessert table filled with bourbon balls, lemon squares, and even a humble little wedding cake that was made by yours truly. The day contained more than a few nods to our families, heritage, and even the Bluegrass state itself, but on the week before the Kentucky Derby, one dish that we really should have served is derby pie.

Derby Pie Bars Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog. This buttery shortbread bar is based on favorite Kentucky recipe. With a crumble crust, bourbon pecan pie and brown sugar filling, and a drizzle of chocolate these simple bars bake up quickly and are enjoyable for a crowd. Get the recipe in time for the Kentucky derby at www.thewoodandspoon.com.

Derby Pie Bars

If you’re not familiar, derby pie is fudgy, chocolate and nut-filled pie that is traditionally served that first Saturday in May at Kentucky Derby. Rich and chocolaty with a subtle crunch from walnuts, the original pie is decadent and one of the few desserts that just screams “KENTUCKY” to me. These derby pie bars are adapted from the original pie but have a few twists of their own that make them a delicious Southern treat you can enjoy all year round.

Derby Pie Bars Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog. This buttery shortbread bar is based on favorite Kentucky recipe. With a crumble crust, bourbon pecan pie and brown sugar filling, and a drizzle of chocolate these simple bars bake up quickly and are enjoyable for a crowd. Get the recipe in time for the Kentucky derby at www.thewoodandspoon.com.

Making the Bars

To prepare these derby pie bars, we start with a shortbread crust. Sugar, flour, and the rest of the dry ingredients work in with a few tablespoons of butter to create a flaky bottom layer for our bars.

Once baked, the crust gets a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips. Next we slather it with a brown sugar pecan pie filling. The filled is made with butter, brown sugar, a swig of bourbon, and more than a handful of pecans. The whole thing gets baked in the oven, drizzled in chocolate, and cut into bite-sized bars. If you love pecan pie and chocolate, these bars are for you. If you need boozy desserts for  your Kentucky Derby party, these bars are for you!

Derby Pie Bars Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog. This buttery shortbread bar is based on favorite Kentucky recipe. With a crumble crust, bourbon pecan pie and brown sugar filling, and a drizzle of chocolate these simple bars bake up quickly and are enjoyable for a crowd. Get the recipe in time for the Kentucky derby at www.thewoodandspoon.com.Brett and I have no plans to attend the Derby this year, but I absolutely adore any treat that reminds me of our wedding day. I hope that you’ll give them next week on Derby day and think of me! Stay tuned for next week, when I’ve got not one but TWO recipes to share with you guys! It will be a mouth-watering few days in these parts.

And on the off-chance that he’s reading- Brett, I love you. You make my life better and I’m grateful to be yours. Happy Anniversary.

Derby Pie Bars Recipe

If you like these derby pie bars, you may also like:

Kentucky Bourbon Balls and Homemade Chocolates

Candied Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pecan Toffee Bars

Crispy Butter Pecan Cookies

Pumpkin Pecan Cake with Burnt Sugar Frosting

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Derby Pie Bars

These derby pie bars are based on the favorite Kentucky pie. A shortbread crust, bourbon pecan pie filling, and a drizzle of semisweet chocolate make these bars rich, decadent, and delicious to serve a crowd.

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 16
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

For the crust

  • ¾ cup (90 gm) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (35 gm) corn starch
  • ½ cup (55 gm) confectioner’s sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (113 gm) unsalted butter, cold and cut into teaspoon sized pieces

For the filling

  • ¾ cup (170 gm) unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup (160 gm) brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons good quality bourbon (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • 3 cups (320 gm) coarsely chopped pecans
  • 3/4 cup (130 gm) mini chocolate chips, divided

Instructions

To prepare the crust

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” square baking pan with aluminum foil with enough overhang on each side to easily remove the bars from the pan once baked. Spray with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, corn starch, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or the backs of two forks, cut the diced butter into the dry ingredients until it becomes a coarse meal consistency with pea-sized clumps. Press the mixture evenly into the square pan and then chill for 5-10 minutes in the fridge. Then, bake in the preheat oven for about 15 minutes, or until the crust is set and then edges have just started to turn golden. Do not overbake. Set aside the cooked crust while you prepare the filling.

To prepare the filling

  1. Combine the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and optional bourbon in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until the butter and sugar have dissolved. Once melted and no graininess from the sugar exists any longer, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, boiling for 3 minutes. After three minutes have passed, remove the pan from the heat. Add the chopped pecans and heavy cream to a medium sized bowl and stir in the butter/brown sugar mixture until evenly combined.
  2. Sprinkle ½ cup of the mini chocolate chips over the cooked crust. Spread the warm filling over top of the chocolate chips and smooth out. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the edges and parts of the center are bubbling and the bars have turned caramel in color. Allow the bars to cool completely prior to removing from the pan (you can speed this process up in the fridge). Remove from pan by pulling out the foil liner. Melt the remaining chocolate chips in a microwave on low heat in 15 second increments or over a double boiler. Drizzle bars with chocolate and allow to set. Cut into 16 bars and serve at room temp.

Notes

  • Be sure to allow bars to cool completely prior to cutting. You can place them in the fridge or freezer briefly to expedite this process.
  • The drizzling chocolate can seize up if it gets too hot while melting. Be sure to melt on low heat and (if microwaving) in short increments so that you get smooth chocolate.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Recipe Adapted From: Once Upon A Chef

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