Behold, an elevated way to enjoy pumpkin pie! The pumpkin custard is infused with the rich flavors of maple and bourbon, and the brûlée on top adds a lovely caramel flavor and crunch. The alcohol bakes out, so this won’t get you sloshed unless you really overmeasure the bourbon.

This Thanksgiving, I decided to revisit this recipe that I tried a few years ago. The original was pretty good, though everyone who ate it agreed that the chocolate pie crust wasn’t necessary with the other flavors. So this time around, I used a simple graham cracker crust and the results were spectacular.

Between four people, we consumed 3/4 of this pie while it was still fresh. And while the leftovers are delicious, they lose the crunch of the brûlée — so this is one that’s best enjoyed right after brûléeing.

You can make this a day ahead as long as you don’t brûlée it until it’s time to serve, lest you lose that crunch. If you have teenagers or older kids at your Thanksgiving gathering and want to make things lively, hand them the blow torch and let them play with fire while their parents are too comatose from turkey to notice. This is how you cement your reputation as the fun aunt.

When I made this, the filling ingredients below made more than would fit in my pie tin. I was able to bake two little bowls (like the one in the photo above) separately for about 30 minutes and this gave two crust-free, gluten-free servings. If you have a bigger crowd of gluten-free people at your gathering, you might just opt to fill individual bowls rather than serve one big pie and let everyone brûlée their own dessert.

3 large eggs
15 oz. pumpkin purée (1 Libby’s can)
¼ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground mace (optional)
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
graham cracker pie crust, unbaked

Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350°.

Whisk pumpkin purée, sour cream, bourbon, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mace, and eggs in a large bowl; set aside.

Pour maple syrup into a small saucepan and scrape in seeds from vanilla bean (reserve pod for another use) or add vanilla extract and bring syrup to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and small puffs of steam start to release, about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add cream in 3 additions, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon after each addition until smooth. Gradually whisk hot maple cream into pumpkin mixture.

Place pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet and pour in filling. (If you have more filling than your pie crust can accommodate, pour the rest into ramekins or oven-safe ceramic bowls and bake with the pie. Pull them out when they barely jiggle, maybe after ~30 minutes depending on the size bowls. Now you’ll have a gluten-free dessert option!)

Bake pie, rotating halfway through, until set around the edge but center barely jiggles, 50–60 minutes.

Transfer pie dish to a wire rack and let pie cool. Cover and refrigerate until it’s time to serve.

Just before serving, sprinkle a thin coat of sugar on top of the pie. You’ll want the coat to be full white without the custard showing through.

Use a kitchen torch to brûlée until sugar is melted and dark brown. Keep the torch a few inches away from the surface; you want to caramelize the sugar without burning the house down.