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, and it was there that my love affair with Southern culture began. While 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. Those rolling hills have always felt a little like home, so it pleases me to no end to share today’s recipe with you all. 

In just a few weeks, Southerners, socialites, and gamblers alike will join to participate in the Kentucky Derby, and you had better believe I wish I was one of them. While I’ve never been to the Derby, it’s my absolute favorite sporting event to celebrate, and if you’ve not done so before, I’d challenge you to giddy-up. 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 more of those same elements wrapped up in the ridiculous-delicious package of 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. Whether or not you watch the Derby, you need these.

To make derby pie cookies, we start by melting butter. Two sticks of liquid gold are combined with brown and white sugar, bourbon, and vanilla. Eggs come next and are stirred in before the dry ingredients are added. The crescendo of these cookies are the hunks of dark chocolate and chopped nuts that are added to the batter. Once integrated,  oversized dough balls are rolled onto a baking sheet and placed in the oven until the tops of the cookies have begun to crack and the edges are bronzed.

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. You can also substitute some or all of the pecans for walnuts if desired, 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. 

Get on your marks, get set, and GO bake these derby pie cookies ASAP. The races are just around the corner and these treats are begging to be made. Happy Friday and happy baking to you all!

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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