Living in the Colorado high country is pure joy. Baking in it isn’t. High altitude makes cookies spread in the pan, cakes fall, and few baked goods turn out as they do at sea level. This twice-monthly column presents recipes and tips to make baking in the mountains successful. 

It’s almost Thanksgiving, a time when food is at the forefront and the whole country shares an expectation of what’s being served. Several of the anticipated tastes are captured in this tart. Like pecan pie — which usually turns out badly at high altitudes — but lighter and less gooey in texture, it’s an excellent choice for a holiday dessert.

I use a sweet shell made with pecans with this tart but use any tart crust you like.

The tart can be made a day before serving and over a two-day period; finish the crust on the first day and add and bake the filling on the second. Serve it with bourbon-whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Bourbon-brown sugar pecan tart

Make in a 9-inch shiny metal tart pan with a removable bottom.

Tart shell 

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, spoon and level
• 1/2 cup pecan flour (or finely ground pecans)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, preferable superfine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
• 1 large egg, yolk and white separated

Or a tart shell of your choice, prebaked 

Filling

• 2 cups pecan halves, toasted, separated
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (one stick), melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
• 2 large eggs 

Make the tart shell, if using: Combine both flours, the sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Cut the cold butter into small pieces, add them, and pulse until the mixture is moist and crumbly, with pieces of butter no larger than the size of peas. Add the egg yolk, (save and refrigerate the white for later use) and pulse until large, moist clumps form. If you squeeze them, they should hold together. Pulse a few more times until a rough dough forms.

Fit tart dough into the pan: Grease the pan bottom (not the sides) dump the dough into it and firmly press it against the bottom and up the sides. Trim the top, cover it lightly, and place it in the freezer until the dough is quite firm. While it chills, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, with a rack in the center position.

Prebake the tart shell: Remove the pan from the freezer. Cut a piece of non-stick or greased regular aluminum foil several inches wider than the pan. Gently press the foil, non-stick or greased side against the dough until it lines it snugly and then fill with pie weights. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips (the dough may ooze a little butter through the removable pan bottom). Bake until the dough is set but not colored, 20-25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, let it rest for 5 minutes, and then carefully remove the pie weights and foil. Whisk the egg white and brush a thin layer over the sides and bottom of the crust, you won’t use it all. Return the pan to the oven, and bake until the crust colors lightly, 10-15 minutes. Let it cool completely. You can now cover it air-tight and finish the tart the following day. 

Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center position. Coarsely chop 1½ cups of the pecan halves, leave the rest whole. Place the flour, brown sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk until well combined and the brown sugar is lump-free. Add the melted butter, bourbon, and vanilla and whisk to blend. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the chopped pecans but not the whole ones.

 Assemble and bake the tart: Spoon the filling into the cooled crust, place the tart pan on a baking sheet, and bake until the filling is set, about 35-45 minutes, depending on the depth of your tart pan. Start checking at 30 minutes; if you overbake, the filling will get mealy. If needed, cover the crust with strips of aluminum foil to prevent it from over-browning as the filling cooks. 

Cool, store, and serve: Remove the tart to a rack and while it’s still hot, place the whole pecan halves in a decorative border around the tart’s edge, gently pressing them into the filling. Cool the tart completely and store it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a day. Slice it with a sharp knife and reheat pieces in a 300-degree oven until warm to the touch. 

Vera Dawson’s column “High Country Baking” publishes biweekly in the Summit Daily News. Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks. Her recipes have been tested in her kitchen in Frisco, where she’s lived since 1991, and altered until they work at elevation. Contact her at veradawson1@gmail.com.