Battlefield 6 is preparing to release a massive update for the start of Season 5: Siege of Vegas. The big update is bringing new maps, weapons, and lots of other exciting content to the 2025 military shooter.

Battlefield 6 Game update 2.1.1.0 Full Details

Battlefield 6 was a bit of a surprise hit when it arrived in 2025 and the game has managed to maintain a strong playerbase a year after its initial launch with frequent updates and major content additions.

The next big content drop arrives this week with the start of Season 5: Siege of Vegas. The update arrives on October 13 and the battle spreads across Vegas Strip and Area 51.

Here is a breakdown of the biggest additions and changes in Season 5:

• SEASON 5: SIEGE OF VEGAS – Go all-in on all-out warfare as Season 5 opens with Siege of Vegas, taking the battle from the neon-lit Las Vegas Strip to the classified depths of Area 51. Four new weapons, Multiplayer Leaderboards, a new Battle Pass, and a limited-time Battlefield 6 x Dead Space Halloween event round out the opening phase.
• NEW MAPS
  • Vegas Strip: War has arrived in Las Vegas, where anything goes. Supporting all combat sizes, land vehicles, and helicopters, Vegas Strip combines open sightlines and large-scale vehicle battles with the iconic Strip, fountains, lavish casinos, rooftop ziplines, hotel towers, and storm drains built for close-quarters combat. All the chaos, all the grit, all the indulgence.
  • Area 51: Area 51 has been breached. This top-secret desert military base offers endless opportunities for massive-scale combat, with jets, helicopters, and tanks ready to attack and defend across the surface. Descend through a fresh crater to explore the base’s underground tunnels, take close-quarters fights beneath the desert, launch a dirt bike over rolling hills, pilot a jet across the landscape, and bring down the Air Traffic Control tower to reshape the battlefield.
• NEW REDSEC MODE – Rapid Royale: Battle Royale comes to Las Vegas with the fastest and most aggressive REDSEC experience yet. Get kills, earn redeploys, and fight to the top across multiple maps, including Vegas Strip and Mirak Valley. Rapid Royale features a lower player count, airdrops containing some of the best loot in the game, and the fastest ring of fire. More aggression. Faster matches. Go rapid.
• RANKED BATTLE ROYALE – Ranked Battle Royale officially launches with Season 5, moving beyond Battlefield Labs and into a new competitive chapter for REDSEC. Squad up, climb the ranks, earn new rewards, and show off redesigned Ranked badges as you fight your way to the top.
• NEW WEAPONS
  • Mk 24: Dominate open firefights with the Mk 24, an Assault Rifle that becomes deadlier at longer ranges while balancing its power with a limited magazine capacity.
  • RSPR: The RSPR is a highly compact, short-range Personal Defence Weapon with major stopping power from its rifle cartridge. It performs better at longer ranges than most Personal Defence Weapons, but its higher recoil demands careful control from operators looking to make the most of its power.
  • Z84M: A belt-fed Light Machine Gun built to dominate at close range. With a 100-round capacity and support for a wide selection of attachments, the Z84M is ready to sustain pressure across the battlefield.
  • ELR-40: A versatile Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle built for deadly long-range engagements. Its standard configuration features a very long-range sweet spot, while its single-shot mode moves the sweet spot to shorter distances, giving Recon players greater flexibility across changing engagements.
• BATTLE PASS – Go on a tear with the Season 5 Battle Pass, featuring six instant unlocks, four themed paths, more than 100 tiers of rewards, and a new arsenal of hardware to earn throughout the season.

In addition to the Season 5 content, the update also brings a broad range of gameplay improvements, including vehicle and Anti-Air tuning, revised Battle Royale class equipment and Field Training, Spectator Mode updates, expanded Portal tools, and further polish across weapons, gadgets, UI and HUD, audio, and game stability.

Be sure to check back soon for lots more Battlefield 6 news and updates as Season 5 kicks off.

Battlefield 6 is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles.

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As a child of the ’90s, I still remember the first time I booted up Kingdom Hearts on my PS2. Even decades later, the Disney and Final Fantasy crossover still feels like a dream fan-made project that is hard to believe is actually real. Thankfully, after spending hours with Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III, I can confidently say that the series has not only held up years later, but it’s now one of the best collections available on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III Shines in Switch 2 Handheld Mode

One of the things I was worried about going into Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III was how the games’ graphics and gameplay would hold up. After all, the series originally debuted back in 2002. However, Square Enix’s adaptation of Disney’s art style not only still holds up in 2026, but it also looks incredible when played in Nintendo Switch 2 handheld mode.

There is an obvious jump in technical quality going from Kingdom Hearts 1 to 2, and an even larger improvement when playing Kingdom Hearts 3. However, even the original PS2-era games and various spinoffs still look really great. With the new ports reaching 60 FPS, Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III also runs incredibly smoothly.

Look, I love the PS5 as much as the next person. And on paper, you are getting higher visual fidelity when playing on a 4K TV. But I think Kingdom Hearts’ graphics and gameplay are just perfect for the Nintendo Switch 2, especially if you plan on playing it on the go. The collection really shines in handheld mode and is a must-buy for anyone who owns the Switch 2.

Seven Playable Games Make Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III a Great Value

While the $74 price tag might seem like a lot at first, Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III is actually one of the best values on the Nintendo Switch 2 right now. You are essentially getting seven playable games, plus three cinematic stories and the Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind DLC.

The Kingdom Hearts games are also massive. It took me roughly 160 hours to beat Kingdom Hearts 1 through 3. And when you factor in all the spinoff titles, such as Dream Drop Distance and Birth by Sleep, we are easily talking over 250 hours’ worth of gameplay, if not more.

Square Enix has also done a great job presenting the collection in a cohesive format. The Kingdom Hearts lore can get pretty extensive, but having the games easily accessible in a single package makes the series a lot more approachable for those looking to tackle it.

Kingdom Hearts Combat and Disney Worlds Still Hold Up

If you’ve never played a Kingdom Hearts game before, then the best way to describe it is as a mix of hack-and-slash combat, level exploration, and puzzle-solving. It’s very “arcadey” compared with a technical action game like, for example, Devil May Cry.

However, what surprised me most about revisiting the series is how ambitious the games are. In Kingdom Hearts 2, for example, combat is pretty extensive. You have “Drive Forms,” some of which allow Sora to transform into a dual-wielding attacker with boosted powers.

The game also allows you to swap out magical abilities that you can weave in between your melee combos while in combat. And finally, it has a pretty extensive party system that allows you to really customize with various meta builds and setups.

However, the star of the show is the vast selection of Disney worlds offered in each title. Even if you aren’t a huge Disney fan, each level is brimming with so much joy and unique story challenges. If you are looking for the best gameplay, though, Kingdom Hearts 2 and 3 still hold up the most, in my opinion.

Verdict: Kingdom Hearts Finds Its Magic on Switch 2

Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III really shines on the Nintendo Switch 2 with its improved resolution and smooth gameplay. With ten playable games and experiences to choose from, it’s also one of the best values on the handheld console.

Even more than two decades after the series began, the Kingdom Hearts games are still magical and an absolute joy to play. The new Switch 2 collection is the best way to experience that magic, especially in handheld mode.

Verdict: Best In Its Class (9.5/10)

Pros

• Kingdom Hearts Disney art style and graphics holds up really well in 2026.
• The series’ arcadey hack and slash combat feels buttery smooth at 60 FPS.
• The Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III is an absolute steal value wise, as it offers 7 main playable games and 3 narrative experiences.
• Square Enix has done a brilliant job offering the massive Kingdom Hearts lore all in a single approachable package.

Cons

• Some players might not be a fan of Kingdom Heart’s more “floaty” combat.
• There are a few puzzles and challenges that have shown their age. The Deep Jungle Tarzan level in the original Kingdom Hearts is in particular is still frustrating.
• The Kingdom Hearts story and lore can be a bit confusing and overwhelming to new players. However, I do think Square Enix has done a great job creating a cohesive path to experience the full story here.

Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III releases on Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on October 8, 2026. A code was provided by Square Enix for the sake of review. Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.

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Square Enix has posted a new Kingdom Hearts 25th anniversary video celebrating decades of games in the Disney crossover franchise. The special trailer features key moments from throughout the series, and it’s incredibly nostalgic!

Kingdom Hearts 25th Anniversary Video Revisits Iconic Moments

Square Enix is celebrating Kingdom Hearts’ 25th anniversary with a new retrospective video shared on social media. While the trailer doesn’t feature any new KH 4 footage, it does showcase some of the series’ most emotional moments while revisiting its story and themes.

The anniversary video even opens with the game being played on a retro television for maximum nostalgia. In a statement on X, Square Enix wrote: “It is a tale of adventure where protagonist Sora travels through Disney and Pixar’s diverse worlds alongside Donald and Goofy. This is a special video commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series.”

Square Enix also revealed a special KH anniversary campaign where fans can win a “25th Anniversary Memorial Photo Card.” Unfortunately, the contest appears to be limited to residents of Japan. If a North American contest is announced, we’ll update this article with the details.

Kingdom Hearts Collection Release Date and Platforms

The Kingdom Hearts 25th anniversary video arrives just days before KINGDOM HEARTS Collection [I～III] launches on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 8, 2026. The collection gives players another chance to revisit Sora’s journey on modern consoles.

It’s also the perfect time for newcomers to experience the series ahead of Kingdom Hearts 4’s 2027 release date. While many of the older games were already playable on PS5 through backward compatibility, KINGDOM HEARTS Collection [I～III] brings them together with improved resolution and frame rates.

Whether you’ve been following Sora’s journey since the original game or are jumping in for the first time, there’s a lot to look forward to. For now, the anniversary video is a nostalgic reminder of why KH means so much to its fans.

The post Square Enix Reveals New Kingdom Hearts 25th Anniversary Video appeared first on VICE.

The Orange Menace has lost his multiple bids to slap his failure-associated name on a revered institution and has been ordered not to tear it down on a whim, so he is selling off the parts.

Movers have been photographed hauling out the Steinways, which AlterNet reports are being sold because the Center is closed. — Read the rest

The post Trump's Kennedy Center is apparently fencing the Steinways appeared first on Boing Boing.

This may or may not happen to you, but sometimes when I’m a guest in someone’s home, where everyone pitches in to make dinner, all eyes (or just the host’s eyes) fall on me to make dessert. Gulp. I happy to pitch in with the cooking or bringing along a few baked goodies for the weekend, but I’m not always prepared to bake on the spot.

If you’re lucky, there may be a scale, a cake pan, a sharp knife, and hopefully sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. If you’re really lucky, there might be a whisk and a spatula, too. But if you’ve ever tried to peel a dozen apples with a steak knife because it’s the only one that’s even close to sharp, or eyeball 1 cup/140g) of flour, you know what I’m talking about. I once did a post on Things I Bring When I’m a Guest for the Weekend, which raised the ire of some, but I require a minimum of a knife, a spatula, a bowl, and a cake pan if I’m going to bake something, like a cake.

You’re likely familiar with the Moelleux au chocolat, the soft warm individual melting cakes that everybody loves. (If you have the kind of friends that have six to eight ramekins, well, that’s great.) I recently saw French food writer and journalist François-Régis Gaudy (his book, Let’s Eat France, translated into English, is a lot of fun and pretty amazing) make a Moelleux à la abricot on his Instagram page, which didn’t require a mixer or any special equipment. Not even a whisk!

His Apricot Cake was a very casual affair, baked in a rectangular mold on a sheet of parchment paper, and came out of the oven rather free-form, looking exactly like something that would come out of a French home cook’s kitchen, when baking dessert for friends. I’m fine with that but didn’t know if you were, so I thought I’d tinker with it and make it in a cake pan, which is easier to slice. I also fiddled around with the ingredients, as well as putting the brown granulated sugar on top (rather than underneath), to give the moelleux a nice sheen.

I used a springform cake pan but you can use any similar-sized vessel; an 8-, 9- or 10-square or round cake pan would work, or even a baking dish. The baking time will vary but if your experience with using a variety of ovens in other people’s homes is anything like mine, you’ll find that each one is different, and what one says is 350ºF/180ºC will be different than another whose dial says 350ºF/180ºC. I don’t travel with an oven thermometer but may add that to things I bring when I’m staying with people.

Tip: If you’re staying in someone’s place for the weekend, you can mix the dry ingredients in a container or zip-top bag then put the dessert together when you get there.

I made one cake with apricots first, which was sensational, but knowing fresh apricots are harder to come by elsewhere, I made another one with plums, which came out great as well. It would work with other summer fruits and berries but I really like the tanginess of apricots or plums against the moist cake layer, so stuck with those two. A handful of berries wouldn’t hurt either, but I do recommend keeping it simple.

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Moelleux aux fruits d'ete

Inspired by a recipe from French food writer and journalist François-Régis Gaudry

The ground almonds are really delicious in the dessert, but if you can't get ground almonds (sometimes called almond meal or almond flour), you can use 1 1/4 cups (175g) of all-purpose flour in place of the mix.

The picture in the post of the batter shows 3 eggs being added, and I took that photo when I first tested the recipe, which I did a few more times after that. The final recipe that I came up with, below, uses 2 eggs.

Course Dessert

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds (680g) apricots or plums (or another summer fruit, see headnote)
• 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons (100g) almond flour
• 1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder preferably aluminum-free
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (230g) granulated sugar
• 5 ounces (140g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse granulated brown sugar such as tubinado sugar (or granulated white sugar)

Instructions

• Halve the fruit and remove the pits. Slice the fruit into 3/4- to 1-inch (2-3cm) wedges. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.) Grease a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan very well with butter or non-stick spray. (If you don't have a springform pan, you can use another cake pan but it may be harder to get the cake out so you may want to also line the bottom with parchment paper.)
• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. (My preferred tool to use for this step is a silicone spatula.) Add the soft butter and mix it in with the spatula until it's broken up into little pieces, roughly the size of kernels of corn. Stir in the eggs and vanilla extract, until it's almost smooth. It's fine if there are small pieces of butter visible.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Arrange the wedges of fruit on their sides in concentric circles over the batter, snugly placing the wedges against each other, pressing them gently into the batter as you go. Avoid putting them right up against the sides of the pan. It's best to leave some room for the batter to rise between the fruit and the pan, to avoid juices from the fruit adhering to the sides of the pan as the moelleux bakes. (It's unavoidable - and natural - if using juicy fruits, like plums, to have juice run out. But placing the slices not right up against the sides of the pan will help you get the cake out of the pan later.)
• Sprinkle the coarse sugar over the top and bake until the center just feels set; a toothpick inserted into the center should come out free of cake crumbs stuck to it, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack. If any fruit juices have bubbled up and stuck to the sides of the pan, run a knife around the outside of the cake, which will help it release later.

Notes

Notes: If you want to make this gluten-free, I'd go with the almond flour rendition, and use a gluten-free flour substitute in place of the wheat flour. If you want to reduce the sugar in the recipe, you could cut it by 6 tablespoons/75g and skip the sugar on top, although I wouldn't.

Not everyone thinks of citrus fruits as “winter fruits.” But that’s when oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, tangy lemons, and enticing limes are often at their peak. And that’s a good thing because there’s nothing that brightens up any season – but especially winter – better than a classic French lemon tart.

Any bakery in Paris will have a Tarte au citron on offer. Some are on the sweet side, others tart. I like my lemon tart, well…tart, for sure and when I search for lemons at my market, I choose the plumpest, juiciest ones I can find. Fortunately, good lemons are available just about anywhere, so anyone can make this tart. Most of us don’t even have to wait until winter!

I juiced my lemons, cracked some eggs, and got to work on the tart.

For the base, I used Paule’s pastry dough, which is so easy to make and hasn’t failed me yet. It’s delicious and buttery, and goes particularly well with the delicious lemon topping.

I cooked the filling, a sunny, luscious lemon curd, on the stovetop with the fragrant zest of the lemons, then poured the warm filling through a strainer to make it as smooth as possible.

 One could pipe whipped cream on it or top it with meringue. To do so, let it cool and spread or pipe whipped cream over the top or serve a dollop alongside. If you want to give a go at meringue, check out my Lime Meringue Tart recipe or the marshmallow topping that I use on my Pumpkin Pie with Marshmallow Topping.

Both are delicious, but just as it is – or as the French say, nature – is just fine with me.

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Lemon Tart

I recently updated this recipe to increase the amount of filling and I dialed down the sugar a bit due to frequent questions about reducing sugar in recipes. You can taste the filling in step 3 and if you'd like it sweeter, add up to 1/4 cup (50g) more sugar If you find that you have a bit too much filling for your tart shell (they seem to vary), any remaining lemon filling that you don’t use can be spread on toast, fresh biscuits, or scones. You could substitute fresh lime juice for the lemon, and if you have Meyer lemons, reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup (100g). You can use a favorite tart dough recipe, or the one I’ve linked to.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• grated zest of two lemons preferably unsprayed
• 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
• 12 tablespoons (170g) butter salted or unsalted, cut into cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 4 large egg yolks
• One pre-baked 9-inch (23cm) tart shell

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
• In a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar, butter, eggs and egg yolks. Have a mesh strainer nearby.
• Stir until the butter is melted, then whisk the mixture continuously until the mixture thickens and holds its shape when you lift some of it up with the whisk and it visibly mounds up when dropped back down over the rest of the mixture in the saucepan. It should just take a few minute.
• Pour the warm lemon curd though a strainer into a bowl (or directly into the tart shell), scraping with a rubber spatula to press it through.
• Smooth the lemon filling in the prebaked tart shell and pop it in the oven until the curd is just set. It’ll take about 5 to 6 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving.

Related Links

Recipes to Use Up Leftover Egg Whites

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Tips for Freezing Eggs

What is non-reactive cookware?

I wasn’t planning on beginning this post for a pie recipe with anything other than a story about how much I liked it, encouraging you to make it. (Which I’ll get to later.) But after I had started writing it, several neighborhoods in Paris came under attack, including mine, and I put everything on hold.

Cafés and restaurants that I knew, and areas that I frequent, were targets, as was the area around the theatre where my outdoor market is, which suffered the worst of it. Everyone I know is okay, but others were not so fortunate. It’s a crazy world we are living in and often we just see it on television and switch the channels to something more entertaining, so we don’t have to think about it. But when it happens right outside your door, or in a city that you love so much (whether you live there or are just an occasional visitor), you can’t avoid the shock and the grief. In addition to some introspection, my hope is that this will bring a conversation and dialogue that will somehow address why – and how – this happened, and where to go from here.

I couldn’t think of a very good transition from the heartbreaking tragedy, to pie, and I’m not used to being short on words, so I’ll just say that I was happy to have this pie sitting on the counter after all that happened this weekend. It made us feel a little better.

Some say baking heals and while I’m not much for catch-phrases and slogans, it did feel nice to be rolling out some dough to have a pie around. And a new one to me, at that. A few years ago I gave pecan pie a makeover using dark chocolate chunks, which came out so well that it became my go-to pecan pie.

But with the upcoming holidays arriving, I was perusing First Prize Pies from Allison Kave of Butter & Scotch, looking for another pie to make for the fêtes, and landed on her Bourbon ginger-pecan pie.

As luck would have it, in addition to a bag of beautiful pecans, I also had a bottle of Knob Creek smoked maple bourbon that was so good that it was freaking me out. It was a gift from my bourbon-loving friend Elizabeth Karmel and I was looking for an opportunity to crack it open. Recent events make me realize that you don’t necessarily need to squirrel everything away until another time or save it until later. Maybe now it that time.

This dialed-up pecan pie won first prize at the Brooklyn Pie Bake-Off, and if you’ve visited Brooklyn in the last few years, you’ll know that there’s some heavy competition out there in the cooking and baking categories. So that’s saying something. Allison noted that a heavy hand with the bourbon is always appreciated. (And I agree.) But it’s also special because of the triple-whammy of ginger, courtesy of a handful of candied ginger, a spoonful of dried ginger, and a dose of freshly grated ginger in the nutty filling.

It was hard to interrupt him while he was eating the pie so ravenously. But when he came up for air, Romain said it was the best thing he’d ever eaten. And that’s coming from someone who’s often looked at me quizzically when served some of the foods associated with Thanksgiving that perplex the French: Gravy? Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix? A one-week obsession with cranberries? Marshmallows? Sweet potatoes? Marshmallows and sweet potatoes together?

It helps that he, like any sane person, loves maple syrup, as well as fresh and candied ginger, which the French call gingembre confit. I gotta say, I loved this pie as much as he did. The zing of ginger really took it up beaucoup de notches, not just one notch, and the shots of bourbon helped temper what is traditionally a rather sweet dessert, which this pie isn’t. Or wasn’t, I should say. Because it’s now long-gone.

Whipped cream is always the classic to serve with pecan pie. If you’re looking for an ice cream to pair with it, I recommend white chocolate-fresh ginger ice cream, or it might also be nice with milk chocolate ice cream instead, if you’re someone – like me – that has a hard time imagining dessert without chocolate. And if that’s the case, bourbon always plays a good second fiddle to chocolate. The pecans and maple syrup-rich filling are an added bonus.

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Pecan Pie with Bourbon and Ginger

Adapted from First Prize Pies by Allison Kave I loved the idea of adding three kinds of ginger to pecan pie and using maple syrup as a sweetener. If you don’t have maple syrup, you can go with golden syrup, which is available in well-stocked supermarkets (depending on where you live), or online. I’ve not used it, but some recommend sorghum syrup as another substitute. Because I’m like that, I veered from the original proportions a bit. One was that I added a few more pecans, and toasted them first, adding an additional handful to the baking sheet to make up for the ones that I nibbled on. ; ) I also added some melted butter to the filling to give it a little extra silky richness. If you don’t want to use bourbon, dark rum would be a nice substitution, as would Cognac or rye whiskey. If you want to leave out the liquor, just add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and a few drops of lemon juice to counterbalance the brown sugar and maple syrup. Although I didn’t do it, you could brush the rim with an egg wash – one egg yolks mixed with 1-2 teaspoons of milk, and brush it over the rim before baking the pie. If glazing the rim, it may need to be covered during baking if it gets too dark before the filling is done. You can fashion strips of aluminum foil to cover the rim of the pie if that happens.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 1 1/4 cups (175g) flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (115g) chilled unsalted butter cubed
• 3-4 tablespoons ice water

For the pecan pie filling

• 1 cup (215g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (125ml) dark amber maple syrup
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 4 tablespoons melted butter salted or unsalted
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground (dried) ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (225g) pecans lightly toasted, very coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup (50g) candied ginger finely chopped

Instructions

• To make the dough, mix the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (The dough can also be made by hand, in a bowl with a pastry blender, or using your hands.) Add the chilled butter and mix or pulse the dough until the butter is broken up into small pieces about the size of peas.
• Add 3 tablespoons of ice water and mix until the dough begins to come together. If necessary, add 1 more tablespoon of water if the dough needs it to come together. Turn the dough out on a work surface and give it a few turns with your hands. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, or between two pieces of parchment paper until it’s about 13-inches (33cm) in diameter. Brush off any excess flour and transfer it to a 9-inch (23cm) pie plate or pan. Tuck the overhanging edges under, between the rim of the pie plate and the dough, and crimp the edge of the dough. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm.
• To bake the pie dough, preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Prick the pie dough a few times with a fork. Line the pie dough with aluminum foil and fill halfway with beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake until the dough is set and starting to get lightly golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Lift out the foil with the weights and bake until the dough is well-browned, about 5 to 8 minutes more. Turn the oven down to 350ºF (180ºC).
• To make the filling, in a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, melted butter, bourbon, fresh ginger, ground ginger, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the pecans and candied ginger.
• Pour the filling into the prebaked tart shell and bake until the center of the pie is seems just about set. It should still jiggle a little. Begin checking it at the 40 minute mark, but it may take 45 to 50 minutes to reach that point of doneness. Remove it from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Notes

Serving and storage: Pecan pie is best served at room temperature and it’s easier to cut when it’s cooled completely. Although it’s no slouch if slightly warm, as long as you don’t mind the pieces looking a little sloppy. Ice cream or whipped cream are fine accompaniments.

The dough can be made up to two days in advance and refrigerated, or frozen for up to two months, either unrolled, or rolled out and fitted into the pan.

The baked pie can be kept at room temperature for up to four days. I’ve not frozen pecan pie but it can probably be done, if well wrapped.

Related Recipes

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How to make candied ginger

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