Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie & Christmas Cookies

Has this Christmas snuck up on anyone else?

Seems like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle and now, all of a sudden, it's Christmas time!

Can I let you in on a little secret? I just finished my Christmas shopping this week...like as in Monday afternoon..thank goodness for the internet.

And you can imagine if it took me that long to get my stuff together to buy gifts, that my cookie/holiday baking also took a hit.

In addition to the busy-ness that was my whole month of Decemeber, my cake business has been booming recently (yay!) and with two cakes to bake and decorate every weekend I really haven't had the chance to spend any other time in the kitchen.

By this time last year I was smooth sailing till Christmas- I had all my cookies baked...

Thumbprint Cookies

Candy Cane Kisses

my favorite Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

and Jeweled Lace Cookies (only 35 calories a cookie!)

Not this year though... I just started baking cookies this past weekend! Would you all still want to see what I've made even after the holiday is over??

So while I'm not sharing any new cookies with you this year (yet)...If you're anything like me, and you've been slacking this year for one reason or another, I have the perfect dessert to make it up to you. This is sure to be a crowd pleaser at any Christmas dinner- a little twist on a holiday classic, this pecan pie infused with bourbon and chocolate chips will put a smile on anyone's face.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Adapted from myrecipes.com

Bake: 425/350 Total time: 1 hour

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup light corn syrup

4 TBS butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 TBS bourbon

2 TBS AP flour

1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 package prepared pie crust

Preheat oven to 425. Press pie crust into 9-inch pie dish as directed on package and press/crimp edges.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, corn syrup, butter, brown sugar, bourbon, flour and vanilla until well combined.

Fold in pecans and chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into prepared pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then reduce temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 45 minutes.

Transfer to cooling rack and allow to completely cool before serving.

Happy Holidays

and

Happy Baking!

Pecan Caramel Surprises

Only 3 days till Christmas! Can you believe it?  

Big moves are being made in our household in the coming days..

My parents get into town tomorrow.


Mountain Man's parents are getting into town tomorrow.


That's right, Christmas is going to be at our place this year...with both families.

[insert music here] Dun-dun-duuuuun.

Since both of my brothers are on the other side of the world, it only made sense that my parents should come to Texas for Christmas and since MM's family only lives a few hours away they're going to make the trip as well.

[insert music here] Dun-dun-duuuuun.

This is going to be the first time both families are meeting! And I'm in charge of all the food and entertaining!

To be honest I just added the music for dramatic effect.. I'm not that worried about it at all. Yes, it will be a little nerve racking just making sure everything goes smoothly, but I'm actually quite excited.

And how could you not have a good time at our house when you have cookies like these to eat??

Caramel Pecan Surprises

Recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray

Oven: 325 Bake time: 13 minutes

Makes 24 cookies

1 cup whole pecans (or 3 1/2 oz ground pecans)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), slightly softened and cut into cubes

1/3 cup + 1 TBS sugar

1 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 package of soft caramels (24)

1 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)

Preheat oven to 325 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Unwrap 24 caramels and set aside.

Place pecans and 1 TBS sugar in food processor and grind for 20 seconds.

Transfer pecans to large bowl.

Place butter, vanilla and sugar in food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times to combine. 

Add flour and pulse until blended.

Add butter/flour mixture to pecans and mix with your hands until ingredients begin to form a ball*

I found that using my hands to mix was the easiest..it's a slightly sticky dough and you really have to work with it to make sure it all sticks together.

Now comes the surprise!

Using a tablespoon, roll dough into a ball and place on parchment paper about 2 inches apart.

Press individual caramels into each ball. At this point you're going to have to re-shape your cookies a little bit to make sure caramel is completely covered (so it doesn't come oozing out the sides while baking).*

I found it easiest to slightly flatten the cookie, wrap the caramel in the middle and then roll the ball in my hand until the caramel was covered.

Transfer to oven and bake for about 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Don't worry if your cookies kind of crack on the top or a little bit of caramel oozes out because you're going to drench them in powdered sugar.

Place 1 cup powdered sugar in shallow bowl.

Allow cookies to cool for about 10 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar.

Let cookies cool again for about 15 minutes then roll one more time in powdered sugar.

A little disclaimer.. this was the second batch of these cookies I made because the first were an epic fail. Caramel was all over the place and the cookies had completely fallen apart. You really have to watch these little guys so around 10 minutes just make sure you don't have lava cakes oozing out caramel in your oven. This time around I watched them very carefully to make sure the cookies stayed intact. You also might want to try putting the prepared cookies in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes before placing them in the oven which may help in the oozing caramel department.


The good thing is, even if the caramel does ooze out all over the place they're still delicious cookies!

Happy Baking!

Double Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake

Every now and again I miss Georgia.

I don't miss the 110 degree weather with 200% humidity, swarms of gnats, living in the middle of nowhere, dealing with snarky college students, or being in grad school... but I do miss living near Savannah and fresh pralines on River Street.

Savannah is a city with character- not to mention home of the great Paula Deen and her fabulous restaurant Lady & Sons (I've been lucky enough to eat there not once, but three times and man oh man, her fried chicken is good!)

When my grad school roommate decided to get married in Savannah and asked me to make her cake, I knew one of the tiers had to be the Double Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake that I found a few years ago in Southern Living.  I have been waiting for a special occasion to try this cake for a long time and what better occasion to do you get than a Savannah wedding?

You can't go to Savannah and not stop at River Street Sweets for a free praline so the choice was a no brainer..  lucky for me she liked the idea as well.

With the wedding in just 3 weeks (yes, I'm traveling with another wedding cake!), I had to try out the cake before serving it at the bow-tie affair. If you are a fan of chocolate and pralines you're going to love this cake. It is out of control rich, which in turn makes it out of control delicious.

Double Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake
Southern Living Magazine
Bake time: 22-24 minutes Oven: 350

1 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour 2 or 3 8-inch round pans and line bottom with parchment paper.
Cook butter, cocoa and water in saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly for about 2 minutes or until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool. I repeat, LET COOL COMPLETELY- put it in the fridge, put it in the freezer, whatever you do, let it cool completely.
Let cocoa cool for about 10-15 minutes in fridge.
Meanwhile, beat buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla.
Pour cooled cocoa mixture to buttermilk mixture beating until blended.
In a small bowl, combine/whisk flour, sugar and salt.
Gradually add flour mixture to cocoa/buttermilk mixture, beating well after every addition (Your batter will be thin).
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 22-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Transfer to wire rack and cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing from pan and allowing to cool completely.
Allow cakes to cool for at least 1 hour before trying to frost.
One cake is cooled, begin to prepare chocolate ganache and praline frosting.

*The original recipe spreads Chocolate Ganache between each layer of cake as well as the sides and then tops the cake with the Praline Frosting. Because I will be decorating the wedding cake with fondant I knew I needed a smooth surface so I made this cake like I would be making hers, with the Praline Frosting between layers and frosting the outside with the Chocolate Ganache.

Chocolate Ganache
1 12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter

In a glass bowl, add chocolate chips and whipping cream.
Two ways to make this:
1. Heat in a double boiler, whisking until smooth. Once chocolate is melted remove from heat and gradually add butter, whisking until smooth.
-OR-
2. Microwave 2 to 3 minutes until chocolate is melted, stirring at 1 minutes intervals. Whisk until smooth. Gradually add butter, whisking until smooth.
Allow to cool briefly and whisk until spreading consistency.


Don't make the Praline Frosting until you're ready to frost your cake because it hardens VERY quickly.


Praline Frosting
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Chop pecans and place on baking sheet or shallow pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until pecans are toasted and fragrant.
In a medium saucepan, bring brown sugar, whipping cream and butter to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for about 1 minute.
Remove from heat, and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Gently stir in toasted pecans allowing mixture to thicken and cool slightly.
Use immediately

*If you have left over frosting you can use it to make your own pralines. Simply lay parchment or wax paper on a baking sheet and place spoonfuls of praline frosting on sheet about an inch apart. Allow to cool and harden for about 20-30 minutes.

Happy Baking!  

Andrea's Pecan Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies

My work blocked gchat. So I have rely on quick emails back and forth to get me through the day. Last week I got an email from Andrea that went a little something like this..

Andrea:

ok...so you know that i love me some nuts...

 

the other day i found myself eating vanilla frosting & pecans (yes, i am ashamed to admit that).  it kind of had a divinity-esque quality to it.  SO, that got me thinking that you could probably make a non-chocolatey, nutty, kick-ass dessert of sorts.

 

that's all i'm giving you. 

 

i love you.

At the time this conversation was had I laughed at least a couple times out loud at my desk and I'm not ashamed to admit that. And as long as we're being honest, I 'LOL.'

Through a few more emails it was mentioned that she wanted me to incorporate nuts and she didn't mind if I didn't do something completely healthy. I knew this was said half heartedly so I still attempted to make these cookies as healthy as I could. If you haven't read any of my posts prior to this one (I highly recommend you do :)) but Andrea is often given a shout when I make something on the healthier side- she's all about eating healthy and trying to use healthy ingredients. That being said, this is also the girl that I've spent many an hour with, eating ice cream out of the carton and my go-to bowl licker (for cakes, brownies and cookies that is). 

Andrea's encounter with pecans and vanilla frosting was something I just couldn't get out of my head and guess what?! I  just happened to have a bag of vanilla chips in my cupboard. BINGO BANGO.

Andrea's Pecan-Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies 

Inspired/Adapted from Gonna Want Seconds Cooking Blog

Oven: 350 Bake Time: 15 minutes

1 cup white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup apple sauce* (just about)

1 TBS oil*

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

dash cinnamon

1 cup vanilla chips

1 cup chopped pecans

Whisk flour, oats, baking soda and salt.

In large bowl combine brown sugar, egg, vanilla, apple sauce and oil (I filled the measuring cup with almost all applesauce, but left enough room for 1 TBS oil).

Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix until combined.

Fold in pecans and vanilla chips.

Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove and place on cooling racks.

Happy Baking!

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