Go-To Banana Muffins!

I officially have a go to banana muffin recipe!  After many attempts to find the perfect combination, I realized that I could adapt my Spring Banana Bread recipe into muffin form and have since made Go-To Banana Muffins several times for parties, work events, and even gave the recipe as a bridal shower present. All I had to do was change brown sugar to white sugar, cut the baking time back, and add in chocolate chips or nuts as needed.

Ingredients:

2-3 very ripe bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup chocolate chips (or combination of chocolate chips and pecans, etc.)

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degree and line a muffin tin with paper (cupcake) liners. Spray lightly with cooking spray if the paper is strong enough.

2.) In a single bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, then stir in the melted butter, baking soda, and salt. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sift in your flour last, folding it slowly so that the flour fully incorporates into the mixture. Do the same for the chocolate chips, folding slowly until fully incorporated.

3.) Pour the batter into the muffin cups and bake for about 18 minutes (25 at the most, but 18 worked for me). Use a toothpick inserted into the center of a central muffin to check for doneness (if it comes out moist with crumbs on it, the muffins might need a little more time. If it comes out dry, you're good). Cool slightly, but serve warm. (Note: They also taste great cold since they're moist enough to not harden in the refrigerator, or they can be reheated in the microwave to maintain the original flavor).

I've received so many positive reviews for these muffins, and I absolutely love bananas, so I'll definitely be returning to this recipe over and over again!

Banana Pecan Muffins!

It seems like I only end up making banana dishes when I end up with uneaten overripe bananas.  Well, those really are the best kind to use in baking, so when my bananas went uneaten this week it was the perfect excuse to bake something new.

Usually I will revert to a classic banana bread, but last time I attempted my Buttermilk Banana Bread it baked a bit bitter (Ah, tongue twisters).  I'm still not sure if this was due to bad buttermilk, bad bananas, not refrigerating a fruit concoction, or something else entirely, but I didn't want to risk it. I wanted something quick and actually tasty--which meant muffins were in order.

Rather than looking at past failures (Banana Muffies anyone?), I just went straight to the Internet for a 5-star reviewed recipe. My quick Google search brought me first to Tyler Florence's simple Banana Nut Muffins. It had five stars out of 368 reviews.  That was all I needed.  And hey, I like Tyler Florence. He's a cutie.

Though I was a little skeptical that his recipe didn't call for any buttermilk, milk, sour cream, yogurt, or any other dairy (besides butter), I felt it best to experiment as always and see how his suggestions turned out. Since I had less time and fewer muffin tins, I opted to halve the recipe and only make them fill one muffin tin instead of two (though the recipe misleadingly says it yields 12 muffins--two cups of flour for 12 muffins? Those suckers are going to be huge!). My only other change was that I skipped the electric mixer step (I find electric mixers unnecessary for quickbreads, and why dirty an extra dish/machine when all you need is a little elbow grease?) and I also used a full 1/2 cup of chopped pecans instead of halving that amount (the more nuts the better in this case--I wanted full flavor!).

The result was not a failed experiment, but rather a delicious, moist, and crunchy muffin that I enjoyed for breakfast and eagerly shared with my friends.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 + 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 overripe bananas

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 + 1/4 stick of butter (six Tablespoons), melted (I put mine in the microwave for just under a minute)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup of pecans, chopped

Sugar crystals/white sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl (glass makes it easier), mash the bananas with a fork. Add in the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla, then the melted butter (once it's had a couple of minutes to cool) until everything is well combined.

2.) Gently fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture, then fold in almost all the 1/2 cup of pecans, leaving a small handful for sprinkling.

3.) Spoon the batter into a 12-cup muffin tin sprayed with nonstick cooking spray OR lined with paper muffin/cupcake liners (I chose the paper liners this time for an easier cleanup). Fill each cup about 1/2 to 3/4 full. Top with the remaining pecan pieces and a sprinkling of sugar crystals (I ran out of sugar crystals so I just used regular white sugar this time).

4.) Bake approximately 17-18 minutes (probably not the full 20 minutes that Tyler suggests), but test with a toothpick for doneness when the muffins start to smell good and look risen (if the toothpick inserted into the center of one of the most central muffins comes out clean then they're ready!). I removed mine from the oven about 10 seconds before the 18-minute timer buzzed and they were perfect--cooked through but still moist.

Of course you can try this without the pecans, or with walnuts or chocolate chips instead, but I felt like the sweetness of a pecan would match perfectly with the banana, and it did. One friend was pleased that her muffin was still moist even after having been refrigerated (I didn't want to take any chances this time with bananas going bad) and another complimented the taste of his at breakfast. The rest I will be taking with me to a family brunch this afternoon, but the recipe I will keep with me for whenever I'm craving banana muffins again!

Bonus: One of my favorite tributes to the banana can be found here....

Brown Butter Walnut Pie

Ah pie.

Oh yeah, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, so for me Thanksgiving dinner has nothing to do with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, or gravy. Sure, they're okay. And stuffing can be quite tasty. But truth be told, I could live without it.

And yes, I really am talking about the dinner part of Thanksgiving and not the family let's-all-come-and-be-thankful part. So I'm not leading up to an obvious "All I need for Thanksgiving dinner is togetherness." Of course I need my family. But this is a food blog after all.

So just give me some pie.

"There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy when they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie...." It's so true they put it in a Christmas carol ("Sleigh Ride," composed by Leroy Anderson with lyrics by Mitchell Parish).

I've raved about pie before, and posted several versions of pumpkin pies (here and here) as well. So I'll leave pumpkin out of it for a minute (though that is a Thanksgiving staple not to be missed).

But I always make two different kinds of pies for Thanksgiving. Typically, pumpkin and then pecan. It's a southern thing and I'm originally from Texas. Besides, pecans plus sugar plus pie crust equal divinity that few foods can reach (if you're from the south, you know what I'm talking about).

However, holidays don't always go according to plan. Such as this year when my mom ordered our first ever "deep fried" turkey from a restaurant that shall remain nameless that undercooked our turkey and threw in "time saving" sides that we had to buy extra ingredients for and assemble ourselves.... But that's another story. Even before all that, I was scrambling on the day before Thanksgiving to take care of all my errands and responsibilities for the week including the making of the two Thanksgiving pies to bring to dinner the next day. I'd had everything I needed for pumpkin pie well in advance, but then my eggs went bad and I forgot to buy pecans. Not a complete disaster--my mom met up with me Wednesday night to deliver a few groceries including those quite necessary eggs. The only problem? She forgot the pecans too.

Exhausted by the end of the day, I decided I would just make a pumpkin pie, and perhaps come to Thanksgiving a little early to make a pecan pie at my mom's house first thing in the morning. And then I had an inspiration. Why not try something just a little different? That's what this baking blog is all about, and it's been quite a while since I've done some real experimenting.

I remembered seeing (and saving) an article on "Yahoo! Shine" earlier in the week for Brown Butter Walnut Pie, a concoction described with "earthy walnuts" that "replace pecans in this version of the classic pie." I knew I had walnuts. I love "earthy walnuts" and have often used them for toppings on frozen yogurt. The question was, would my family go for such a drastic switch?

It couldn't hurt to try.

My first change in the original Yahoo recipe was cutting the amount of ingredients in half (Six eggs? 13 Tablespoons of butter? That's a little too rich for my blood and certainly too much for my pie shells). I changed the amount of butter to a more comfortable 5 Tablespoons and then replaced the "whole walnut halves" with what I had on hand--chopped walnuts and tiny pieces of walnut topping. The cook time also had to be adjusted since I was making it at the same time as the pumpkin pie, which was already in a 350 degree oven instead of one at 375. No problem, I would just cook it for longer. Well, longer than the halved recipe would equal, which ended up being about the same length of time as the original recipe anyway (though I was just waiting until the pie started smelling really good).

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Less than 1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 + 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 + 1/8 teaspoons sea salt
3 eggs
2 cup pack of chopped walnuts
3/4 cup walnut topping (tiny pieces)
1 pie shell

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large glass bowl, melt your butter and set it aside to cool slightly before adding in the brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt.

2.) Slowly beat in the eggs and keep stirring to avoid curdling the butter. Then fold in both the chopped walnuts and the walnut topping (basically, whatever walnut pieces you can find).

3.) Pour the filling into your pie shell and bake for approximately 42 minutes or until the walnuts begin to brown but not burn.

Was the recipe a success? Let's just say no one asked me to make a pecan pie too. While the words "experiment" scared the family just a little ahead of time, everyone who tried the pie complimented it, and my own taste buds immediately told me that this new holiday recipe was a keeper.

Now pass around the coffee and we can all do that togetherness thing. I'm thankful for experiments that turn out well and wonderful family willing to eat the end results.  =)

Caramel Apples Just Because

Sad to say, I have not baked anything as of late. A shame given that November is the month of Thanksgiving and I should be testing pie recipes (oh trust me, they're coming). But this morning I had the opportunity to make caramel apples for a potluck at work, which is not exactly baking but is most certainly fall inspired.

Yes, I've made them before, so I won't post the recipe again here (you can always check out the above link for detailed instructions), but I did want to share a few photos of this latest attempt just because caramel apples make me happy. And I didn't want to go too long without posting something. And I did make them in my own kitchen so that counts, right?

In this variation I also tried pecan "chips" (easier to find at the grocery store) instead of just chopped peanuts and almonds (difficult to chop yourself if you're a small person who does not own a food processor). I think they turned out quite tasty, and my coworkers called them "works of art."

Pro tip--when your caramel gets down to the bottom and isn't enough to cover a whole apple, throw the rest of your nuts in the pot, stir, and spoon out onto parchment paper to make little candies! (Refrigerate for at least an hour so they firm up nicely, but take out of the fridge to thaw a few minutes before biting. Trust me, you don't want to hurt your teeth).

Now to prep for plenty of pies!

Pumpkin Pie Au Naturale

Some treats will just naturally cause a mess in your kitchen. It's sadly unavoidable. This fact may deter you from making certain delicious baked goods in your future. Don't let it. Every kitchen can be cleaned. And some treats are worth it.

Like pumpkin pie.

"Hold on," you might be thinking. "You said pumpkin pie was easy. Only six ingredients. Only four steps. You've made it before. Don't torment us with words like 'mess'."

True. I have made pumpkin pie before, and it was easy. But "mess" doesn't have to equal "challenging". Before you run back to my Traditional Pumpkin Pie recipe just think how impressed your friends/relatives/guests might be when you tell them you made that pumpkin pie with a real, honest-to-gourd pumpkin.

While I've considered myself a baker for at least six years, I have had yet to make a pumpkin pie with anything but Libby's brand canned pumpkin or, occasionally, a jarred pumpkin butter. Then I was shopping at Trader Joe's and spotted some nice, small, round Pie Pumpkins (I think they may officially be called "Sugar Pumpkins") advertised up front. "Those might be nice for decorating my little place," I thought, and bought two of them. One I decorated with markers:

(He's a character from an online game I play. You probably won't recognize him...)

But I couldn't decide what to do with the other one. Carve? Draw another character? And then I saw the little Trader Joe's sticker stuck to the bottom of the pumpkin with a recipe for--you guessed it--pumpkin pie.

"I can do this," I thought.

Now the sticker recipe called for 1/2 to 1 cup whipping cream (which would probably kill me) as well as one stick of melted butter (which seemed like unnecessary fat given the fact that no other pumpkin pie recipe I've seen calls for butter and they still come out super delicious). It also called for more nutmeg, but I cut that in half because, even though I like it, that particular spice can be a tad overpowering. The substitutions are easy. It's the actual roasting of a real live (live?) pumpkin that can be intimidating. Yet that turned out surprisingly easy as well. Just make sure you have a sharp knife and:

Step 1: Wash pumpkin and cut pumpkin in half.

Step 2: Cut off stem with knife.

Step 3: Remove seeds and strings. Leave as much pumpkin "meat" as possible (Hint: this is the messy part).

Step 4: Place pumpkin halves cut side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Step 5: Roast until soft at 350 degrees for about 1 hour (original recipe said 1.5 hours, but it started to brown after just one). Then scoop out all the meat into a bowl (not the little green strings) and save for the recipe that follows!

Ingredients:

1 "pie pumpkin" innards, thoroughly mashed
1 cup lite coconut milk (a nice substitution for those who are lactosely challenged. I had a handy can of Thai Kitchen brand in my pantry)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 empty pie shell/ready-made pie crust (I buy whole wheat pie crust from Whole Foods).

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (if it's not already there after roasting the pumpkin). In your bowl of pumpkin innards, add the milk and eggs. Stir together.

2.) Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar to the bowl and make sure all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Pour a smooth filling into your pie shell and bake about 40 minutes (place the pie on a cookie sheet while baking in case the filling overflows. Mine did not, but you can never be too careful). Then lower the temperature to 325 degrees, cover with foil to prevent burning, and bake for another 20 minutes (Be warned--if you position the foil directly above the pie it will stick to the pie and pie goop will stick to the foil. You can see the slightly cracked appearance that gives your pie in the photo below. Not the most professional look, but it has no affect on the flavor. In fact, you can lick up the pie goop while you wait for your pie to cool...).

3.) Allow the pie to come to room temperature before serving, or refrigerate overnight and serve with your nondairy whipped topping of choice the next day (or marshmallows if you read my traditional pumpkin pie recipe). Yum. Super yum. And that's it.

Three steps? Only three steps? I told you it was still easy. If I were to make it again, I might leave the pie in just a little longer (the filling did hold together, but just barely, and you might want a little more solid of a pie).

Oh and BONUS: if you make a pie from real fresh pumpkins, you also get some lovely leftover seeds to roast, absolutely free (do NOT let these tasty snacks go to waste!). That's equally simple:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (you can actually do this while the pie is baking) and rinse your pumpkin seeds in a bowl until all pumpkin "gunk" comes off. Pat dry with paper towels.

2.) Place a piece of foil on a baking sheet and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Spread your seeds out evenly in a single layer across the sheet and spray the seeds with nonstick cooking spray as well. Sprinkle with salt, garlic salt, or whichever seasoning you prefer.

3.) Bake on the top rack of the oven (this can be while your pie bakes in the center/lower rack) for 40 minutes or until crunchy to the taste.

My first pumpkin pie of the season was "au naturale" but I'm not opposed to going back to canned filling for the next one. Is the flavor superior? I'll let you be the judge. I'm too busy finding both of them in my stomach.

See, now you've already forgotten about the mess....

Pumpkin Nut Bread

It's dangerous this time of year.... Not because of upcoming ghosts, goblins, and T.P. house pranks that next month will ultimately bring, but because on August 29, before the last full month of summer was even over, my dad texted me seven precious words--and one smiley: "Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks. =)"

Dangerous words.

I don't care if the high is 100 degrees (though this week's rain has brought the outside temperature down a few notches). I don't even actually order Starbucks lattes and frappuccinos all that often (quite a bit of sugar, sadly, because the coffee addict in me wants them bad). But if Pumpkin Spice is back at Starbucks, that means it's officially fall.

It's OFFICIALLY FALL. 

And my hands are rubbing together with pumpkin scheming already....

If you know me, you probably remember that fall and winter are my favorite times of year (baking for Halloween, baking for Thanksgiving, baking for Christmas, baking for Valentine's Day...). So naturally I am more than thrilled that stores are starting to pull out their Halloween decor (giving me ideas for upcoming costume parties) magazines are offering autumn themed recipes and Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin is showing up on the shelves of grocery stores in a variety of forms. Canned, of course, (will need that for baking, thank you), in coffee (OMG, my favorite in K-cup form), as candy and even in granola (I miss this one, please let me know if you see it on the shelves of Trader Joe's).

And naturally, I must write an obligatory Pumpkin blog post to remind you just how Pumpkin crazy (you get the idea) I really am.

My first pumpkin dish of the year (don't worry, pies will come soon enough) was brought to me by my mom from her friend who offered up a recipe for Pumpkin Date Bread, promising that golden raisins could be substituted for the dates if I didn't have any (I don't).

While I'm typically not inclined to corrupt my pumpkin products with nuts, fruit, or even chocolate chips, I thought I'd try something different and keep the recipe's additions (though I did cut the original recipe in half to make one loaf instead of two). I call it Pumpkin Nut Bread so when friends try it they'll expect to bite into something more than just pumpkin. The original recipe comes from a Taste of Home magazine of unknown origin (though I can see the original page number was 42...spooky).

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup canola oil
1 and 1/2 eggs (accomplished with one whole egg and one egg yolk)

1/4 cup fat free evaporated milk (original recipe just calls for milk but this was all I had on hand--ready for pies)
Half of 1/3 cup (I estimated) molasses
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 plus 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I broke them into pieces with my hands)

For topping:
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup chopped pecans (also with hands)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl (the largest mixing bowl you have), combine the applesauce, pumpkin, oil, eggs, milk, molasses, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder.

2.) Slowly (in batches) add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir after each addition to combine. Fold in the raisins and pecans. Then pour the batter into a loaf pan greased with nonstick cooking spray.

3.) In a new bowl (or you can wipe out the dry ingredient bowl), combine the brown sugar, extra chopped pecans, and cinnamon. Sprinkle the topping over the batter and bake for about 55 minutes (check with a toothpick after 45 minutes, just in case your oven is more powerful than mine). I also covered mine with foil for the first 35 minutes to prevent the pecans in the topping from burning.

4.) Let the bread cool about 15 minutes before serving.

My resulting loaf baked high, was fluffy soft with an occasional pecan crunch, and was rated highly by my taste-tester football-watching crowd (yes, I brought the bread to a Monday-night game. It's the most I have to contribute to the sport of football). Even a friend who claimed to dislike pumpkin bread took two (three?) slices and asked for the recipe to boot.

So this one's definitely a winner by itself, though if I were to recreate the recipe, I might adjust the topping--1/8 cup of pecans is just not very much. Or I may try a topping/nut/raisin-free version that's just for butter and jam spreaders.

While some Americans are hiding away this season in football hibernation "man caves," I'll be hiding away in my kitchen concocting fall recipes and planning crazy pumpkin spice purchases like an out-of-her-"gourd" mad scientist. Bwa ha ha--let's laugh in the face of danger.

Oatmeal Banana Pecan Cookies

I can't remember why I made these, other than the fact that I felt like baking in the morning before a jog. Come to think of it, I can't remember how they tasted, or even where I got the recipe/idea from. Not necessarily a good sign in cooking (you want your concoctions to be memorable), but I like the look of them in the photo and the name (you can't go wrong with bananas or pecans in baking, really) that I've decided to share them anyway. Once I track down the recipe....

Oh, thank goodness I save everything! I found a sticky note with the recipe in my big orange recipe binder (yay for being somewhat organized!).

It turns out this cookie also came from the book Crazy About Cookies by Krystina Castella, where my Snickerdoodle recipe was from. Now I remember. I flagged about a hundred recipes (well, at least 35) in the collection of "300 scrumptious recipes for every occasion and craving" and wanted to try baking my way through the book. So far my progress on that has been: two. But now with only one job to worry about and the Christmas cookie season approaching, perhaps I'll be able to get even further in my goal!

But back to bananas and pecans. And oatmeal. Oh I do love a good oatmeal cookie. And it's healthy too. Add some fruit and heart-healthy nuts in there and you really can't call my Oatmeal Banana Pecan Cookies a "guilty pleasure," but rather just a "pleasure." I think. It has been quite a while since I tasted them....

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup mashed banana
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup dried banana chips (I left this out, having no banana chips)
Optional 3/4 cup pecans (I put this in rather than the other options of chocolate chips or raisins).

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2.) In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy (again, you can use an electric mixer for this, or just your arm muscles). Beat in the banana, egg and vanilla as well.

3.) Slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until it is well blended. Stir in the pecans. Then drop about 1 Tablespoon-sized mounds onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment (not wax) paper or greased with non-stick cooking spray.

4.) Bake about 8-12 minutes and let cool slightly before eating!

You'll have to let me know how these turned out. Even if my memory's going already, at least I have a blog of recipes and photos to document everything I make so that one day when my memory's really gone I'll still be able to recreate a few treats and pass them along to those with better memories than me.

Holiday Feast!

Okay, this really should have been posted in November so that if I decide to look back on my blog for recipes come next Thanksgiving I'll be able to actually find them.... But it is true that same kinds of desserts and sides made for Thanksgiving can also be made at Christmastime (Plus that whole Bronchitis for a month thing really messed up my November plans). So before it gets too late into December, let me post the traditional (and soon to become traditional) Thanksgiving recipes I made this year.

In addition to my regular Pumpkin Pie (I made the recipe this year already in October for a bake sale before baking two more at Thanksgiving), I also had my annual Bourbon Pecan Pie that I've been making for at least five years now, adapted from Paula Deen's recipe. And if that wasn't enough pie, I decided to break tradition and make one of my favorites that I hadn't done in about five years: Sweet Potato Pie. To round out the menu (since Thanksgiving can't be just about dessert--I know, it's sad) I also created a Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce side (hmm, also a sweet dish) and a sweet Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip (wow, maybe Thanksgiving at my house can be all about dessert?), leaving the turkey, potatoes, and stuffing to my mom.

The easy thing about these pie recipes is that they start with a pre-baked pie shell (I buy whole wheat crusts from Whole Foods) so you don't have to make the dough from scratch and can just focus on the delicious filling. While the cranberry sauce is slightly more labor intensive than the kind from a can (and yes, we had that at Thanksgiving too--don't mess with tradition), it comes together fairly easily with only four ingredients. The pumpkin dip was something new to our Thanksgiving table (a recipe I made for a fall scrapbook party last year), which I served with apple slices and graham cracker sticks. All in all, I think our holiday was quite festive and successful, and I might just have to repeat some of these recipes for Christmas dinner too!

Bourbon Pecan Pie


Ingredients:


1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
3 eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 to 2 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup whole pecans (may need more depending on how many it takes to cover the top of the pie)
2 Tablespoons bourbon (I've been using the same bottle of Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey for the past five years)
1 pie shell (8 or 9 inches in diameter)

Directions:


1.) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Add the corn syrup, eggs and bourbon, stirring after each addition. Then stir in the pecan halves.

2.) Pour almost all the filling into the pie shell. Leave some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Add your whole pecans to this liquid and coat them thoroughly. Using your fingers (they will get sticky), carefully lay each coated pecan on the top of the pie's filling to form a pattern (I like to start around the outside edges and just make circles. This part takes a little patience, but the aesthetics of the end result is worth it).

3.) Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees, putting foil around the edges of the pie to prevent the edges of the crust from burning. Then lower then temperature to 350 degrees and bake for about 22 minutes longer until the top of the pecans become firm and a deeper brown. Let cool on a baking rack and serve at room temperature or refrigerate overnight and serve cold the next day. Basically, this pie tastes good at any temperature, and can be eaten for several days after Thanksgiving for dessert, in your lunch at work, for breakfast....

Sweet Potato Pie


Ingredients:


2 cans (16 oz. each) candied yams (I prefer the kind in light syrup, not heavy syrup, since I can't seem to find any without syrup)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used a can of fat free evaporated milk since I'd been using that for the pumpkin pies)
2 Tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 pie shell

Directions:


1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for the filling, stirring until the eggs are beaten and the yams have been mashed in (though I like a few remaining chunks in mine).

2.) Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for approximately 35 minutes. You can again place foil around the edges of the pie to prevent the crust from burning, or just take your chances if you trust your oven!

At this point you can also top the pie with about 1/2 a bag of mini marshmallows and bake it for an additional 15 minutes to let the marshmallows melt and brown. But I decided to skip the marshmallows this year and just focus on the flavor of the sweet potato, which came out being not too sweet, but just right for me and my younger brother who, it turns out, likes sweet potato pie better than pecan or pumpkin. Looks like this recipe will be a keeper in our house!

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

2/3 cup water 
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup brown sugar
12 oz. cranberries (frozen or fresh--this is usually one package of Ocean Spray Cranberries)

Directions:

1.) In a large pot, bring the water, juice and sugar to a boil. Add the berries and return the mixture to a boil again.

2.) After it's started boiling again, reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for approximately 30 minutes, stirring at regular intervals, until it becomes thick and begins to stay coated on the spoon you use to stir.

3.) Remove from heat and pour into a heat-resistant (glass or ceramic) bowl. Cover and cool in the fridge a few hours or overnight before serving--it tastes best cold rather than warm or room temperature.

I can't remember exactly where this recipe originated from, but I know that during some baking experiments a few years ago I tried to adapt the cranberry sauce recipe from the back of the Ocean Spray bag, combining it with a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com (the inspiration to use orange juice). For a more tart sauce you can experiment with more orange juice and less sugar, but this recipe has served me well for several years as a nice compliment to the canned cranberry sauce tradition as well.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

2 packages (16 oz.) lite cream cheese
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
4 teaspoons maple syrup (this time I used a "pumpkin syrup" I found!)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1.) In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, brown sugar and canned pumpkin with an electric mixer until most of the larger chunks are broken up and no longer visible.

2.) Add the syrup and cinnamon and continue to beat until smooth.

3.) Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, though overnight works well too. Since this is a sweeter dip, serve with fruit, graham crackers, ginger thins, vanilla wafers (basically any kind of mild cookie) rather than chips. Though you could try it with chips. I've never done that before.

Again, I don't remember where this recipe originated from now, though I do remember experimenting with proportions and ingredients last year when I first created it for my scrapbooking party. It makes a nice appetizer for guests who can't wait for the official dinner to be ready, or a lighter dessert for people who choose fruit over pie. Due to the dairy in the cream cheese, I can't eat very much of this dip, but I did taste test in small amounts and absolutely love how the fall flavors shine through. You only get to use pumpkin for so long during the year--I take advantage of every opportunity!

So that was the basic Thanksgiving menu on my end (I still don't know how to cook a turkey and have a personal vendetta against mashed potatoes ever since I learned they are secretly made with milk or cream). But in another year (or maybe for Christmas dinner?) I might add a few new experiments to the list. One day I do plan to try recreating my mom's recipe-less cornbread stuffing, which I never wanted to eat as a kid (due to chunks of celery and onion) but I just can't get enough of now! Overall, my best advice for holiday dinners is just make what you like, try balancing tradition with something new, and (most importantly) don't stress over the food--take the time to enjoy just being with the people that mean the most to you.

Happy Holidays! Christmas cookies and chocolate will be up next!

Caramel Apples!!!

Yes, this post requires at least three exclamation points in the title! The weather outside may still be in the triple digits and Vegas may not have a single tree with leaves that actually change color, but I can still consider it officially fall where I live: I've made my first batch of Caramel Apples.

It doesn't matter whether you pronounce it CAR-MEL or CARA-MEL, it's all delicious in my book. And yes, CAR-MEL (that's how I say it) does have a little dairy in it, but that, along with yogurt/frozen yogurt, are the two dessert risks I take in an otherwise lactose intolerant diet since they're made with skim milk--generally easier on the tummy than whole milk or cream. You can also use that logic to convince yourself this treat is almost healthy for you too! Skim = fat-free! Nuts, in moderation, are good for the heart! Apples are fruit! You get the idea.

So, why do Caramel Apples deserve three exclamation points? One for health and flavor, one for the great memories this seasonal treat invokes, and one for being the super easiest snack/dessert you can make! No actual baking required!

Can you tell I'm excited?

All you need are caramels, nuts, and apples, with a stove, some sticks, and water to complete the process. Follow along with me and you'll be making caramel apples before you know it!

Ingredients:

2 packages of caramels (the 11 oz bag). Hint: I use Kraft brand "Caramel Bits" because you don't have to spend hours unwrapping each candy!
1/4 cup water
15 small apples (approximately. I managed to get 17 little apples done, or you could try for 10 medium-sized ones. Granny Smith--the green ones--work best, but I also used Gala.)
15 short wooden skewers (available at most grocery stores, or substitute Popsicle sticks if that's all you can find)
Parchment or wax paper
Non-stick cooking spray
3 cups chopped nuts of your choice (I did about 2 cups peanuts and 1 cup almonds to create a variety of finished caramel apples)
Paper bowls or plates are helpful!

Directions:


1.) Rinse and pat dry your apples, snip off the stems, and then firmly place your skewers or sticks in the center of the apples where the stems were. Now would also be a good time to prep where your apples are going to end up landing. Cover a large plate, tray, or baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and spray the paper lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Pour your nuts into paper bowls or onto paper plates.


2.) Empty both bags of caramels into a medium-sized pot. Add the water and heat over a medium to low flame (Do not boil). It may take a few minutes for the caramels to melt, so just keep stirring until they start to get smooth. (Keep in mind, whatever spoon you use to stir will have caramel stuck to it for quite some time until you get a chance to thoroughly hand wash it off).


3.) Keeping the stove on low heat, take your apples by the skewer as a handle and dip them into the caramel. The deeper your caramel the more coating you'll be able to get, but I'm personally satisfied with just a light coating rather than fully submerging my apples (it allows me to make more of them and doesn't use up the caramel as quickly). Turn your apple to get the caramel to coat all sides as evenly as possible, but don't worry if it doesn't look perfect! This is a sloppy experiment! Expect to get messy and sticky and create apples that are messy and sticky too! My favorite trick is to just keep twisting the apple in the air over the pot until the caramel stops dripping.


4.) Immediately transfer your apple to your bowl or plate of nuts (I found that paper plates worked more easily after already doing half the batch in small paper bowls). Roll the apples in the nuts to get them to stick to all sides. The caramel will start to firm up right away, which makes it harder for nuts to stick, so make sure you coat the bottoms and sides as quickly as possible.

5.) Place the finished apple onto your prepared paper sheet and repeat until all apples are done! Refrigerate at least an hour (if you can wait) or dig in as soon as you're ready. I personally like my apples cold, and the fridge will harden up the caramel a little more. But hey, temptation is hard to resist. I usually end up snacking on the leftover pieces of nuts and caramel that remain stuck to the bottom of the plates or bowls once all the apples are done.

Keep in mind, I made these for my family to celebrate the first week of fall. But, IF we end up with any leftovers, I promise to bring them into work, where it will be a first-come, first-served free-for-all! Yes, I truly do love the fall.