Nutty Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is on it's way, and what better way to have a dessert that day with something a little different.  Pie is always on the menu, especially pumpkin.  My favorite, hands down, is the pumpkin pie at Costco, I love that pie!  Now getting back to dessert for Turkey Day, I want to make something besides pies.  I toyed with the idea of making my pecan pie from last year, but changed my mind and decided on these Chocolate Chip Bourbon Pecan Pie Bars.  Everything the pecan pie has but jazzed up with bourbon, oh yeah! I love Thanksgiving, the meal, family all around, of course the nap after the cleanup, and the best part - LEFTOVERS!

Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

I started with the crust - flour, butter and brown sugar. I used the food processor to blend it, made it faster.  You can use a pastry blender or a fork if you don't have a processor.  When it all combines, pat in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and bake until lightly browned.

 While the crust is baking, in the bowl of a mixer beat the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, salt, vanilla, butter and bourbon.

 Here is a little tip I learned a long time ago.  I don't always have a big bottle of certain liquors in the house, so I buy the little ones to keep on hand when I only need a teaspoon or tablespoon of it.  It's cheaper to buy those, than a big bottle of something you don't drink, so no waste.

 Add chopped pecans.....

.....and chocolate chips.

Fold them into the egg mixture.

 Mix it, mix it good! If it separates, mix it again before pouring onto the crust.

 The crust is nice and lightly browned, spread it over the top and bake.  This is so easy for such a rich dessert bar.

 They are baked and they are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!  And there you have the flavor of pecan pie, with a little kick (the bourbon), without having all pies for dessert on T-day. Hope you enjoy them, I'm gonna have one now, no one is home, just me, so no one has to know it's my dinner.  Pecans are nuts and nuts are protein, right?  So they ARE good for me!

The crunchy top and soft gooey center, lucious, just lucious,  that's all I can say.   

 CHOCOLATE CHIP BOURBON PECAN PIE BARS

Ingredients

Cooking Spray

1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

3/4 cup light corn syrup

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 Tablespoons bourbon, add more if you like

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

2 cups chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.

In a food processor, or with a pastry blender or fork, combine flour, butter and brown sugar, until a crumbly dough forms.  Press into the baking dish covering the bottom evenly.  Bake in the oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes, depending on your oven.  Remove from oven, leave oven on.

In the bowl of a mixer combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Blend together.  Add melted butter and bourbon and mix until all is combined.  With a spatula, fold in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour this mixture evenly over the top and to the sides of the crust.  Bake for 25 -30 minutes (again, depending on your oven) or until the top is browned and the egg mixture is set.  Cool completely, cut into bars and serve. Makes 18 bars.

Lovin' Pecan Pie

My youngest came home from college for Thanksgiving this year, and we were deciding what to make for after dinner desserts. She said "let's try a pecan pie" I like pecan pie, so I said "OK".  Off to the kitchen we went and to our surprise, for being first time pecan pie bakers, we made this delightful, not too sweet, full of alot of pecans and yummy goodness, beauty of a pie!

Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them. 

 We started with lots and lots of pecans, some orange zest, a little of the good stuff- Jim Beam Bourbon- eggs, light and dark Karo, vanilla, butter, salt and light brown sugar.

 This is the egg, sugar, butter, pecan mixture.

 There are chopped pecans in the egg mixture, lay down some coarsely chopped pecans in the bottom of the crust, and then toast some halved pecans for decorating the top.  I told you, there are alot of pecans, 2 1/2 cups!

 Pretty pattern of toasted pecans on top, and then it's ready to bake.  When it's done you have a gooey on the bottom, crunchy on the top, best flavored pecan pie you'll ever eat!

 Up close and personal with the pie.  It's so good, and not too sweet like some pecan pies.

Easy Pecan Pie

Ingredients

1 pie crust for a 9" pie, homemade or store bought,

keep in the refrigerator until the filling is prepped

Filling

3 eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup light corn syrup (Karo)

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup (Karo)

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons bourbon

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 cup pecan halves

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Heat a large dry frying pan over medium high heat.  Arrange pecan halves in a single layer, toast until fragrant, stirring often.  It only takes a few minutes, be careful not to burn them.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer on medium low.  Add the light and dark corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, salt, vanilla, bourbon, orange zest and finely chopped pecans. Mix until completely combined.  Spread the coarsely chopped pecans evenly in the bottom of the pie crust.  Pour the liquid mixture over the pecans and arrange the toasted pecan halves in a pattern on top.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour (as always all oven temperatures are different), or until the mixture is set and firm, not jiggly.  Remove from oven, let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 8 servings.

Bourbon Beef BBQ Shish Kebabs

The hubby wanted steak on the grill for dinner on Sunday, to cap off the week.  I thought I took whole steaks out of the freezer, but it was steak tips.  Oh well, had to change gears just a bit and figure out what to do with those.  We just had pork kebabs and I wasn't sure I wanted to make kebabs again.  But, I did, and boy were they fantastic!  He was swooning all over these.  The meat was like buttah!  You could cut it with a fork and all the other flavors going on, you didn't need anything else to accompany them.  Can you say yum?

  Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print. 

Here are my delicious kebabs!

And this is what I used to marinate them.

 Now, this sauce is awesome too.  Traders Joe's Siracha and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce.  I used this on my son's (who is vegan) vegetable kebabs.  I just skewered all the same vegetable on his, minus the meat.  Grill veggies a little bit first then brush on the BBQ sauce to coat as you are cooking them.

Bourbon Beef BBQ Shish Kebabs

Ingredients

1 - 1 1/2 lb package of beef tips

1 bottle of bourbon flavored BBQ sauce or glaze

1/2 large portobello mushroom, cut in chunks

1/2 red bell pepper, cut in chunks

1 green zucchini, cut in half, then cut into thick moon shapes

1 yellow zucchini, cut in half, then cut into thick moon shapes

1 red onion, cut in half then quarters

2 ears of sweet corn, cut into eight pieces

Directions

Two hours before grilling, cut the beef tips into 2 inch pieces.  Put the beef  in a resealable bag and pour about 1/2 of the BBQ sauce over them, reserve the remainder for basting. Toss to coat, and put into the refrigerator.

Take the beef out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before grilling. When you are ready to start grilling, heat the grill.  String 3 - 4 pieces of beef (discard the marinade), corn, zucchini, onion, pepper and mushroom until the skewer in almost full, leave about an inch at the top of the skewer with no veggies on it. Repeat until all meat and veggies are skewered.  Lay them out on the grill and baste with some of the reserved BBQ sauce.  Cook, turning and basting, for about 10 minutes on each side.  Makes 6 kebabs.

NOTE: For the veggie kebabs, repeat all the steps except for the beef.