Peanut Butter Bourbon Bacon Blondies

There's a fantastic local BBQ joint near the Husband and me...it's owned by a guy who has been a chef at a lot of the top local restaurants.  He's a classically trained French chef, but he got tired of doing the fancy food, so he started a BBQ restaurant.  He brings all the same attention-to-detail that high-end cuisine requires to a very unfussy local hangout.  And it shows.  You can drive by this place at 2:00 on a Tuesday afternoon, and it's packed.  Because of his extensive culinary experience, the chef comes up with some interesting desserts, too!  We once had some bacon brownies there (delicious), and last time we were there, the Husband had a doughnut topped with peanut butter frosting, bacon, and a chocolate drizzle.  Now, I'm not big on either doughnuts or bacon, but it was an interesting combination.  Fast forward a few weeks, and when the Husband requested that I make peanut butter blondies, well, I knew how I was going to jazz them up!  These blondies were a huge hit--the perfect balance of salty and sweet!

Peanut Butter Bourbon Bacon Blondies (adapted from my mom's blondie recipe)

• 1/3 c. butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 Tbl. bourbon
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 6 oz. Reese's minis, chopped (or Reese's pieces)

Melt butter, and mix in brown sugar until well-combined.  Cool slightly, then stir in the bourbon, egg, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then stir it into the wet ingredients until a few streaks of flour remain.  Lastly, add the bacon and Reese's, and stir gently until just mixed.  Spread into a greased 8x8 pan, and bake at 350*F for 25 minutes.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

So, last Sunday was supposed to be my wedding day. Yup, I was supposed to be one of those 10/10/10 brides. Then my (ex-) fiance decided he didn't want to marry me. Silly him. My wedding cake was supposed to be a pumpkin swirl cheesecake. I decided that not getting married was not a good enough reason to not eat cheesecake (did you follow that, with all the nots?). So, I made my own!


Two of my best friends came in from out-of-town to visit and to cheer me up that weekend, and one of them has Celiac's. I wanted to make sure she would be able to enjoy the dessert (and other foods!) I cooked up for our celebratory bbq, so I made the crust for this cheesecake with gluten-free gingersnaps. You could certainly leave off the crust altogether or substitute a different gluten-free crust if you can't find gluten-free gingersnaps. Or, if it isn't something you have to worry about, use real gingersnaps!

Also, may I just say, this recipe is extremely forgiving. I did not read the original recipe thoroughly before starting, so I missed the part when the crust is supposed to chill for an hour. And the part where you add the sour cream topping right after baking and before cooling, rather than after the cheesecake has set in the fridge overnight. No matter. It tasted fine, anyways. And I'm sure your texture will be much better than mine was, given that I mixed this up by hand since my stand mixer broke last weekend. *Sigh* As I said, it's very forgiving, since it still tasted fantastic!

I did try to get a picture of the whole, uncut cheesecake, but given the line of bottlecaps in the picture and the lack of focus, the drinking had proceeded too long to get a decent picture. The other picture was taken a few days later, while sober, and, as you saw, it's MUCH better!


Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake (Adapted from Apple A Day)

Crust

• 3/4 c. crushed gingersnaps (gluten-free or normal)
• 1/4 c. finely chopped pecans
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 4 Tbl. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbl. bourbon (I subbed Jameson, since I was out of bourbon)

Pulse together crushed gingersnaps, pecans, butter, and bourbon (or Jameson) in a food processor until moistened and starting to come together. Press into the bottom of a 10" springform pan. Chill 1 hour (or don't, since I forgot this step). Bake the unfilled crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Filling

• 2 c. pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2/3 tsp. nutmeg
• 2/3 tsp. ginger
• 2/3 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. brown sugar
• 2/3 c. granulated sugar
• 4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tbl. heavy cream
• 1 1/2 Tbl. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 Tbl. bourbon (or Jameson)
  

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Cream the granulated sugar with the cream cheese. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin puree with the spices and salt. Add this to the cream cheese mixture, and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Beat in the brown sugar, vanilla, and bourbon. Dissolve the cornstarch in the heavy cream, and beat this into the cream cheese mixture until the batter is smooth.

Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust. Wrap the springform pan in a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil and place in a water bath (or don't, since you're going to put a topping on it anyway that will hide any cracks). Bake for 65 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until center is just set. Without removing from the pan, let cool for 5 minutes.

Topping

• 2 c. sour cream
• 2 Tbl. granulated sugar
• 1 Tbl. bourbon (or Jameson)
  

Mix all topping ingredients until thoroughly combined. Spread over the top of the (still hot) cheesecake. Return the cheesecake to the oven and bake for 5 more minutes at 350 degrees F. Or, if you neglect to read the directions and cool the cheesecake completely, top the cooled cheesecake with sour cream and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 2 hours. Once it is somewhat cooled, refrigerate until it's time to serve (at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight). Feel free to decorate it with whole pecans, if you have any on hand (I didn't).

Peach Bourbon Walnut Pie

So this pie was an experiment...and ended up being a delicious hybrid of a fruit pie and a pecan pie. I had two peaches that were starting to get overripe, so I didn't really want to eat them, but they weren't quite enough to make a peach pie. I had made a bourbon pecan pie last year, and it was delicious, and I love the combination of peach and bourbon...so I decided to make a peach bourbon pecan pie. So I mixed up the batter and realized that I was out of pecans...but I had sufficient walnuts. So it morphed into a peach bourbon walnut pie.

The end result was pretty runny due to the added peaches, so I'd suggest tossing them with some cornstarch or flour (the recipe has been changed to reflect this). Also, the pie is very bourbon-y, which is great if, like me, you love bourbon. If you don't, cut it down to 1-2 Tbl (but don't leave it out altogether...it really does enhance the peach and nutty flavors perfectly!). I really enjoyed this pie, though!

Peach Bourbon Walnut Pie

• 2 peaches, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 Tbl. cornstarch
  
• 2/3 c. light corn syrup
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 4 tsp. butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 c. chopped walnuts
• 3 Tbl. bourbon
• 1 unbaked 9" pie crust

Lay the crust out in a pie pan. Toss the sliced peaches with the cornstarch, then arrange in a single layer over the pie crust.

Meanwhile, stir together corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, bourbon, and vanilla extract. Fold in walnuts. Pour into pie crust overtop the peaches.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 min. Cool for 2 hours.