Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie #12WksXmasTreats #ChocolateParty

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie | Bakewell Junction

It’s time for the eighth week of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop. It’s hosted by Brenda Thompson from MealPlanningMagic.com. The blog hop goes live every Wednesday until Christmas. If you’d like to join us, please fill out the form on Brenda’s blog.

This week I’m combining the #12WksXmasTreats with November’s #ChocolateParty. The theme for the Chocolate Party is pecans. I’ve always wanted to make pecan pie…not just regular pecan pie, I’d seen this decadent version has chocolate and another layer of flavor with the bourbon.

I had boxed pie crust mix left over from a bout of pie baking my husband had a while back, so I used that for the crust of this Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie recipe. You can use a homemade crust or a pre-made crust from the supermarket. Two of my brothers-in-law were visiting yesterday and this pie came together rather quickly while they were here. They loved the pie and my hubby (who doesn’t like pecans) even asked for a second piece. He also demanded that I make it again not just this once for the blog. I’d say this recipe is a winner.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Yield: 8 – 10 servings Cook Time: 60 minutes

1 – 9 inch deep dish prepared pie crust
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light of corn syrup
4 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon (I used honey Jack Daniels)
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups pecans, divided
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Step 1: Chill the prepared pie crust in the refrigerator or freezer while you make the filling. Mix the eggs, corn syrup, butter, sugar, bourbon, vanilla and flour in a large bowl. I used an electric mixer.

Step 2: Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on the bottom of the pie crust. Coarsely chop 1 1/2 cups of pecans the pecans and sprinkle evenly on the bottom of the pie crust. Carefully pour the filling into the pie crust. For a pretty presentation, place the remaining pecans on the top in a circular fashion.

Step 3: Bake in a 425 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes. I used a glass pie plate so I baked the pie at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 45 minutes. Cool pie until set, at least one hour. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Storing: Store covered by plastic wrap at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Amateur Gourmet and She Wears Many Hats.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Blog Hop

Week 8, November 13, 2013

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Our #ChocolateParty November theme is pecans and chocolate. If you’d like to join in, please follow these rules:

1.) Blog about your chocolate treat. Your recipe must include the two ingredients we choose. It can be a simple no bake treat or a sophisticated layer cake; the complexity level of the recipe is totally up to you.
2.) Include a link back to the Chocolate party page. Optionally, add the Chocolate Party logo in your blog post or on your sidebar.
3.) Your recipe must be published during the current month. Please do not link old recipes, they will be deleted.

I hope you’ll join our party and bake along with us. Also, if you’d like to know what are we up to and what ingredients we pick for the next parties, join our Facebook group.

All submitted posts will be pinned to the Chocolate party Pinterest board and will be promoted on other social media platforms using the #chocolateparty hashtag.

Add your link to the Chocolate Candy Party. Your link will be displayed on the Roxana’s Home Baking site.

This post may also be entered in these linky parties. Click the here to visit the other great posts in the blog hops.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats ~ Week 12 ~ Florentines

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction

Florentines by Bakewell Junction

It’s the twelfth and last week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop hosted by Brenda Thompson from MealPlanningMagic.com. If you’d like to join us this week, please fill out the form on Brenda’s blog.

This week I’m sharing a recipe that I’ve been making for several years. They’re always a hit for Christmas or any time. These look similar to the lace cookies that have been on the internet recently but I think they are sufficiently different that you should give them a try.

My sister and I have made these crisp Italian cookies to bring to several parties and we always get requests for more. There is a bit of knack to getting these cookies to turn out well, so this week I’m adding some additional pictures so you can get the same results we do.

Next week is the week before Christmas and it’s the week I normally take vacation to do all my baking. I’ve been doing this for many years now and it’s a little different than everyone else who takes vacation between Christmas and New Year’s Day but it works for me. When I started my Christmas baking I wrote down a list so I would know approximately how much of each ingredient I would need. This my list. You can see that I’ve crossed off some things and make others that aren’t even on the list but at least I have an idea of what ingredients I need in total.

Here’s the second page.

When heating the flour and wet ingredients to boiling, let it bubble up a bit,

After taking the mixture off the heat, add in the dry mixture and stir until completely combined. Stir occasionally during cooling.

After at least an hour of cooling time, begin portioning the dough for baking.

A full baking sheet ready for the oven.

Hot out of the oven.

Once the cookies are filled and cooled, store layered between wax paper.

Enjoy.

Florentines

Yield: 35 – 45 sandwich cookies Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups sliced and blanched almonds, chopped in the mini chopper
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons grated orange zest (I use dried orange peel)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey

Filling

1 1/2 cup to 1 3/4 semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Step 1: Place the oven rack in the middle or top of the oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Cautions: Do not use a dark pan or one that is non-stick coated, as these can make the cookies burn; do not skip using the parchment paper, as you will not be able to remove the cookies from the pan without it.

Step 2: Combine almonds, flour and orange zest in a medium bowl. Stir until well mixed and set aside. Combine sugar, butter, cream and honey in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil. I let it froth up a little as I believe this will help it hold together better. Let the batter cool for at least 1 hour. Be sure to stir occasionally.

Step 3: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using one of the cookie sheets you’d set aside earlier, place 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons of the batter for each cookie for 8 cookies. I use a large cookie sheet and only make 8 cookies at a time because these spread quite a lot. The cookies are are about 4 or 5 inches apart.

Step 4: Bake one pan of cookies at a time for 10 minutes on the middle or top rack (they will burn on the bottom rack) until they are lacy and golden. Begin checking the cookies at nine minutes – the cookies can go from undercooked to burnt in an instant.

Step 5: Carefully slide the parchment paper and cookies onto a cooling rack. When cooled, transfer the cookies to paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter, alternating cookie sheets for each batch until batter is finished. If the cookie sheet doesn’t cool quickly enough, I put it in the refrigerator to speed the cooling.

Step 6: Pair like sized and shaped cookies together. Melt about 1/3 of the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water or a double boiler. Melt additional portions of the chocolate as needed in the assembly process – this will help prevent overheating and reheating the chocolate. Spread the melted chocolate on the bottom of one cookie and quickly top with the other cookie in the pair, bottom side down. Both cookies in the pair should have the smooth bottoms towards the center and the lacy tops towards the outside. Repeat for the remaining paired cookies.

Tips: You can substitute milk chocolate, if you prefer. You can drizzle tops with additional chocolate and add sprinkles if desired. The cookies are thin and crisp, so be careful not to burn yourself when filling with the melted chocolate. The number of cookies this recipe makes can vary widely depending on the size of the cookies. If the cookies run together or get too large, you can break them into smaller pieces – similar to brittle with chocolate filling. This bears repeating…Do not use a dark pan or one that is non-stick coated, as these can/will make the cookies burn; do not skip using the parchment paper, as you will not be able to remove the cookies from the pan without it.

Storing: Store cookies with wax paper between layers (the cookies will stick together if not layered with wax paper) on a platter and covered with aluminum foil in a cool place but does not need refrigeration. The cookies are fine for many days when stored this way. If you’re making them ahead, the cookies can be stored before filling with chocolate in the freezer. Be sure to layer with wax paper and carefully store them in a container that will prevent them from breaking. Let the cookies return to room temperature before filling with chocolate in this case.

Enjoy!!!

Adapted from Florentines courtesy of Giada De Laurentis on FoodNetwork.com.

Have a look at the other great cookies in the blog hop by clicking on the Linky Tools link below. Sorry my blog doesn’t support the blog hop participant icons directly.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Blog Hop

Week 12, December 13, 2012

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I’ve seen some of the other bloggers that participate in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats listing their submissions from the prior weeks. I like this idea, so I’ve incorporated it into this week’s post. If you’ve missed my posts for the prior weeks, here’s a reminder:

Week 1 – Almond Crescent Cookies
Week 2 – Pizzelle
Week 3 – Phil’s Grandmother’s Italian Cookies
Week 4 – Giant Ginger Cookies
Week 5 – Italian Almond Crescents
Week 6 – Baci di Dama
Week 7 – Mini Linzer Cookies
Week 8 – Christmas Tree Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Week 9 – Apple Pie with Crumb Topping
Week 10 – Shoofly Pie
Week 11 – Decadent Bourbon Balls

This post may also be entered in the following linky parties. Click the buttons below to see the other great posts in the blog hop.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats ~ Week 11 ~ Decadent Bourbon Balls

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction

Decadent Bourbon Balls by Bakewell Junction

It’s the eleventh week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop hosted by Brenda Thompson from MealPlanningMagic.com. If you’d like to join us, please fill out the form on Brenda’s blog.

This week I’m sharing a quick and easy no-bake recipe that I tried for the first time last year. These were a hit last Christmas and I made them for the Christmas lunch at work this year. They are addicting and delicious. My co-workers loved them and that sort of reaction is the best part of sharing these goodies.

Some time around the end of last year my husband found a new Jack Daniels bourbon – it’s Honey Jack Daniels. Honey liquor plus Jack Daniels creates a unique flavor. If you can find some, be sure to try it in this recipe.

Enjoy.

Decadent Bourbon Balls

Yield: 50 balls Cook Time: no bake

Ingredients

60 vanilla wafers, finely crushed (I use Nilla Wafers in the mini chopper)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup blanched almonds, finely chopped (used the mini chopper)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/4 cup Honey Jack Daniels or your favorite bourbon

Coating

1 cup powdered sugar, divided

Directions:

Step 1: In a medium bowl, mix together Nilla crumbs, powdered sugar, almonds and cocoa. In a small bowl mix honey and butter together until well combined. Add the butter mixture to the crumb mixture and stir until well combined.

Step 2: Dissolve instant coffee in the bourbon. Mix well with crumb mixture and set aside for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in 1/2 cup powdered sugar for garnish. Let sit overnight and roll in remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar for a second coating.

Tips: You can substitute rum for the bourbon to make rum balls. You can substitute cinnamon sugar, green and red sprinkles, Christmas confetti, colored sugar crystals or your favorite coating. Note that Christmas confetti and sprinkles need to be pressed into the dough balls as they don’t stick very well.

Storing: Store balls in a sealed plastic container at room temperature. The balls are fine for several days when stored this way.

Enjoy!!!

Adapted from Decadent Rum Balls on Allrecipes.com.

Have a look at the other great cookies in the blog hop by clicking on the Linky Tools link below. Sorry my blog doesn’t support the blog hop participant icons directly.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Blog Hop

Week 11, December 6, 2012

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