Tag: Pecan

Tennessee Whiskey Cake

Happy Fall! So, I am switching things up this year. I normally welcome Fall with a pumpkin recipe, but I haven’t baked anything with pumpkin yet. I have one or two recipes that I want to make but just haven’t gotten to them yet. Instead, I am bringing you a cake that is just as equally perfect for the Fall, a Tennessee Whiskey Cake. (Although, I made it with bourbon, but you could use either.) There is also a decent amount of chopped pecans in the cake that I find reminiscent with Fall baking.

One thing I loved about this cake is that it only required one-bowl and came together rather quickly. I thought about foregoing toasting the pecans to save time, but I went ahead and did it. I can’t say for sure if it added another layer of flavor to the cake though. What I mainly tasted was hints of the bourbon, which wasn’t a bad thing. A slice of this cake is the perfect accompaniment to a nice hot cup of tea (or coffee if that’s your thing!). Perfect after a day of raking leaves, leaf peeping, apple picking or whatever Fall activity you may be doing.

Tennessee Whiskey Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup pecan halves, plus additional for topping

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup whiskey or bourbon*

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

*I used Jim Beam’s Bourbon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spread the 1 1/4 cups of pecans on a baking sheet and bake 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the pecans from sticking and/or burning, until toasted and lightly browned. Allow to cool and then chop the pecans.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F and spray a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl beat the butter, both sugars and vanilla extract together with a hand mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.

With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each.

Next, beat in the whiskey/bourbon, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Reduce the mixer to low and stir in the chopped pecans and then the flour until just incorporated.

Spread the butter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and then place pecan halves on top.

Bake in the preheated oven until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from the pan, place on the wire rack and cool completely. For best flavor store airtight for one day at room temperature before serving.

Recipe from Elizabeth Alston’s Best Baking

Cookie Palooza: Cranberry Pecan Cookies

While peppermint gets all the glory during this time of the year there are other flavors and ingredients that are reminiscent of the season. Cranberries for one. While the sweetened dried ones and the canned jellied version can be found in your supermarket year-round, it’s this time of the year when those fresh tart berries pop up in your grocery section. And while most nuts are popular around this time due to gift baskets, those roasted chestnuts and so forth it’s pecans that really make the rounds thanks to Pecan Pie.  So, I decided to combine the two – cranberries and pecans – for today’s Cookie Palooza cookie with a Cranberry Pecan Cookie that also has some chocolate in it.

These cookies are pretty straightforward to make. Start off by creaming together the butter and sugars, add the eggs and then the vanilla extract. Whisk the dry ingredients separately and then add it to the butter mixture and finally stir in the add-ins; the dried cranberries, chopped pecans and chocolate chips. If you like your cookies to be a little nuttier feel free to add in more pecans. And one thing I have started doing is refrigerating my cookie dough before scooping and baking. I didn’t want to struggle to scoop my dough, so I refrigerated it for only 30 minutes. Enough to get it chilled, but still soft enough to easily scoop with a cookie scoop.

These cookies are perfectly chocolaty, just the right amount of crunch thanks to the pecans and have a little tangy sweetness to them thanks to the cranberries. The perfection addition to any cookie platter this holiday season!

Cranberry Pecan Cookies

  • Servings: 36 Cookies
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Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and both sugars with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and then the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Add the chocolate chips, pecans and cranberries and beat until combined.

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are set.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn Spatula

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

So I ate the last of my Thanksgiving leftovers yesterday and they were definitely good while they lasted. Ironically cooking a turkey on Thanksgiving has never intimidated me like cooking on an everyday basis used to. Go figure! I would like to say that I turned those turkey leftovers into something creative, but, that just never happened (although I did have a thought or two about it.)

Along with my turkey (which I must say came out really juicy and tasty thanks to brining and an herbed butter rub)…

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I also made a Sweet Potato Casserole (it was the first time I ever made one and it will definitely become a staple of mine), Williams-Sonoma’s Focaccia Stuffing and Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions…

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And in my opinion Thanksgiving is just not complete without some Cranberry Sauce.

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For dessert I decided to make a Pumpkin Pecan Pie. I usually just make a plain old Pumpkin Pie but after seeing a recipe that included pecans I was intrigued to try it. In all honesty I didn’t particularly care for that recipe so originally I decided to add pecans to the usual recipe I follow for Pumpkin Pie, but, I decided this year to try out Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe. They are known for their packed pumpkin in cans so I figured they should know a thing or two about turning that into a delicious pie.

To start I toasted about 1/2 cup of chopped pecans on a lightly greased baking sheet in a 350 degrees preheated oven for five minutes. After they cooled I scattered them on the bottom of a deep-dish pie shell. I took a major short-cut and opted to buy a frozen pie crust.

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Next, I made the pumpkin filling by beating 2 large eggs in a bowl and then adding in the pumpkin and a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves. And then I gradually stirred in a can of evaporated milk.

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And finally I poured that into the pecan covered pie crust and baked it for fifteen minutes in a 425 degrees preheated oven and then dropped the temperature to 350 degrees and baked it for another forty-five minutes.

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I loved the texture the pecans added to the pie as well as the nutty flavor.

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And while many were out scoring Black Friday deals I opted to stay in and work on some Christmas crafts… Stay tuned!