Rum Pecan Cookie Bars with Sea Salt

This past weekend I went camping with a great group of 15 people (and one cat!) So of course I made a dessert to share.

 

Something about pecans, spiced rum, and butter seemed to remind me of fall, thus why I thought these would be perfect for a camping trip in September.

These bars were super buttery and went very well with coffee and tea.

 

Let's just say that this dessert made everyone a happy camper.

 Find the recipe at Baking the Goods.

Bake well and prosper!

Pomegranate and Orange Sangria

"It's that time of year...when the world falls in love. Every sound you hear seems to say...Merry Christmas! May your New Year dreams come true!" 

 

There's something about this sangria that makes me think of happy Christmas songs. Maybe it's because this sangria is so pretty and festive. Maybe it's because I made it for a Christmas party. Maybe it's because it's tastes wonderful and has alcohol in it. So many possibilities as to why...



Well, I guess it IS that time of year, isn't it? I mean, I'm not falling in love with a person, but I am falling in love with the Christmas spirit!

 

I got my Christmas tree this past weekend.

Tada! I named it Treevor, the Christmas tree. (And no, it's not small. I happen to be very tall.)

 

I also made Christmas cards this past weekend. People liked my handmade Christmas cards from last year, so I made some more this year (with different designs, of course!)

 

I also sang a lot of Christmas music yesterday with orchestra. Oh, and it snowed all day on Saturday.

 

I guess all these things are contributing to my Chritmas-y feeling. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...at least in my neck of the woods it is!

 

Are you getting ready for the 25th? If you're looking for a festive cocktail, this sangria is one of the best sangrias I've had. The addition of orange juice and pomegranate juice creates a subtly sweeter drink but the brandy, wine, and cinnamon stick equalize the sweetness so one is left with a smooth, tasty drink with a kick of spice.

Pomegranate and Orange Sangria (found at Completely Delicious)

1 bottle (750 ml) of red wine, like a Cabernet Sauvignon

1 cup (237 ml) brandy

1 cup (237 ml) pomegranate juice

1 cup (237 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice

1 orange, thinly sliced

1 pomegranate, arils removed

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 cinnamon stick

 

In a large pitcher, stir together the wine, brandy, pomegranate juice, and orange juice. Add orange slices, pomegranate arils, cranberries and cinnamon stick. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Serve with ice cubes. (Erika's Extra: I didn't serve with ice cubes since it was still nice and cold from the fridge.)

Bake well and prosper!

Pineapple Pumpkin Punch

I love the name of this drink since it's an alliteration. It's rather fun to say especially when you add the fact that it's with pecans. Just say it out loud and enjoy the consonants spitting from your mouth.

 

Or not...

 

Here's something you can enjoy: Photos of fall.

I had wanted to go up a little north of NYC to be a leaf peeper for the past two weekends and finally, yesterday, I got to go on a lovely day trip to Cold Spring, NY.

Cold Spring is a quaint town with a lovely view located on the Hudson River.

I'm so glad I got to catch the last bit of fall foliage before winter really settles in.

 

If it's still fall in your neck of the woods, here's a good punch to make for fall parties. If made a day or two ahead, the spice from the cinnamon really develops which nicely compliments the rum and pumpkin.

Pineapple Pumpkin Punch (adapted from foodnetwork)

Ingredients

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

cinnamon sticks

1 29-ounce can pure pumpkin (about 3 1/2 cups)

2 limes

Splash of rum, for serving

Pineapple chunks and/or pecans, for serving

Directions

Combine 12 cups water, the brown sugar and cinnamon sticks in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the pumpkin and return to a simmer. Meanwhile, remove the zest from the limes in wide strips using a vegetable peeler; add the zest to the pot and simmer 15 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate until the liquid is cold and the pumpkin pulp settles to the bottom, 2 to 3 hours.
Working in batches, slowly pour the liquid into a fine-mesh strainer set over a pitcher (repeat if necessary to strain out all the pumpkin pulp). Discard the pulp and lime zest. Return the cinnamon sticks to the punch and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Erika's Extras: you can actually serve this warm if your prefer. I also found that the punch has a better cinnamon flavor after a day or more in the fridge.)
Pour the punch into ice-filled glasses. Add rum, pineapple, and pecans. Serve with the cinnamon sticks. 

Bake well and prosper!

Watermelon & Blueberry Tequila Popsicles

Last week I was in Charleston, SC for the 5th time. I love it there (like I've said before) and love all the fun architecture.

This was the first time I planned to make a trip to Savannah, GA while in the south. I was excited to see a city that was like Charleston: a nice historic gem of a city in the south.

I got to walk around Savannah for about 3 hours in unrelenting humidity until the rain finally started to fall. While I was walking around I fell in love with all the Spanish moss hanging from trees.

I also liked taking photos of some of the iron work in the town.

And I went on a tour of the house where the murder in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil took place: The Mercer Williams House.

Right when my tour group walked into the back of the house, the thunderstorm hit. It made for a great soundtrack to the tour guide's stories.

 

After the rain let up I went to Bonaventure Cemetery to drive around for the last quarter of an hour that it was open for the day.

No wonder a Bonaventure Historical Society was created. This cemetery is lovely with a lot of history!

 

I headed back to Charleston where it rained all day. So, what does one do while on a rainy vacation? Make dessert of course!

 

I bought some cute popsicle molds and went to work.

And, of course, I made a mess in a kitchen that isn't mine. :) (Thanks, Ward!)

The flavor of the mixture was nice but when it froze the pulp moved up and the tequila moved down so the popsicles broke when removed from the mold.

Oh well! Easy to eat with a spoon!

Watermelon & Blueberry Tequila Popsicles (my own recipe!)

5 cups of chopped seedless watermelon

1 cup of washed blueberries

1/4 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of tequila

8 popsicle molds

 

Blend all ingredients together in a blender and then strain the blended mixture to make sure there aren't any seeds etc left over. Fill popsicle molds and after an hour in the freezer, insert popsicle sticks. Let freeze for at least 6 hours. Enjoy!

Bake well and prosper!

Vanilla Bean Yogurt Loaf

This past Saturday I had tons of friends come out for a picnic in Central Park. It was so much fun and we all brought way too much food (a mark of truly good friends.) I took out my camera and started snapping away at the food that I had made. And then I realized that I forgot to put my memory chip back into my camera.

FAIL.

Oh well. The food, friends, and weather made the day so wonderful that I didn't care about my lack of memory chip. I took some photos with my iPhone camera, but thankfully there were 3 slices left of this bread at the end of the day. So I brought them home and took some photos (this time WITH the camera chip in the camera).

Vanilla Bean Yogurt Loaf (adapted from Cupake Muffin)

1 cup vanilla bean yogurt (I used Cabot's but you can use plain yogurt and add in 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp of group vanilla.)

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 T light rum

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

generous pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.
2. Whisk together the yogurt, sugar, oil, eggs, and rum in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until just combined. It will be slightly lumpy.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Bake well and prosper!

Bourbon Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Today's is my co-worker's 30th birthday! In America, we tease and call it the Dirty 30...mainly because it rhymes. I figured I'd use this ditty when making a goody for his bday. I knew it was time to make the alcohol and chocolate chip infused banana bread recipe I saw online a couple of weeks ago.

This recipe was fairly easy to make. Too bad I was super tired last night and kinda out of it (I fell asleep 4 times during the last pose in my yoga class!) Due to me being half aware of what I was doing, I got my finger stuck in the stand mixer. Which kinda hurt...still does. I was actually very proud at how well I managed it. I would not recommend sticking anything to poke butter at besides a spatula. (Made a mental note of that yesterday.)

I think I was so tired because I'm still getting over the busy weekend that started with 12 hours of opera stuff. At least I didn't hurt myself singing! Check out my cute costume:

Anyway, minus my finger snafoo (it's fine btw...just a little bruised...they are pretty fat and seem to be able to withstand a lot...), the bread turned out really nicely. I gave it to my coworker along with the rest of the bourbon. :)

Bourbon Chocolate Banana Bread (found on And Now for Something Completely Delicious)
(Feel free to make your own banana bread recipe and add the bourbon and chocolate chips in to it!)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed (about 3 medium bananas)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the mashed banana, lemon juice, and bourbon and mix until just combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread to distribute it evenly. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Store bread at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Bake well and prosper!

Whiskey Brownies

Last weekend I made a quick trip down to Florida to celebrate my Grandfather's 95th birthday. Yes! 95! Isn't that amazing? Definitely reason to party.

I am his youngest grandchild and therefore the hippest (naturally.) So, I made him whisky brownies since I know he likes to sip whisky every Friday afternoon.

My Grandpa is a very cool kat and very special to me. Being the youngest grandkid, I didn't get to make as many memories with my grandparents as my older siblings did. But since my Grandpa will probably outlive us all, I've had tons of fun times with him. I especially love my memories of his old house being surrounded by orange trees and us picking some to make into orange juice for breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, I totally had these brownies for breakfast. And dessert. And second helping of dessert. They are so good! Plus, these are a perfect idea for St. Patty's Day parties!

Whiskey Brownies (adapted from the NYTime's Supernatural Brownie recipe)
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon of whiskey for the batter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or 3/4 cup whole walnuts, optional
2 tablespoons of whiskey for the topping

1. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper. (Erika's Extra: This recipe is so buttery I've never needed to use parchment paper.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.

2. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined. Pour in 1 Tablespoon of whiskey. If using chopped walnuts, stir them in. Pour batter into prepared pan. If using whole walnuts, arrange on top of batter.

3. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Remove from oven and pour 2 Tablespoons  of whiskey(more or less according to taste) over the top of the hot brownies. (This will create a fudgey topping.) Cool in pan on rack.

Bake well and prosper!

Crumbly Peach Bars

I had to add peach schnapps to this recipe. HAD to.

Ok. Explanation: I saw this recipe yesterday and knew that it was THE recipe to end peach season with. I combed all the fruit bodegas near me in Astoria. I had just bought great peaches from them two weeks earlier and discovered that my biggest fear was true: Peach season is over. Sure, there were peaches, but they were all hard and didn't smell like a peach. The summer days of just grabbing any peach at the stand and biting into a lovely, succulent peach were over. I found three peaches that seemed like they might be ok to use.

Unfortunately, one was a dud. Out of the other two peaches, one was great and one was ok. To make the ok one better, I decided to soak it in peach schnapps. Naturally. Thus, a mediocre peach = I HAD to add peach schnapps to the recipe.

Another thing I decided to do? Well, you know me - big on messes. Totally took the option 3 route and used my hands to blend the crumbs mixture.

One more cool thing about this recipe: it was the first time I browned butter. Browning butter is fun!

Crumbly Peach Bars (adapted from The Sweet Art)

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold, unsalted butter
1 large egg
3 peaches, peeled and sliced into small chunks or thin slices

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly. (Erika's Extras: This process took me 20 minutes.)
Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray.

Soak cut up peaches in peach schnapps (enough to cover the peaches).
In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork, or your fingertips and blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will become crumbly.

Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly.

Tile peach slices over crumb base in a single layer. Feel free to use some of the peach schnapps on this layer, but just a little bit of the leftover liquid.

Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges.

Cool in pan before cutting into squares.

Bake well and prosper!