Whiskey Bacon Pecan Pie {with Tullamore D.E.W.}

Bacon lovers unite!  It's the 2nd Annual Bacon Fest Sacramento!!  In honor of such a momentous happening, I pulled out all the BIWB stops and created a pecan pie fit for a true bacon lover.  

Honey caramel shellacked bacon surrounded by crispy pecans topping a whiskey scented filling chocked full of pecans...Wow, are you swooning?

Maybe salivating just a bit?

Yeah, I had that trouble as well.  And, I will admit...When reviewing the photos for this post, I was actually salivating.  Yeah, I know...Tough to admit for this girl: unabashed salivating over food pictures.  

Shameless drooling...

Jacqueline and I first tasted Tullamore D.E.W. a few months ago at The Pour House in Sacramento.  We were invited because of our blogger buddy Ally (over at A Girl and Her Fork) forwarded our blog to the folks at Tullamore.  Thank you, Ally!

We are so thankful to Tim Herlihy, Tullamore's Ambassador, for his time teaching us about the making and flavor profiles of Irish whiskey.  I am forever changed when it comes to whiskey, both as a libation and as a baking booze.  Just amazing Irish Whiskey and this pie really does showcases its rich caramel and warm woody flavors.   

The BIWB possibilities are endless for Tullamore and us...A challenge we gladly accept!!  #Glasses Up!

Please do check out all the happenings at this year's Bacon Fest Sacramento...A lot of fun and a lot of bacon!  


We're partying at the Pi Day Pie Party at Crazy for Crust today. Come party with us!
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Orange Banana Bourbon Loaf

I think if you love bananas and you love to bake, you're always plagued coming up with over ripe bananas and trying to figure out what to do with them.  This time around, my inspiration came from an orange nut bread that my mom used to make.   For some reason, I just couldn't locate the recipe, so I looked around at all my cookbooks for some inspiration...

And, this time, though, I wanted to combine orange and banana.  And, sure, we all know there would have to be booze involved.  I personally love bourbon with both orange and banana, so I figured I had the potential for a double "win" here!

This loaf cake is super easy to make and amazingly moist.  I was surprised how much it rose in the pan, yet was not overly dense.  I like loaf cakes, but I especially like moist and dense loaf cakes. 

This recipe is adapted from a cookbook, Ida's in the Kitchen, which I was gifted about 3 years ago when my father and I drove to Utah and Colorado.  We visited some of his former work colleagues when he as stationed at Dugway Proving Grounds.  I was lucky enough to get my pick of over 100 cookbooks from his friend, Vera, who had just lost her husband, the avid cook in their home.  Ida's in the Kitchen is one of those books...Filled with old-fashioned baking and simple and easy recipes.

No copyright date...Ida has a few books out there...Hand-written corrections...Love it!

We stayed at his friends' house just outside of Salt Lake City.  Dorothy and Roy Keeling are some of the best folks I've even had the pleasure to me.  The greatest gift was watching Dorothy cook!  She is a "Southern" cook, replete with making biscuits by hand.  I was in heaven helping around her kitchen as she imparted cooking wisdom to me.  I came away with SO many of her recipes, I fell quite honored.  And, inspired!!

I hope you try this loaf cake.  It's easy to pull together, nothing fancy or complicated.  And the end result has lots and lots of WOW factor!!

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Blackberry-Banana Coffee Cake with Cassis

Ever found yourself with this baking dilemma?  Fruit in your refrigerator or on your counter that you just HAVE to eat or it will go bad, wasting valuable and luscious food for which you paid good money?  I was up against this use-it-or-pitch-it situation a few weeks ago with blackberries AND bananas.  To be honest, I get TIRED and WEARY of banana bread, banana muffins, banana cake, blah, blah, blah...And, to add beautiful deep purpley-black, plump and juicy blackberries to this baking dilemma was, well, daunting...See my dilemma?

I found this recipe at Betty Crocker and it sounded and looked wonderful.  I modified the recipe a lot bit by eliminating HALF of the butter (am I insane CRAZY?!!) and adding bananas instead.  It turned at wonderful, moist and full of flavor.  Not your typical and boring banana this or that, NO WAY!

And, I also think it showcases the blackberries beautifully, don't you think so, too?

It's a layered coffee cake, which I think makes it extra special fancy and one with real WOW Factor.  And, it really is EASY...WOW and EASY!!

Best to grab a fork NOW!!

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Caramel Pumpkin Bourbon Cake

  

Amazingly moist with just the right splash of bourbon for a cold or rainy January day.
Bottoms Up!

I found the basis for this recipe on My Mother's Apron Strings, a wonderful baking blog created by my friend, Susan.  I met Susan through her blog and the gift of her friendship has been one of the highlights of last year for me.  I used Susan's recipe for Caramel Pumpkin Pound Cake with Warm Caramel Sauce as my inspiration for this BIWB, bourbon-infused pound cake.   Friends in Baking: an amazing gift.

I changed Susan's recipe a bit and made a modification on the use of the sauce.  I decided that I wanted to make a bourbon-soaked cake, so I used the same recipe for soaking sauce as in my Almost Tortuga Rum Cake.  I also switched things up and used vanilla bean paste, again one of the BIWB secret ingredients.  I love this stuff! 

Thankfully, the Old Crow is almost gone...

On to the "real" stuff: Jim Beam!! 

Sharing this recipe over at Cake of the Week's Baking with Spirit Challenge for October: Autumnal!  Check out all the creative and boozy Baking with Spirit Challenges!

Drunken Monkey Bread

The Dough Boy would feel righteous at this moment...I know I just posted a recipe, but this morning I was inspired.  It's a Saturday, it's raining, only 2 days left of my vacation, and I missed the new spin/sculpt class, uh oh!  I've had this recipe on the kitchen counter for weeks, waiting for a time when there weren't enough baked goods for breakfast.  Here is my ~just~ finished product:

But, wait!  Here is the recipe, please note the name: Pastor Ryan's Monkey Bread:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/monkey-bread/

And, I'm not sure Pastor Ryan would approve of my modifications, but it's not Sunday and this blog is about bake it with booze...So, I pulled out the cheap, Old Crow bourbon and decided to liven-up my monkey!  Do you see all that oozing goodness all over those little chunks of biscuit?  Here's another shot just so you can see it again...