Thanksgiving 2018 Recipes

I tried two new recipes for Thanksgiving this year. I love using phyllo dough cups since they are so easy and perfect for bite-sized appetizers. I thought I was bringing cranberry sauce, but turns out that dish was already taken. Since I already bought the berries, I coated them in sugar and added them to a sweet potato tartlet recipe that I found. They were so pretty and really added a lot of flavor! Plus, the original recipe topped the tartlets with brown sugar pecans, but I absolutely love Trader Joe’s sweet & spicy pecans since they have a kick to them, so I used them instead. 

In addition to the tartlets, I brought iced tea (I’m pregnant so no wine for me this year). We have a lot of rosemary growing in our backyard so I threw that into the tea with some peaches and a ginger simple syrup. The tea was really tasty but I should have given myself more time to make it. I put the hot water into my drink dispenser to brew the green tea but the heat ruined the seal so it started leaking. Luckily my grandma had a backup dispenser that we transferred it to when we got there.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and got to spend quality time with your loved ones! 

Sweet Potato Tartlets with Sugared Cranberries, Sweet & Spicy Pecans & Mint (adapted from My Recipes)

Ingredients:

• 4 (1.9 oz) packages frozen mini-phyllo shells, thawed
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 sweet potato
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 T vanilla extract
• Trader Joe’s sweet & spicy pecans (if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, you can follow this recipe to make them yourself)
• Sugared cranberries (recipe below)
• Mint leaves

Directions:

1. Wash the sweet potato, stab holes in it, rub in olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil, then cook in the crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high (or cook the sweet potato by your preferred method).

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place shells on baking sheets.

3. In a food processor or with a mixer, blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sweet potato (no skin), sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Spoon filling into shells.

4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until center is set. While still warm, press on pecans.

5. Once cooled, garnish with mint leaves and sugared cranberries.

Sugared Cranberries (adapted from Cincy Shopper)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1 cup water
• 12 oz fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat water and 1 cup sugar over medium heat until boiling. Keep just at a boil for 10 minutes or until it thickens slightly.

2. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a cooling rack over. Toss batches of cranberries in the simple syrup and transfer to the rack to dry (try to space the berries out so they don’t stick together).

3. Allow to dry for 30-45 minutes, then toss the berries in the remaining 1 cup of sugar.

Iced Rosemary-Ginger Peach Green Tea (adapted from She Knows)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups boiling water
• 6 green tea bags
• Several rosemary sprigs
• 2 peaches, slices
• ¾ cup fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• Ice cubes
• Cranberries for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Add tea bags and rosemary to a pitcher and top with boiling water. Allow to steep for 6-8 minutes depending on how strong you like your tea.

2. Remove the tea bags and allow the tea to cool.

3. Meanwhile, boil 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and ginger in a small pot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium then allow to simmer uncovered until the syrup thickens Remove from heat and allow to cool.

4. Fill a drink dispenser part way with ice. Top with sliced peaches, cranberries, rosemary iced tea, and ginger simple syrup.

Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Cupcakes

Our friend Tony’s birthday was this past week.  Last year we baked pink velvet cupcakes to celebrate – this year I decided to try a new recipe out!  These cupcakes take some time to make, but they are well worth it.  The bourbon makes the cake itself extra moist and the filling tastes like the inside of a pecan pie.  They are incredibly decadent and have a bit of a kick with the bourbon in the frosting.     

We set off their fire alarm with the sparkler candles, but besides that, they were a success!

Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Cupcakes (adapted from Half Baked Harvest)

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 cup bourbon (or 1/2 cup bourbon and 1/2 cup black coffee)
• 1 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup Greek yogurt

Pecan Pie Filling Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Butter Pecan Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup finely chopped raw pecans + 18 whole pecans

*this actually made about twice as much frosting as I needed – the original recipe says to double the frosting if you plan to pipe it on top, but this will be more than enough. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard cupcake pans with 18 liners (I only have 1 cupcake pan, so I just had to bake them in 2 rounds…)

2. While you prepare the cupcakes, toast 1 cup of the pecans in the oven (keeping an eye on them to make sure they just get lightly toasted).  These will be used for the pecan pie filling later on. 

3. In a medium bowl, start the cupcakes by whisking together the bourbon, canola oil and cocoa powder until smooth and creamy.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and Greek yogurt. Slowly add bourbon and cocoa mixture. Combine on medium speed until silky and smooth. Beat in the sugar.

5. Slowly add flour, salt and baking soda, combining on low speed until just incorporated.

6. Fill baking cups three-fourths full.  I use a cookie scoop to fill them easier (I learned this at a cupcake class at the Epicurean a few months back…) Bake for about 18-22 minutes. Allow to cool completely before filling, at least 2 hours or covered overnight.

7. Meanwhile make the pecan pie filling. Combine 1/4 cup cold water with 2 tablespoons cornstarch, whisk until smooth in a sauce pot. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, and salt.

8. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking consistently for about 5 minutes. Do not stop whisking the mixture, especially in the beginning or you will end up with scrambled eggs.

9. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the 1 cup chopped toasted pecans, bourbon and vanilla.

10. Allow the mixture to cool a few minutes and then transfer to the fridge for at least one hour or until completely cooled and thickened.

11. To make the frosting, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone baking mat.

12. In a medium sauce pan, melt together 1/4 cup butter, cream, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for one minute. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl in the freezer (or fridge for longer) for 15-20 minutes or until cool.

13. In a bowl, whisk together the bourbon, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and cinnamon. Add pecans and stir to coat evenly.

14. Transfer nuts to prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until toasted. Remove and toss the pecans with 1 tablespoon butter. Allow to cool 10 minutes, set aside.

15. Now grab the cooled butter mixture and add the remaining 1/2 cup room temperature butter, vanilla and powdered sugar to the bowl and beat together until well combined. Mix in about 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans.

16. If the frosting is not stiff enough to frost the cupcakes, place it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes or the freezer for 5-15 minutes. Then remove and whip it for a few second to get everything smooth again.

17. To assemble the cupcakes: Use a small paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece from the center of each cupcake. Fill the hole with the cooled pecan pie filling.

18. Add the frosting and sprinkle each cupcake with the remaining pecans. If desired top with 1 whole pecan.

Thanksgiving 2014 – Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie

 

I found a recipe for Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie on Pinterest and knew I wanted to bake it for Thanksgiving.  Pecan is my favorite type of pie, but the addition of the bourbon & chocolate sounds incredible.  We baked it tonight (day before Thanksgiving) since I know there will be little oven space tomorrow at my parents’ place. 

The original recipe just used chopped pecans, but I topped mine with whole nuts for a little extra decoration.  It was actually very easy to make – although I did start off with pre-made pie crust which would have been most of the work. 

So excited for tomorrow – look for several more Thanksgiving recipe posts soon!

Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie (adapted from She Wears Many Hats)

Ingredients:

·        1 – 9” deep prepared pie crust (do not pre-bake).  I used Pillsbury brand

·        3 large eggs

·        ¾ cup light corn syrup

·        4 T butter, melted

·        ¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

·        3 T bourbon (the original recipe called for 2, but we added a bit more…)

·        2 T all-purpose flour

·        1 T vanilla

·        1½ cups pecans

·        ½ cup chocolate chips

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, corn syrup, butter, light brown sugar, bourbon, flour, and vanilla until well combined.

 

3. Chop 1 cup of the pecans.  Add the chopped pecans and chocolate chips to the bowl and mix. 

 

4. Roll out your pie crust (do not spray the pie dish).  If you’d like, crimp the edges for decoration.

 

 

5. Pour bourbon chocolate chip mixture into the prepared pie crust.

 

6. Bake the pie on the bottom rack at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

7. Take out of the oven and add whole pecans to the top.  Reduce the heat, then bake for an additional 40 – 45 minutes.

 

 8. Let cool & enjoy!