Spiced Apple Bourbon Sparklers

What are your favorite holiday cocktails? I love warm mulled wine and bourbon drinks. And I�m a big fan of champagne or sparkling wine during the holidays slash all year long. This year I whipped up a double batch of this eggnog, at my coworker�s insistence. It�s been aging for a few weeks, so we won�t know the outcome until we crack it open the week of Christmas. I�m pretty excited for it though! 

I�ve been mixing up these sparkling bourbon cocktails since Thanksgiving. Get started infusing your bourbon now�you�ll want it to soak up the flavors for at least a week before making a cocktail with it. I made a big jar of apple peel bourbon for Thanksgiving, and then instead of using ginger beer as the recipe suggested, I used Martinelli�s sparkling apple cider (which is a holiday must in my household. This isn�t sponsored. I seriously just love Martinelli�s.). Several batches in, I realized the best combo is a sparkling cider base, the spiced bourbon, and then a ginger beer float on the top. So Christmassy! The bourbon gets so mellow and flavorful, and the apple cider brings out the� apple-y-ness. Mostly for cuteness, but also for a hint of flavor, you should definitely garnish with a sprig of rosemary, pomegranate arils, and a cinnamon stick. These are seriously good and dangerously chuggable. 
FYI: In true holiday spirit, my computer just kept trying to autocorrect �chuggable� to �huggable.� 

Spiced Apple Bourbon Sparklers

Spiced apple peel bourbon (recipe below)
Martinelli�s sparkling apple cider
Ginger beer (non alcoholic)
Fresh rosemary
Pomegranate arils (seeds)
cinnamon sticks

Fill rocks glasses with ice. Add 1 shot of the spiced bourbon to each glass, then fill 3/4 full with sparkling cider. Top off with ginger beer. Garnish with a rosemary sprig, pomegranate arils, and a cinnamon stick. Feel free to adjust amounts based on your preference. 

Spiced Apple Peel Bourbon
Adapted from this recipe

Makes one large bottle/ jar 

2-3 large apples, peeled (use the apple for something else, use the peels here)
peel of 1 lemon or small orange
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 small chunk of peeled ginger
3 cardamom pods, smashed
One 750 milliliter bottle of bourbon (my first batch used rye, which was delish) 

Fill a large jar or bottle with the apple peels, and add the rest of the spices. Pour the bourbon over to completely cover. Let sit, sealed, for at least a week at room temperature (taste after a few days, and if the cinnamon or cloves seem strong, feel free to remove). After a week, strain, and keep the strained bourbon in a jar or bottle in the fridge. 

Pumpkin Cream Pie

I�m back� and with PIE!

A lot has happened around here in the last couple of months, and I struggled a little with how I wanted to come back, and what I wanted to say. In the wake of so much sadness (my dad passing) and so much joy (my wedding), I just couldn�t seem to put pen to paper (or�fingers to keyboard) about food.

Also�grief and stress can do weird things to you, appetite wise. For weeks I was sick to my stomach and couldn�t eat, then I had a few weeks of eating all the chocolate and donuts in the land, followed by a brief stint just before the wedding where I seriously forgot how to cook.

I didn�t know if I should talk to you about my dad, because sometimes he�s all I can think about�but ultimately, I decided that should wait�I�m not really ready for that here. And then, my wedding! And honeymoon! I have so much to share with you, but I�m waiting until we have all the photos back from our (amazing) wedding photographer. That will come soon enough. Here's a sneak peek. 

So, in the meantime, I knew I needed a conversation starter� but I just felt� lost. And then, I saw this pie. Now THAT is a conversation starter! I knew immediately that I wanted to adapt it for Thanksgiving, and for a few days, it was all I could think about. I seriously stared at pictures of this pie for a week. This pie reminded me why I love cooking and blogging. It inspired me to get in the kitchen and create something. To wipe the dust off my camera. Oh, and also� it�s really good.

The original pie is a peanut butter cream pie, but the moment I saw it, pumpkin cream pie was all I could think about. I�m not the biggest fan of standard pumpkin pie, but fluffy, creamy, cool, whipped pumpkin pie, with a cream cheese base!? Yeah, that I can get behind! And let�s not forget the chocolate crust (with chocolate shell layer!) and bourbon maple whipped cream topping! It�s not overly pumpkiny and texturally, it�s pretty fun. You have the contrast of the looser bourbon maple whip, the creamy, tangy pumpkin filling, and then the crunchy chocolate crust. I think your Thanksgiving dessert table could use one more addition, don�t you? 

PS. I missed you guys!

Pumpkin Cream Pie with Chocolate Crust and Bourbon-Maple Whipped Cream

Adapted from this recipe

Crust

1 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (I used half a sleeve of the Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies, in crumb form)

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cinnamon

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Just under 1/2 cup dark chocolate pieces (chunks, chips, etc)

Pie Filling

1.5 cups heavy cream

1 package cream cheese (8oz), at room temp

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling�the only ingredient should be pumpkin)

Bourbon-Maple Whipped Cream

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon bourbon

1.5 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350.

Make the crust: Combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add butter, and stir until combined. Pour into 9-inch pie dish, and press tightly into bottom and sides with your hands. Bake 13 to 15 minutes�it might be puffed up right when you take it out, but it will fall a little when it cools. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Melt chocolate pieces (in double boiler or microwave) and pour into cooled crust. gently spread evenly on bottom of crust. Let cool completely before filling (helps harden chocolate shell if you put in fridge to cool, but wait until pie dish is no longer warm to refrigerate).

Make the filling: With a stand mixer, hand mixer, or if you�re really buff, a whisk, beat the cream until it holds medium-hard peaks. If using a stand mixer, transfer to a separate medium-sized bowl.

In the same stand mixer bowl (with the paddle attachment) beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, spices, and mix well. Beat in the pumpkin puree until smooth. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the whipped cream, a quarter at a time, until mixture is well combined but still light and fluffy. 

Spoon the filling into the fully cooled, prepared crust, and smooth top. Loosely cover and chill up to 4 hours or overnight.

Bourbon-Maple Whipped Cream: Beat the cream, bourbon, and maple syrup until it holds soft peaks. 

Just before serving, top pie with a sprinkle of cinnamon, and serve each piece with a heavy dollop of bourbon-maple whipped cream. Let the pie sit at room temp for a minute, to make cutting through the chocolate shell a bit easier. 

Raspberry & Basil Bourbon Jam Sours

I have this summer fantasy. Not like, a Fabio fantasy�sillies. More like an idyllic summer in the South kind of fantasy. I'm sitting on a porch swing on a sunny, summer day. There are those big hanging trees around the porch�willows?�and probably bluegrass playing off somewhere in the distance, mingling with the sound of the breeze through the trees. I'm kicking back, without a care in the world. It's basically a never ending Sunday in August. Job? What job? Bills? What bills. Cocktail? Yes, definitely a cocktail. 

This fruity, jammy, lemony, herbaceous bourbon cocktail is exactly what I'd be drinking on that porch swing. Can someone just invite me to their porch swing already? 

Jam and booze is such an amazing, perfect combo. I don't know why I haven't been doing this forever. These drinks are sweet and fruity in a not-too-sweet, summery kinda way, with a bit of tang from the lemon juice, and a nice basil and bourbon finish. So good. So, so good. It's my�jam. Yep. Said it.

Until I find that porch swing and endless summer afternoon, my couch, episodes of Fargo, and this cocktail will have to do. 

Raspberry & Basil Bourbon Jam Sours

Makes 2

These look a bit dainty with their pretty pink hue, but trust me, they are strong cocktails, as bourbon drinks should be. Feel free to lighten it up with a splash of soda water. If your jam is pretty sweet, you may not need the honey. 

2 tablespoons raspberry jam/preserves of your choice*

1 teaspoon honey

1 sprig fresh basil (about 4-5 leaves)

Ice

2 ounces bourbon

Juice from 2 medium-large lemons

Combine raspberry jam/preserves in a small dish, and microwave about 15 seconds, just to loosen it enough to easily stir together. 

Add basil to a cocktail shaker, and muddle/mash. Add ice about 3/4 full, bourbon, lemon juice, and jam/honey mixture. Shake shake shake!

Pour over ice, garnish with a leaf of basil, enjoy!

*I used Trader Joe's Raspberry Fruit Spread.