Bourbon-Pecan Tart with Chocolate Drizzle

Those who know Mrs. Yuppie know there are two things in this world that she can't live without (besides, of course, Mr. Yuppie): pecan and bourbons. These two ingredients are married deliciously together in Cooking Light's Bourbon-Pecan Tart with Chocolate Drizzle (Nov 2007).

This has been a favorite recipe of ours since we first tried it 2 years ago for a Christmas party. Now, we always keep the ingredients on hand in case of birthday lunches and special occasions. (Especially the bourbon, but then, we've always made sure to have that on hand!)

The real selling point is how easy it is to assemble: simply grease up a tart or pie pan, drape the pre-made pie crust over it and trim the edges, mix together the remaining ingredients (except the chocolate) and pour them into the crust.

The tart bakes for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. If you're so inclined, once it's cooled, you can drizzle melted chocolate over it, but that part is left to the most decadent eaters - the tart on its own is fantastic enough!

For its tried and true, sinfully delicious taste and ease of preparation, we hearby crown Bourbon-Pecan Tart with (or without!) Chocolate Drizzle a YTK Favorite. Happy no-fuss baking!

Sugared Pecans

Let's start with an old standby, shall we? Well, old might be an overstatement - we found this recipe for Sugared Pecans (Southern Living, Dec 2007) while preparing for last year's Christmas party and were blown away by how easy and tasty they were. An added bonus is that you'll have most of these items on-hand already. (And if you're like us, you'll probably already have the pecans, too!)

This recipe is such a cinch to put together - simply whisk together the egg white and sugars, then fold in the pecans. Spread the coated pecans out on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and into the oven they go for about 20 minutes. You'll want to check on them once or twice and stir them around, to make certain that the pecans bake evenly and don't begin to burn. They'll need to cool for 30 minutes prior to storage.

According to the recipe, these can be stored in plasticware for 3 days before serving. (Bonus: Make double or triple batches and freeze some for later!) Good luck keeping them around for 3 days, though - Mr. Yuppie just can't keep his mitts off of them, and they're usually polished off by holiday guests within an hour of their arrival!

For an inexhaustible list of reasons, these pecans are most definitely on the short list of YTK Favorites. Try them this holiday week and let us know what you think in the comments!

Crunchy Pecan Pie Bites

Howdy, y'all! Sorry for our recent AWOL status, but we've been whipping up goodies for our annual Christmas party and now we're ready to start sharing! Every year we pick a specific cuisine around which to build our menu, and this year, bite-sized southern treats were the star.

True to our life philosophy, we're starting off this entertaining series right: dessert first! And our inaugural treat is a little something called Crunchy Pecan Pie Bites (Cooking Light, Nov 2008). We were drawn to this recipe for its simplicity, and hoped that the taste wouldn't suffer. Let us be the first to tell you: We were NOT disappointed!

These little nuggets of joy kept our guests nibbling all night, and required little more than mixing some ingredients in a bowl. The mini pie shells are store-bought, flaky phyllo cups. We found them in packages of 15 at our specialty grocer. With 5 boxes, as the recipe recommends, we ended up with a whopping 75 pies to feed our guests!

First, the nuts are toasted, a step that could be skipped in a pinch but which lends some extra depth to the flavor. While they're cooling, mix together the sugar and dark corn syrup, then add the nuts, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Then grab yourself a tea spoon!

Arrange the phyllo shells on a baking sheet (you can re-use the one you toasted the nuts on), and fill them with a heaping teaspoon of the pecan mixture. Be cautious as you work - the shells are very light, and some of them will be lopsided, and you'll want to use the pecans to even them out so they stand upright. You'll also want to make sure that you don't overfill with the liquid part of the mixture, as that will expand slightly as the pie bites are baked.

About 2 packages worth of shells can fit on a baking sheet, and each sheet will need to spend about 22 minutes in the oven to achieve maximum deliciousness. When they come out, place the pan on a wire rack (or your stove top burners, if they're raised) to cool.

We loved these so much that we're making them again for an office party tomorrow. For their ease of preparation and a production volume that's good for crowds, we hereby crown Crunchy Pecan Pie Bites a Yuppie Test Kitchen Favorite!

Have you tried these pie bites? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

Oatmeal Pecan Pie

Now that we've all arisen from our respective turkey comas, it's time to take a look at what the Yuppie household whipped up for Thanksgiving Dinner. We'll start with our favorite course: dessert!

Most homes make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving, but Mr. Yuppie prefers pecan. We took things a step further this year and went for Oatmeal Pecan Pie (Cooking Light, Nov 2006) instead.

This recipe required us to buy only 2 items that are off our "keep around" list: pecans and pre-prepared pie crusts. The pecans themselves are conspicuously absent from our ingredient line-up, which is a theme from this year's Thanksgiving cooking. There was so much going on at any given time that we got ourselves flustered and either didn't take pictures, or forgot to pull the most essential items when prepping. So we'll do our best to fill in the blanks for you guys as we compile our Thanksgiving retrospective.

The first step is to place the pre-prepared pie crust in your buttered pie dish and flute the edges. These pre-prepared crusts, while not the healthiest option, are a busy cook's blessing. They brown up nicely and are nice and flaky when cooked. Sure, a hand-made pie crust is divine, but when you're pressed for time, one of these will do the trick.

Next, we assemble what might be the easiest pie filling ever. All of the filling ingredients are combined in a large bowl, then poured into the crust.

Now, the recipe calls for the egg whites and yolks to be lightly beaten separately, then incorporated into the other ingredients. After having done this, we're not sure why it's necessary; it seems as though you could've reversed the order of incorporation, putting the whites and yolks into the bowl, lightly beating them, then adding the other ingredients. That switcheroo would've saved you from cleaning 2 prep bowls, which at holiday time is a real blessing.

Next, the pie goes in the oven at 325 for 50 minutes. See? Easiest pie ever. About halfway through, we placed a pie crust shield like this one around the edges to keep the exposed crust from becoming burnt. Other than that, we set it and forget it!

Fifty minutes later, we removed our pie from the oven and cooled it on a wire rack. The top was set up nicely, and the pie shield did its job keeping the crust evenly cooked. Underneath that hard shell lies a gooey, oatey filling that should be enjoyed in moderation (anything more might give you a cavity!).

Our sole complaint about this pie was how difficult it was to slice and serve. Our slices looked less like pretty wedges and more like tasty piles than we would've preferred. We didn't care, because it was all going to the same place anyway, but if you're looking to wow a crowd, this might not be the pie for you. If you're just looking to pig out with friends and family this holiday season, then go grab yourselves some pie crusts from the refrigerator aisle and get to work!