Bake or Break

Pecan Pie

View more photos Now, I know that very recently I made smaller versions of this, but in my defense I had no choice but to make a pecan pie. It was Thanksgiving. It’s tradition. I always make pecan pie. My sister asked nicely. And, this one is a bit different from those wee ones. Several [...]

Continue reading...

Italian Cream Cake

View flickr photos One of my co-workers asked me to make this cake for her Thanksgiving dinner, so I thought I might as well make one for our Thanksgiving dinner, too. After going through many, many recipes, I settled on this one at Southern Living. Anti-coconut Quinn turned up his nose, but I soldiered on, [...]

Continue reading...

Mini Pecan Pies

Yes, more pecans. But, it is pecan season after all. I made these as a little anniversary treat for Quinn. (We celebrated 6 lovely years of marriage on Saturday.) Of all the things that I have baked over the years, these are his favorite. This works out well for me because they’re really simple to make. The recipe comes from a book I’ve had for ages, Best of the Best from Mississippi.

Before I go any further, let me just say that I am none too proud to use ready-made pie crusts. This recipe is a dream with them. For a big pie, I would most likely make my own, but for these little bite-sized ones, you can bet I’m getting Pillsbury. However, feel free to make your own.

In the South, these little pies are known as tassies. Now what that means or where it comes from, I haven’t a clue. Quinn, not being from the South, was amused the first time I called them that. I think marrying a Southern girl has been quite an experience for him. But I digress.

During the holidays, I usually make a couple of regular size pecan pies (more about that closer to Thanksgiving), but I use a different recipe for the filling. Somehow the exact ingredients for these doesn’t translate as well into a larger pie. That works the other way around, too. Could be the filling to crust ratio.

These little pies are, I must say, amazingly good. They are so light and have just the right amount of sweetness. Plus, they just look so cute on a tray or bundled up for a gift.

Continue reading...

Pecan Muffins

I woke up earlier than usual this morning and decided to take advantage of the extra time by whipping up something for breakfast. I am terrible at keeping track of recipes I want to try out of cookbooks. I am, however, pretty dang organized with online recipes I want to try. Looking through those, I [...]

Continue reading...

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

View the Flickr photos Another birthday, another cheesecake. For my brother-in-law Jim’s birthday, I scoured countless recipes until I happened upon this recipe involving one of his favorite things – Reese’s peanut butter cups. I decided to ignore the nutrition information on the page, as bad as it may be. It’s for a special occasion, [...]

Continue reading...

Butter Pecan Turtle Bars

View a printable recipe or the Flicker photos For me, Christmas season starts as soon as the last trick-or-treater takes their candy and walks away from my front door. This year, actually, while I waited for the little ones to come I planned out Christmas decorations. Quinn, being the ever-loyal husband, followed me around the [...]

Continue reading...