7 Ways to Sneak Whiskey Into Dessert

Hey all! Well, it’s Monday morning and according to the ES calendar, that means it’s time to talk whiskey. In particular, with the weather getting colder we’re thinking about cooking with whiskey. There’s just something about a dessert with a little wild turkey thrown in the batter that gets our hearts racing and warms you up all over. Not sure what we mean? Check out the Island of Kentucky recipe page for all kinds of good ideas of what to cook with said whiskey, or keep reading for seven of our simmering favorites.

1. Whiskey Caramel Marshmallow Bacon Bark

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Say the first four words above in the same sentence and you can get me to do pretty much anything. I mean, COME ON.

Recipe: Whiskey Caramel Marshmallow Bacon Bark

2. Mudslide Cupcakes

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Make your own Bailey’s at home, mix it with some coffee, add a dash of the good stuff…yeah, baking ain’t so girly anymore, huh?

Recipe: Mudslide cupcakes

3. Cherry Whiskey Upside Down Cake

Cherry and Whiskey Upside Cake _Endless Simmer

Don’t think of soggy pineapple upside down cake. This one is tender and springy, while the whiskey adds an extra subtle dimension that quiets the caramel topping and brings it in balance with the cake and fruity sweetness of the cherry.

Recipe: Cherry-Whiskey Upside Down Cake

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Caramelized Vanilla-Vodka-Twinkie Creme Brulee

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It’s baaaaack!! On July 15th, the iconic crème-filed sponge cake of my youth returned just in time to get a new generation hooked on its neon yellow yummy-ness. Yeah, this ain’t yer grandpa’s version— this is Twinkie 2.0 baby! It has double the shelf life of the original (which was rumored to last longer than the pyramids!) I don’t know how they’re making this new model, but I’ll never forget the ingredients of the first…(insert harp music here);

‘Enriched wheat flour, sugar, corn syrup, niacin, water, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable shortening – containing one or more of the following: partially hydrogenated soybean oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and beef fat, dextrose, whole eggs, modified corn starch, cellulose gum, whey, leavenings (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), salt, cornstarch, corn flour, corn syrup solids, mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin, polysorbate 60, dextrin, calcium caseinate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, wheat gluten, calcium sulphate, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, yellow # 5, red # 40’.

Ahhhh,….”caramel color, yellow # 5 and red # 40”. Have you ever heard three more beautiful color additives in your life? I’m tearing up just thinking about it…(sniff).

Anyway, now that I’m older it’s time to celebrate the comeback like an adult—by adding booze of course! Kids get excited because they’re innocent and hopeful but their parents require alcohol and dammit, I’m not gonna let them down!

I know that traditional crème brulee has a torched sugar top but hey – this ain’t traditional! And I don’t want to hear from you purists about not using a real vanilla bean in this process. Did you read the list of garbage that goes into a Twinkie? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Katt’s Caramelized Vanilla-Vodka-Twinkie-Creme Brulee Thingy

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100 Ways to Use Beer in Food: #15 Dogfish Head Chowda

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It’s been a while since I’ve revisited my trek to greatness: the 100 ways to use beer in food and drink. But then I found this. Dogfish Head found a way to combine their delicious beer with some great ingredients. What came out of the beer-food think tank? Dogfish Head Hard-Tack Chowda. The real kind of chowda – not that gross Manhattan stuff.

Dogfish Head touts this chowda as one of which Ishmael would be proud. Teaming up with Sea Watch International, the chowda’s “made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazelnuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuit, and salted pork cut up into little flakes; the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt.” OH, and did I mention infused with the Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA?

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Cooking with Jager: BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders

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Alright, summer is now officially on and it’s one week til Independence Day which, let’s face it, means you’re not getting an ounce of work down over the next two weeks. Yep, the next 10 days are officially reserved for browsing pinterest at your desk, “working” while actually surfing sites like www.weluvbingo.com, and of course, deciding what you’re going to grill for the 4th. May we present our first suggestion: a pulled pork slider recipe that proves  Jägermeister is good for something other than getting the party started.

Jägermeister BBQ’d Pulled Pork Sliders with Jicama-Avocado Slaw

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Endless Ice Cream: Double Vanilla Porter Ripple

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Vanilla lovers, rejoice. Vanilla ice cream with two vanilla beans AND vanilla extract. A spiced vanilla porter ripple simmered with another vanilla bean. This combo is creamy, sweet, complex, and did I mention there’s a shitload of vanilla in it?

Double Vanilla Porter Ripple Ice Cream

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Cooking with Booze: Bourbon Bananas Foster

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It’s never too early to start planning Valentine’s Day! And single folks, it’s definitely never too early to start planning a mid-winter, anti-romantic gorge fest, right? We’re thinking a weekend staying in Vegas, ordering up ridiculously lavish steaks and tracking down various booze-soaked desserts like the ridiculously good banana’s foster at Hugo’s Cellar in Four Queens Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. It’s prepared tableside, bananas served up over vanilla ice cream and then set on fire! Who’s with us?

Or you know, either way you could just stay home and cook up your own lavish mid-winter feast. Chef Nisa Burns of Kitchenability.com and author of the new book Kitchenability 101: The College Student’s Guide to Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Food, shares a sweet, spiked dessert. This bananas foster is made with bourbon rather than rum (we like), and is actually quite easy to make.

Easy Bananas Foster with Ice Cream

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