This is a slightly modified version of Michael Chiarello’s recipe. My wife is a huge bread pudding fan, and I love chocolate. The Jack Daniels makes it all that much better. Until now, I didn’t know “Jack” about bread pudding.

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
12 croissants
4 oz chopped walnuts
4 oz bittersweet or dark chocolate, roughly chopped small

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

In a food processor, combine butter and sugar process until well blended. Add cinnamon, and vanilla, and pulse to combine.

While the processor is running crack 5 eggs into the mixture. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add the heavy cream and pulse to combine.

Lightly butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Break up the croissants into 1-inch pieces and layer in the pan. Scatter the walnuts and shaved bittersweet chocolate over the top, and gently mix to incorporate. Pour the egg mixture over the croissants; soak for 8 to 10 minutes. You will need to push croissants pieces down during this time to ensure even coverage by egg mixture.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes to brown the top. The croissant bread pudding is done when the custard is set, but still soft. Allow to cool.

For the bourbon sauce, allow a pint of ice cream to melt until fully liquid. Add a couple shots of premium bourbon whiskey or to taste.

Two boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix call for 1/3 cup of milk for each box. I replaced a tablespoon of the milk for whiskey. A couple of diced jalapenos adds a little kick. Who doesn’t love cornbread? It is an American tradition and staple comfort food to many. Cornbread and Jack Daniels are two of America’s great creations. Just pass the butter!

The muffins were baked within my Big Green Egg cooker. I had just finished a 14 hour cook of a pork butt and wanted to take advantage of the fire and heat that was left from the pork cook. First, two medium sweet potatoes were roasted in the egg. The flesh of the roasted potatoes was harvested and used in the following recipe.

Jack Daniels Sweet Potato Muffins

1 1/2 cup self rising flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons Jack Daniels Premium Whiskey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs beaten
1 cup mashed sweet potato, cooked
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (optional)

Makes 12 muffins or 24 mini muffins.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a bowl. Blend Jack Daniels, eggs, oil, and sweet potato. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until combined. No need to over mix. Over blending will create more gluten which produces a less tender muffin.

Bake at 375 °F for 15-20 minutes for regular muffins. Mini muffins only require 10-13 minutes baking time.

This is another crossover article with GetYourGrillOn.net, another part of the Well Fed Network.

My large Big Green Egg can be set up with a stone for making pizzas. Having promised my three year old son that we’d make some cookies, we decided to fire up the grill. A great feature of the Big Green Egg is its ability to hold temperature. After about an hour, the ceramic fire ring, shell, and dome get nice and warm. At this point, the cooking is done with radiant and convection heat. The Big Green Egg becomes a wood fired oven that is more efficient than the regular oven in my kitchen. Running between 375-400 degrees, each batch of cookies was ready for cooling in 20 minutes.

Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 C Flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 sticks melted butter
1 1/4 C packed brown sugar
2 large whole eggs
2 large egg yolks
1T vanilla extract
1 bag dark chocolate chips
1/2 C oatmeal
1/4 C chopped walnuts

With a tall glass of milk, nothing beats this sweet treat… except cookies AND ice cream!!!

Soufle Kounoupithiou is a great authentic Greek side dish. Pronounced soo-FLAY koo-noo-peeth-YOU, it is a three cheese cauliflower side dish. The cauliflower can be substituted or accompanied with broccoli as well.

In a bowl, combine cheeses and toss to mix thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C). Wash and trim the cauliflower, removing core and leaves. Cut into medium-sized pieces, and boil in well-salted water for 10 minutes. Set aside to drain.

In a saucepan, heat 3 cups of milk with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg over medium-low heat. In a small bowl, beat together the remaining 1 cup of milk, eggs, and cornstarch. When the milk is steaming (do not boil), add the beaten egg mixture, whisking continuously so it doesn’t boil. When the sauce thickens, remove from heat and stir in 2/3 of the mixed cheeses.

Spread the cauliflower evenly over the bottom of a 13″ x 10″ pan. Pour the sauce over evenly and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350° F (180° C) for about 40-45 minutes.

This dessert is a family favorite and is so easy to make.  The hardest part is waiting one hour for it to bake.  The most amazing part of the dessert is the topping which is just a dry cake mix.  Its one of those creations that makes you wonder who thinks of these things, but then realize that you are glad that they did.

1. Butter oblong cake pan.
2. Dump in one can crushed pineapple, undrained.
3. Dump in one can cherry pie filling. Spread over pineapple, but try not to stir together.
4. Dump in one box yellow cake mix - dry. Spread over pie filling. Do not stir.
5. Sprinkle 1/2 cup pecans over top.
6. Slice one stick butter over top. Do not stir.

Bake 325 degrees for one hour. Top with whipped cream or ice cream. Homemade ice cream is best. Serve warm or cold.

Serves 10-14 ]]> http://justbaking.net/2007/04/16/cherry-dump-cake/feed/ http://justbaking.net/2007/02/28/peanut-butter-cookies-gluten-free/ http://justbaking.net/2007/02/28/peanut-butter-cookies-gluten-free/#comments Wed, 28 Feb 2007 06:00:21 +0000 Todd Johns Recipes Cookies Gluten-Free http://justbaking.net/2007/03/01/peanut-butter-cookies-gluten-free/ My two sons love these cookies because they love peanut butter, but also because the boys get to help make them.  The recipe is super easy and contains no gluten because there’s no flour in the recipe.  Easy to make and easy clean up.  The only equipment you need is a bowl, cookie sheet, cooling rack, spoon, and a 1 C measuring cup.

Ingredients:

1 C Peanut Butter (Creamy or Chunky)
1 C Sugar
1 egg

Mix ingredients together.  Form into 1 inch balls.  Place on cookie sheet and mash down with a fork.  Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.

It all starts with two 99 cent boxes of cheap, supermarket brownie mix.  Just get the store brand and don’t try to go gourmet on here.  This will be a double layer cake, so make each box seperately in a spring form pan.  The only adjustment to the recipe on the box is to replace the oil with applesauce.  Plain applesauce is fine, but you could substitute with rasberry flavored applesauce if you wanted.

This cake can sit on a plate on its own, but my 1st place cake had pecans and dark chocolate chunks for a “crust” on the bottom.  To put the cake on the nuts and chips while still warm will slightly melt the bottom layer to the crust.

Between the layers, add rasberry preserves… not jelly or jam.  Again the supermarket brand will do fine.  Straining the seeds is an optional step, but I hate crunching into rasberry seeds, so I remove them from the preserves.  Strawberry preserves would also work well.  Cherry will add a Black Forest feel to this cake.  Add the second cake layer onto the preserves.

The ‘frosting’ is a rich layer of dark chocolate.  In a double boiler, melt a package of Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Chips with a stick of sweet cream butter.  Pour the melted dark chocolate over the cake.  It will seek its own level and spill over the cake.  Don’t try to hard to frost this cake with a knife.  Just let it find its own way.

Its fairly simple and very, very rich.  A small piece goes a long way and will be begging for a glass of milk.

My kids are 3 years and 19 months. They love bananas, but sometimes they ripen faster than the kids get them eaten. Once I have a few over ripened bananas, its time to break out the bread pan. The recipe I use is from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. A wonderful book, but that is another article for another time. The yogurt is the surprise ingredient that makes this a special recipe. I follow the recipe to the letter, but sometimes add a few chocolate chips in replace for some of the nuts. The following makes a 9 inch loaf. Prep time is 10 minutes and 55 minutes cook time.

2 C AP Flour
3/4 C Sugar
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 very ripe bananas
6 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 C plain yogurt
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/4 C walnuts, toasted & chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven at 350 and adjust rack to lower-middle position. Coat your pan with cooking spray. I use the special spray for baking.
2. Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. In another bowl, mash bananas with butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Gently fold the wet into the dry until mixed, then add walnuts or optional chocolate chips. Don’t overmix as the batter should look lumpy and coarse.
3. Pour batter into the pan and bake until golden brown, about 55 minutes. Let cool for several minutes in the pan and then move to a wire rack for another hour to cool.

TIP: When you have more over ripe bananas than you plan to use right away, you can store them in the freezer.  It is easier to remove them from their skins while they are still thawed.  Frozen bananas work well in smoothies.