Cleanup note: Place the pan in the sink and fill it with hot water; let it sit for a little, and it’ll be a lot easier to clean. If it’s still a mess, fill it with water and place it on low heat on a burner. The sugars on the sides of the pan should soon melt away.

Submitted by Denise Little

PERDITA’S BREAD PUDDING WITH BOURBON SAUCE

TIME: PREP TIME 35 MINUTES, BAKING TIME 60 MINUTES • SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS:

Bread Pudding:

½ cup seedless golden raisins (or dark raisins)
Enough bourbon to soak raisins
10 day-old slices of white bread, torn into pieces
4 cups milk, scalded
1 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
½ cup apple, peeled and chopped
Warm water

Bourbon Sauce:

2 sticks butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. bourbon (or more to taste)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, cover raisins in bourbon to soak. Combine the bread, milk, and cream in a large mixing bowl and stir until blended. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and sugar together till well blended. Pour egg mixture into bread mixture and stir. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and stir well. Drain soaked raisins. Stir in the melted butter, raisins, pecans, and apple. Pour the mix into a greased 9 × 13” 2-quart baking dish, set the dish in a larger baking pan filled with warm water about 1” deep, and bake for 1 hour. Remove the dish from the pan of water and let the pudding cool.

To prepare the bourbon sauce, melt butter in a double boiler. Combine sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until sugar dissolves. Add sugar and egg mixture to butter. Whisk sauce in double boiler over hot water until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and add bourbon to taste.

Portion out the pudding and spoon bourbon sauce over each serving.

Bread pudding submitted by Belle Franklin; bourbon sauce submitted by Treva Jackson

PORTIA’S SWEET POTATO PIE

TIME: PREP TIME 15 MINUTES, BAKING TIME 60 MINUTES • SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups canned mashed sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1¼ cups evaporated milk
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. rum
4 Tbsp. melted butter
1 unbaked pie crust (9”)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix the sweet potatoes, eggs, evaporated milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, rum, and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Pour into the pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake for an additional 50 minutes, or until the filling is firm.

Submitted by Ali Katz

WICKED PEACH CAKE

TIME: BAKING TIME 35–40 MINUTES • SERVES 8–10

INGREDIENTS:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 package peach Jell-O
½ cup peach schnapps, divided
3–4 good-sized peaches, chopped to make 1½ cups
½ box powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.