A PR rep sold me on trying this recipe by saying it was the perfect dessert to make “when you might not be the best cook in the kitchen.”

Fair enough.

Not everyone wants to invest time in pie crust and water baths when the holidays are in full swing, but we all want to serve a dessert that tastes like we did. “No-bake” recipes typically aren’t sophisticated – there’s no pesky nuance to distract you – but  who’s going to complain about a bright pumpkin filling with cream cheese, butter, vanilla, nutmeg and powdered sugar? It’s got all the major food groups. And, “no-bake” means no fuss. No baking time beyond the seven minutes the crust spends in the oven. No water bath. No pastry to roll and shape. Add a healthy spoonful or two of whipped cream, and you’ve got a cold, creamy dessert that won’t cost you much time or money. And no one else has to know.

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When I made these bars during the Barefoot Bloggers’ “Week of the Contessa,” I wasn’t sold on them. Then I realized that, like the mogwai in “Gremlins,” Ina Garten’s crank-it-to-11 Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars have rules:

1. Never eat them straight from the oven. They smell like peanut butter cookies, but hot jelly is a bad experience. The bars are much, much better cold. Straight from the fridge, even.

2. Pick a jelly with some bite, like raspberry, grape or blackberry. The peanut butter portion of these bars is stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth rich, so you want something that can stand up to that. Hint: not strawberry.

3. Always have a glass of milk nearby. Preferably large and ice cold. Maybe two.

These bars completely lack in subtlety. They couldn’t find it with Google Maps, GPS and a compass. But what they deliver is a full-tilt, no-hold-barred, peanut butter and jelly experience. If that’s your kind of thing, you’ve met your match.

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A few months ago, I was reading Garden & Gun’s list of “100 Southern Foods You Must Absolutely, Positively Try Before You Die,” and it mentioned the pecan pie at Brigtsen’s Restaurant in New Orleans. Their pie had two ingredients I’d never tried before: ground roasted pecans and dark corn syrup. Inspiring. So, I challenged myself not to settle for the same-old pecan pie. To make Something Better.

After a little trial and error, I came up with this Southern Comfort® Pecan Pie. Chopped pecans mingling with ground pecans that were toasted in butter and cinnamon. A rich, caramel-like mixture of light and dark corn syrups. And a few tablespoons of Southern Comfort® to balance the sweetness and move the pie from “as pure as a prayer” into more interesting territory. It’s a pie with so many layers of flavor and texture, you might forget the whipped cream. Thank you, Frank Brigtsen.

Now, if I can come up with a way to inject Jack Daniel’s directly into our Libby’s® pumpkin pie, this will be a Thanksgiving to remember.

If we can.

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If you’ve never partied with a pecan tassie, it’s a miniature pecan tart with a cream cheese crust. A mainstay of Southern bridal and baby showers and Christmas buffets. Undeniably delicious. But I’ve always thought they were a little fussy and skimped on the pecan filling.

So, I like to think of these Maple-Pecan Pie Squares as tassies that took off their panties in the car after church and shoved them in the glove compartment.

They’re bold and unpretentious and a little unruly.

Oh, and they’re easy.

Don’t judge.

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Ever wondered how chess pie got its name?

Some think it was originally  called “Chest Pie,” after the pie chest where it would have been stored. Others believe that when the woman who created the recipe was asked what it was, she said, “It’s jess’ pie,” which later morphed into “chess.”

As many times as I’ve asked Mommaw about a recipe and she’s replied, “They’re just meatballs,” “They’re just bourbon balls” or “It’s just coconut cake,” I tend to believe the second story. If Mommaw had composed the “Hallelujah Chorus,” she’d say, “Oh, it’s just a song. Something to whistle, I reckon.” Read More…

Have you noticed that the Lee Brothers are popping up everywhere this week? They were on the “Today” show this morning making  Pimento-Cheese Potato Gratin. Their “Thanksgiving in Charleston” menu is featured on the cover of this month’s “Country Living”magazine. Tomorrow night, they’ll be appearing on “Throwdown! with Bobby Flay” for a Country Captain challenge.

All this media whoring can only mean one thing: the Lee Brothers’ new cookbook is out today! I haven’t stopped trying things from their first book, so I can’t wait to get my hands on  “The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern” and check out the new batch of recipes. They have a knack for taking traditional Southern foods and using them in unconventional ways, as well as using surprising ingredients in the preparation of traditional Southern dishes. And they make a mean cheese straw.

Last night, I made the Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pie from their Charleston Thanksgiving menu. Sweet potato pie can be heavy and cloying, but in this version, you whip the sweet potato puree with buttermilk and lemon juice, creating a filling that’s light and more tangy than sweet. Almost like cheesecake. With a big dollop of whipped cream, this pie was definitely a winner.

Now, let’s see how they fare against Bobby Flay.

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When I think of apple pie, I think of that first bite of warm-from-the-oven apples mixed with buttery crust and freshly whipped cream. The smell of cinnamon. The zen of trying to peel each apple in one continuous motion.

Unfortunately, Jeff does not share this love. I might as well be offering him a tall glass of terlit water. But that’s OK, because he’s hot and he gives me free tech support.

So, when I need to get my apple pie fix – but I don’t want to waste the time and ingredients on a full-size, double-crusted, deep-dish, apple pie for one – here’s my solution: Skillet Apple Pie.

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Crisps have issues. Usually the toppings aren’t so crisp. In fact, they can be pretty soggy and way too sweet. And then there’s the way they rant about why, why, why the local NBC affiliate insists on showing “The 700 Club” smack in the middle of all 15 hours of the “Today” show.

So, I was curious when I saw this Harvest Pear Crisp with Candied Ginger in “Bon Appétit.” The topping is a classic oats-and-nuts combination, but the nuts are chopped whole raw almonds (guaranteeing a good crunch), and there’s candied ginger to balance the sweetness with a little zing.

At first, I wasn’t so sure about this dessert. But once the candied ginger mellowed overnight, the layers of warm baked pears, crunchy nut topping and whipped cream sprinkled with freshly grated nutmeg came together into a dessert worth waiting for. Just like the 15th hour of the “Today” show with Kathie Lee and Hoda.

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Slowly but surely, I’m replacing summer’s nightly bowl of ice cream with a big cup of chai.

The ice cream wasn’t so bad at first – all-natural with half the fat! – but then I started tinkering. First, I added chocolate syrup. Then it was hot caramel. Then chocolate or caramel with a spoonful of nuts. Then chocolate or caramel with an ounce or two of granola. Then chocolate or caramel with an ounce of granola and a spoonful of almond butter. Because deep-down, I’m a frustrated Cold Stone Creamery® worker. You know, the one with the dreadlocks.

Anyway, it’s not easy to get rid of a nightly ritual, so these Chai Butter Cookies are giving me something to dunk and nibble while I’m transitioning to just the tea. They’re light and crumbly, but you can dip them into your chai (or coffee or milk), and they’ll soak it in without falling apart. I’m sure they’d be delicious with a little glaze, a drizzle of white chocolate or even sandwiched with a pumpkin-cream cheese filling … But I’m not trying to tinker. I need these to be a lesser evil, to gently guide my appetite from a nightly ice cream sundae to a cup of tea.

This could take a while.

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I found this recipe for Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread in “Real Simple” about six years ago. Each cookie is so buttery and crumbly, just the thing when you’re craving a little something to go along with a warm cup of tea the size of South America.

I love the subtle lemon and chamomile flavors, but you could easily adjust the recipe to suit your own tastes, maybe with orange zest and a teaspoon of orange zinger. Chai. Pear white tea. The process is wonderfully lazy: Mix the dough in one bowl, press it into a pan and bake.

Lovely enough for a bridal tea or baby shower, easy enough to make your own private stash when the mood strikes. Just don’t wait six years to pass it on.

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