Here at DIA, we love experimenting with new liquor brands and recipes; there’s nothing we enjoy more than a new and noteworthy spirit or cocktail. Still, offer us any dessert (and we mean any) and we will gladly set aside a bottle of booze—unless the two are already combined. With today being the “Sweetest Day,” we’ve compiled a list of our beloved boozy baked goods that you can indulge in at home (or at the office if the mood strikes).
Rum Coconut Rice Krispy Treats (makes 24 squares)
- ¼ cup butter
- 4 cups marshmallows
- 5 cups crisp rice cereal
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ¼ cup rum
- ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
- Soak coconut in rum for at least one hour (optional—for a stronger treat). Melt butter in large saucepan over medium/low heat until butter is slightly browned. Add coconut and rum, then add marshmallows and stir until melted and well-blended. Cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add cereal, and then fold in chocolate chips if you wish. Stir until well coated.
- Use a buttered spatula or waxed paper to press mixture evenly and firmly in buttered 13 x 9 inch pan. Cut into squares when cool. For an even boozier version, drizzle a little rum over the pan while cooling (but not too much or they will get soggy).
Chocolate & Caramel Irish Cream Cupcakes (makes 12 cupcakes)
Cupcake:
- ½ pack of Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup melted Butter
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/6 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
Chocolate-Caramel Ganache:
- 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (finely chopped)
- 6 caramel candies
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting:
- ½ cup shortening
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 1/6 cup heavy whipping cream
- caramel syrup (for decoration)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add cake mix, eggs, butter, Bailey’s and milk to mixer and mix on low until combined. Mix on high for 2 more minutes. Pour batter into paper lined cupcake pans. Bake for 20 min. Remove cupcakes from oven and let cool. While they sit, make the ganache by heating the whipping cream and caramels over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramels have melted completely. Pour over chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Let cool a little while you make the frosting.
- For the buttercream, mix together shortening and vanilla for 2-4 minutes until creamy. Add powder sugar gradually and mix. Add Bailey’s with cream to sugar mixture (more cream will have a creamy consistency, less cream will have a stiff consistency.)
- Finally, cut out a cone shaped section of the cupcake with knife and set it aside next to each cupcake. Pour ganache into cupcake holes, and place cut out cake back over hole. Top cupcakes with buttercream and decorate with remaining ganache and caramel syrup.
Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 34 cookies)
- 2 ½ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup & 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 6 Tbsp. bourbon
- 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on low, then medium speed for 1 or 2 minutes, until well blended. Stop to scrape down the bowl. Add the egg and beat on low speed to incorporate; stop to scrape down the bowl. On low speed, add the bourbon 1 tablespoon at a time, beating for about 20 seconds after each addition. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating until well incorporated, then add the chocolate chips and nuts, if using. The dough should dense and somewhat pliable. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop generous tablespoons of the dough onto the baking sheets, spacing the dough at least 2 inches apart. Bake on the upper and lower racks for 6 to 8 minutes, and then rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Bake for 7 minutes or so; the cookies should be browned on the edges and a lighter color at the center. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes then transfer them to wire racks/an empty plate to cool completely before serving or storing.
Do you have another drunken dessert recipe you’re fond of? We want to hear about it!