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Everything You Need for Your Holiday Feast!

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Everything You Need for Your Holiday Feast!

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Linda Spiker used to teach cooking classes in her home here in Valencia. Everything I've ever made from her has been AMAZING! Amber

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Everything You Need for Your Holiday Feast!

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Everything you need for your holiday feast from turkey, stuffing and sides, to dessert!

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These chewy, gooey S’mores cookies filled with marshmallows, chocolate and Graham crackers are beyond delicious and there’s no campfire required!

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Bourbon balls are an old-fashioned treat made up of six simple ingredients. And while these no-bake cookies are easy to make, they certainly have a storied past.

Bourbon balls are said to have been first invented in 1938 by Rebecca Ruth Candy Company based in Frankfort, Kentucky, and they've been a longtime favorite ever since.

Now, there are several versions of bourbon balls. Some are rolled in sugar or sprinkles, while others are dipped in chocolate. This classic, no-frills version uses a coating of powdered sugar for a touch of sweetness, while letting the flavor from the bourbon, toasted pecans, and cocoa powder shine through. Each bite offers a soft texture with just a hint of crunch from the toasted pecans.

Make a batch or two to keep in the fridge for a quick treat, or prep plenty of batches ahead of time. These timeless bourbon balls make the perfect gift or addition to any Christmas cookie platter.

Ingredients for Bourbon Balls

Bourbon balls are made with a mixture of dry and wet ingredients. Finely crushed vanilla wafers serve as the base, with powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa, and chopped toasted pecans adding great flavor. Bourbon and light corn syrup moisten the dry mixture to make a soft dough.

How to Make Bourbon Balls

Bourbon balls are quick and easy to make. They also are ready nearly as soon as you finish them so you can sneak a treat before you pack these bites up.

Step 1. Combine dry ingredients

First, get started by crushing the vanilla wafers, either by pulsing them in a food processor or putting them in an airtight plastic bag and rolling them with a rolling pin. Once the vanilla wafers are crushed, transfer them to a large mixing bowl with the powdered sugar, cocoa, and pecans, and stir until combined.

Step 2. Make the dough

Pour the bourbon and corn syrup into a small bowl, and stir until combined. Then, mix the bourbon mixture into the dry mixture until a soft dough forms.

Step 3. Roll the balls

To assemble the bourbon balls, scoop small sections of dough and form them into 1-inch balls.

Roll each bourbon ball in powdered sugar before placing them on a platter or in an airtight container. Cover the bourbon balls, and allow them to chill for at least 30 minutes.

What's the Best Bourbon for Bourbon Balls?

This recipe calls for ½ cup of bourbon, and the flavor definitely comes through in the finished product. It's important to choose decent quality bourbon for making bourbon balls. While you won't necessarily taste specific nuanced flavors of a high-end bourbon, you will still be able to taste some of its flavor.

How to Store Bourbon Balls

Once the balls have been formed and rolled in powdered sugar, they should be stored in the fridge. Chilling bourbon balls helps to develop their flavor and improve their texture. They can still be left out at room temperature in an airtight container after the initial chilling time, but for best results, keep them in the fridge. Store them in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Why Are My Bourbon Balls Dry?

Bourbon balls are made up of a careful ratio of dry to wet ingredients. A heavy pour of bourbon adds flavor, but it also moistens the mixture to make it easier to form into balls. The corn syrup adds moisture as well while also acting like glue to hold the mixture together.

If the mixture seems to be on the drier side, add a tiny bit more corn syrup. If the mixture feels too dry while forming the bourbon balls, lightly wet your hands with water to make the rolling process simpler.

Editorial contributions by Molly Allen.

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Bourbon Balls offer up a powerful punch while packaged in a small bite. These no-bake treats are a favored gift and a perfect nibble for parties. Get the recipe for Bourbon Balls when you need a treat or festive food gift.

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One of my favorites!

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Pumpkin crunch cake is a perfect fall treat! It’s loaded with pumpkin puree, spice, and crunchy pecans. Try it with some vanilla ice cream!

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So easy to make, cut and serve!

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This post may contain affiliate links.
This flavorful, juicy bacon wrapped turkey breast recipe is covered in a balsamic garlic herb rub, then wrapped in a bacon weave. It's delicious anytime of the year, or perfect as the main course for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner!

It's the last day of "Thanksgiving Week" on the blog and I've saved the big kahuna for last! That's right, the turkey, the center of the Thanksgiving table!

Since we have a small family, we started preparing a turkey breast a few years back, instead of a whole turkey. It's the perfect size for 4-6 people and if you want to try a couple of different turkey recipes, this is a great way to do it!

We usually prepare a Cranberry Glazed Turkey Breast (my Mom's favorite!) and an Herb Crusted Turkey Breast.

This year I decided we should throw in something new so I mimicked one of my most popular recipes, this Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin. This new turkey breast recipe is coated in a delicious balsamic herb rub, then wrapped up in crispy bacon goodness!

The turkey is tender and juicy, the bacon is perfectly crisp, and the entire dish is phenomenally flavorful! O-M-G, for real, this is the best bacon I've ever eaten in my life! Salty, garlicky, herb-covered, crispy, bacon goodness!

The great thing about this bacon wrapped turkey ( besides the fact that it's insanely delicious!) is that it only takes about 10 minutes of prep time and an hour to roast in the oven.

A quick and simple main dish will leave you plenty of time to prep those sides, like Sweet Potato Skins with Sage Pesto and Bacon ( more bacon, yes please!), Mushroom Brussels Sprout Casserole and Crock Pot Creamed Corn!

Ingredients

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Fresh rosemary

Fresh thyme

Steak seasoning - click the link for my easy (and delicious!!) homemade steak seasoning recipe or pick up pre-mixed Montreal steak seasoning at the grocery store on the spice aisle. This delicious spice combination includes kosher salt, coarse ground pepper, paprika and more.

Garlic cloves

Boneless turkey breast - you'll want what's labeled a "turkey breast roast" at the grocery store. It should be around 3-4 pounds in weight. This recipe will unfortunately not work with a bone-in, or larger turkey breast, as the bacon will burn before the turkey is fully cooked.

Bacon - you'll want to use regular sliced bacon for this recipe, not thick-cut bacon.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Whisk the balsamic vinegar and olive oil together in a small bowl. Chop 4 sprigs of rosemary and 4 springs of thyme, add to the bowl with the steak seasoning and crushed garlic.

Brush this mixture over the turkey breast.

Place the two remaining sprigs of rosemary & thyme on top of the turkey.

Weave the bacon strips together over the turkey breast.

Wrap the bacon around the turkey, and tuck it underneath. Make sure the ends of the rosemary and thyme sprigs slightly stick out at the end for easy removal after the turkey has roasted.

Place the bacon wrapped turkey on top of a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet, or in a roasting pan with a tray.

Brush any extra herb rub on top of the bacon.

Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the turkey breast reaches 165°F on a meat thermometer.

Remove the sprigs of rosemary and thyme from under the bacon and slice the turkey.

Recipe tips

Keep an eye on the bacon after about 40 minutes. If it starts to look too dark, or like it might start to burn, loosely cover the turkey with foil. Continue roasting it until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165°F.

Never use a bone-in turkey breast for this recipe. Because the turkey breast will be much larger, the bacon will not wrap fully around the turkey breast. And the bacon will burn before the turkey is fully cooked.

If the turkey breast still has the skin attached, I recommend using a sharp knife to remove it before making this recipe. Since the skin is not exposed, it will not get crispy, and therefore the texture of the skin won't be great.

Always make sure to thaw the turkey breast completely before using it in this recipe. I recommend moving the turkey breast from the freezer to the refrigerator 2-3 days before making this recipe. This will ensure that it's fully thawed before preparing this dish.

If you don't have steak seasoning available, replace it with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper.

This recipe is naturally gluten free and dairy free, using the ingredients listed in this post.

Storage and reheating

You can store leftover bacon wrapped turkey in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

You can eat the turkey and bacon cold, or reheat it in the oven or microwave.

To reheat it in the oven, I recommend wrapping it in foil. Place it in a 350°F preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.

To reheat it in the microwave, place a few slices on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 1-2 minutes.

What to do with leftovers

Sure, leftover bacon wrapped turkey is delicious in a sandwich, but you can also use it in all of these different recipes!

What to serve with it

Pair this amazing turkey recipe with any of these delicious side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner, or an impressive meal, anytime of the year!

More bacon wrapped recipes

Love bacon as much as I do? Try all of these delicious bacon-wrapped recipes as an appetizer or main course!

Making this turkey for the holidays? Be sure to Instagram a picture, tag me @whitneybond and hashtag #WBRecipes! I can't wait to see all of the WhitneyBond.com recipes come to life on your dining room tables!

Garlic Herb Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast

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This bacon wrapped turkey breast is covered in a balsamic garlic herb rub then wrapped in a bacon weave for a flavorful, juicy turkey recipe.

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Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole (yum)

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Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole (yum)

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I love this side dish at Ruth's Chris and used to order a huge tray of it from the restaurant for Thanksgiving but last year decided to try a dupe recipe and it turned out pretty close. Of course there is no replacement for the original but it was still delicious and saved $$$$!

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Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole is creamy and topped with a brown sugar pecan crust just like they are at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. One of our family favorites and a must have side at Thanksgiving, these sweet potatoes will turn even non-sweet potato lovers into avid fans.

RUTH'S CHRIS SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

I used to despise sweet potatoes until last year when my sister-in-law Kim gave me a recipe that changed my mind. The only other time I have enjoyed sweet potatoes is when we go to Ruth's Chris steak house for special occasions and John orders them.

I always give him a little flack and say, "You ordered sweet potatoes ( imagine a 13 year old girl's voice with a lot of attitude)?! It's not Thanksgiving." But guess who always ends up licking the plate...me.

So this year when I stumbled across THE Ruth's Chris Sweet Potatoes recipe I was torn. Why try something new when I knew how good Kim's recipe was?

Then as I looked at the recipes closer I realized they were exactly the same except for Kim's had a little milk in them which I left out last year anyway because my potatoes were already looking a little on the wet side.

These are so good and are the only way to go as far as sweet potatoes go. They're creamy with a brown sugar pecan crust.

These could easily be dessert maybe even with a scoop of ice cream. You can make these up to a couple of days in advance and then bake the crust for 10 minutes before serving.

Just boil, bake, or even microwave your sweet potatoes.

Cream them together with some eggs, sugar, and butter.

Top with a brown sugar pecan crust...yum.

MAKE AHEAD SWEET POTATOES

Can these sweet potatoes be made ahead of time?

Yes! Prepare the filling and bake then refrigerate until the day of baking. Bake for 10-20 minutes then sprinkle the topping on top and bake according to the directions.

*Note- I've also made the entire recipe days ahead and it reheats great!

OTHER POTATO RECIPES:

Ingredients

Crust:

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup butter, , melted

Sweet Potato Mixture:

3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes, (see Note)

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, , well beaten

1/2 cup butter, melted, (1 stick)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a medium-size casserole dish with nonstick spray.

2. For the crust: Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Chill in the fridge until ready to use. This helps the crumble maintain its form and not melt into the sweet potatoes.

3. Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture. Add a splash of milk if needed and mix.

4. Pour mixture into the baking dish (I use around a 2 quart dish). Bake for 25 minutes. At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated for a couple of days if making ahead of time.

5. *If you refrigerated ahead of time make sure to reheat the potatoes again before adding the crust - around 10-20 minutes.

6. Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture and return to oven for 10-20 minutes or until crumble is browned. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.

7. The brown sugar and pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy. Makes 10 servings.

Notes

Note: 3 cups sweet potatoes is about 3-4 large sweet potatoes. To cook sweet potatoes first wash and dry them carefully then you can either: 1) Bake them at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes (my preferred method) 2) Boil them for 30 minutes or 3) Pierce them with a fork and microwave them for about 15-20 minutes.

Source: my SIL Kimi

The size of dish will depend on how thick you want your potatoes. I like to use around a 2 quart dish. A 9x13 pan is a 3 quart dish so if you're doubling it and put it in a 9x13 it might be on the thicker side.

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Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole - The Girl Who Ate Everything

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Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole is creamy and topped with a brown sugar pecan crust just like they are at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. One of our family favorites and a must have side at Thanksgiving, these sweet potatoes will turn even non-sweet potato lovers into avid fans.

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These are not THERMOMETERS!  Do not rely on these to tell you if your turkey is done.

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Meater - The Best Selling Smart Meat Thermometer

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Remove the guesswork from cooking with MEATER, the smartest cooking thermometer for your BBQ and Kitchen.

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Reynolds Oven Bags Cooking Chart & Guide | Reynolds Brands

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Making dinner has never been so easy! Reynolds Kitchens® Oven Bags create simple, one-pan meals that help you cook tasty, juicy meats, vegetables, and sides with effortless cleanup.