Bourbon

This recipe was developed specifically for this book, as a match for the Country-Style Ribs on page 198. Because country-style ribs are bulky and not uniform in appearance, a chunky sauce draws attention to the elements of the sauce and away from the clunky appearance of the ribs themselves. If impressing your guest with fancy plating is not your bag, this sauce is “good eatin’” on just about anything. Besides adding distinct flavor, the bits of apple and sweet onion will add a complementary texture to your barbecue.

Silicone baking pans bake evenly and won’t rust after you wash them. They are pricey, but as a special gift for your friend or yourself, splurge! I buy a nice silicon muffin pan, use fancy baking cup liners, load them with this milk chocolate mousse, then wrap the pan up tightly with plastic wrap, tie it with a big bow, and freeze it. When you are ready to gift it, you’ll give the satisfying sweetness of a softening mousse, the convenience of muffins, and a reusable piece of kitchenware. This is an all-purpose mousse that can also be served in a dish with cookies as a simple satisfying dessert. Note: Agar is a thickener available in health food stores. It is a substitute for gelatin and suitable for vegetarians.

Grace your dinner table with this show-stopping dessert. It’s the perfect end to a southern meal.

This hot toddy recipe comes from Matt Tanner at Houston's Anvil Bar & Refuge, whose addition of house-made apple-infused bourbon is a spirited stroke of genius.

What makes this recipe special is its lightness: twice as much milk as cream, and the white of the egg whipped stiff and folded into the mix, so it was almost like clouds on top of the eggnog.

Wassail is a deeply rooted tradition in the Midwest and a popular regional staple throughout the cold-weather season. Every winter as the holidays approach, many Wisconsinites still take part in the age-old "wassailing of apple trees," a ritual dating back to the fifteenth century that involves sprinkling wassail on apple trees to ensure a strong, healthy harvest and to keep the trees safe from evil spirits. Wassail always blends apples and winter holiday spices, but the sweeteners and spirits often change from recipe to recipe. This version comes from the Rittenhouse Inn in Bayfield, an area that leads apple production in Wisconsin. The cranberry juice is a perfectly tart counterpart to the sweetness of the apple cider and brown sugar, and the bourbon lends a full, rich quality, and the ginger, pepper, and spices offer a final kick of flavor.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. These bite-sized cookie balls are made of all the best things: ground vanilla wafers, ground pecans, confectioner's sugar, white Karo syrup, and good bourbon whiskey.

This fantastic dessert is perfect for the cool months of late fall and winter. Cubes of tender pumpkin bread are baked in a rich custard laced with bourbon and maple syrup. Crisp apple cider is the base of a buttery caramel sauce spiced with fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise. Forget about serving the same-old pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and put this out instead for a new twist on two old classics. The recipe includes directions for making your own pumpkin bread to use in the pudding, but you can of course also use a loaf of pumpkin bread from your favorite bakery. Brioche or cinnamon-raisin bread would also work perfectly.

For all the robustness of the ingredients of this dish, the end result is notably delicate. One might ask, "Oh, but won't the bracing scent of pine make the dish taste of Christmas fir or, worse, freshly waxed parlor?" It will not. The smoked needles impart a light, balsamic flavor akin to rosemary (indeed one might substitute a bundle of that herb in this recipe), and the light glaze allows the pine flavor to shine through. The overall effect proves an excellent complement to the moist, flaky fish this cooking technique yields. Should one desire a more intensely flavored glaze, one might make a bit extra to brush over the fish before serving.

This triple threat dessert offers three distinct textures and flavors: A nutty, crumbly crust is filled with a dark chocolate pudding enriched with bittersweet chocolate, cocoa, and chocolate stout, then topped with a billowy bourbon whipped cream. For more seasonal recipes, download the free Gourmet Live app and stay tuned to the Gourmet Live blog for the latest updates.

My most coveted pie is of the apple variety. To me, nothing says an afternoon out by the grill than having an apple pie to finish off the experience. What sets this pie apart from your normal apple pie is that I use a whopping thirteen apples that I slowly cook down with Vietnamese cinnamon and brown sugar, creating a collection of flavors so distinctively comforting, you'll never search for another apple pie recipe. Use Maker's Mark bourbon as it is currently the only gluten-free bourbon available.

Craig promises that if you follow this recipe, you can make dizzyingly delicious Chinatown char siu ribs at home in the oven or on the grill. That makes them a great choice for the winter, when you've got a hankering for ribs and the smoker is snowed in. Many Chinese restaurants use spareribs that are chopped into 3- to 4-inch riblets. If you want, your butcher can make you riblets with a band saw. Craig likes baby backs for this recipe because they are a bit meatier. You can also substitute 4 pounds of pork loin for the ribs if you wish. The booze is important for the marinade because it helps penetrate the meat, and even if you're a teetotaler, don't worry—there isn't any measurable alcohol in the ribs. If you must skip it, use apple juice or water. You can buy char siu sauce at Chinese specialty stores, and it makes a fine glaze, but it doesn't make ribs that taste like Chinese restaurant ribs. That's because you need to marinate the meat in a thin sauce first.

For many, Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie is unthinkable, but that doesn't mean you can't jazz up the old standby.

If you like regular pecan pie made with corn syrup, wait until you taste old-fashioned pecan pie made with cane syrup—the difference is astonishing!

Bourbon:
Bourbon is a type of whiskey that is only made in America from at least 51% corn. In that regard, it differs from Scotch and Irish whiskeys, which are made from malted barley. Rye whiskey is made from—you guessed it—rye. There's a helluva lot more you could learn on the subject of whiskeys, but you're not gonna learn it here. All you need to know is that good bourbon is delicious.

By this point in the summer, the mint in most gardens has grown knee-high and is threatening to take over. Don't panic—harvest a few armloads and turn the bounty into a refreshing drink. Plan on making a couple of batches, both with and without alcohol: Adults will swoon over the smooth, bourbon-laced juleps; kids will enjoy the lightly sweetened herbal tea all on its own.

In this bourbon-spiked baby, homemade génoise (a kind of spongecake) subs for the traditional vanilla wafers, and brown sugar contributes a molasses-like sweetness. Glazed pecans add some crunch to the layers of silky pudding, ripe bananas, and tender cake.

When serving the spiced-pumpkin soufflés, don’t forget this warm accompaniment. It’s simply magical.

Though these delicately spiced soufflés reach toward the skies, they capture the fragrant earthiness of pumpkin.