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Maple Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

I wanted to make a snack that would be the perfect little bite. Something that could go before a meal or be a nice treat after. I had some dates and decided to stuff those with creamy earthy goat cheese then wrap them in savory smokey bacon.  These turned out better than I could have hoped and paired so well with the 2013 Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon that Cultivar Wine recently sent me.

Cultivar Wine with Stuffed Dates

 

My husband is a HUGE fan of these little dates.  He basically wants them available at all times so he can enjoy a date or two in the evenings. This is very high praise, he doesn’t usually request things to have on hand.

They are super simple to make but give the illusion of being very fancy. Their decadent taste certainly helps support the hype. Perfect for get-togethers and special occasions.  Or just because it’s Tuesday, your choice. No judging from me.

Andrea’s Maple Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

  • 12 Dates, split and pitted (**See Note)
  • 6 Slices of Bacon, cut in half
  • 4 oz Goat Cheese
  • 1 TBSP Maple Syrup
  • 2 tsp Light Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 375 and line a small baking sheet with foil, brush the olive oil all over the foil. Make sure the dates are not cut in half but just split down the middle lengthwise.  Fill each date with some goat cheese (about 1/2 tsp each) and then wrap in bacon. Make sure the seam side is down when you place the dates on the baking sheet.  Continue until all dates are stuffed and wrapped.

Place baking sheet in oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Watch to be sure the bacon doesn’t burn. Right before removing the dates from the oven, brush each date with maple syrup.  Continue to bake for another two minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Serve immediately or can be stored in the fridge in an air tight container.

**I used regular dates but you can use medjool dates if preferred. Those are larger so you may need more goat cheese for the filling.

You can get even fancier and used bourbon barrel aged maple syrup if you like.

I highly recommend making a big batch of these if you will be having them at a gathering because they will go quickly! One batch is perfect for date night but you’ll need more for a bigger crowd.

Since these guys are on the sweeter side I decided to pair them with Cultivar Wine’s 2013 Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon which worked beautifully.  The black pepper and tobacco notes brought out the smokiness of the bacon and maple syrup while the dryer finish helped balance out the sweetness.  The wine also accentuated the creaminess of the goat cheese and complimented its earthy flavor.

You can also make these dates ahead of time and then gently reheat them at 350 for about 5 minutes before serving.

If you’d like to try Cultivar Wine , they are offering a special promotion to my readers. Use the code CultivarWineFoodEmbrace when you order and you’ll receive 10 percent off your purchase.

Disclosure: I’m required to disclose a sponsored partnership between our site, Food Embrace, and Cultivar Wine. I have been compensated in exchange for this post in the form of product. All opinions presented are my own. I receive wine from Cultivar Wine as a member of the Cultivar Wine Bloggers group. 

 

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Bourbon Coconut Caramel Sauce

Bourbon Coconut Caramel Sauce

I have a love affair with caramel.  Rolos and Twix bars were a favorite when I was a kid.  I loved the Cadbury caramel eggs and when I got sundaes, I preferred caramel sauce over chocolate sauce.

Caramel is rich and buttery and like the liquid version of toffee, which I also love.  I have never tried making my own caramel sauce though because I figured it was too difficult.

Phsaw.

Spoiler alert: It isn’t.

It does take time and yes you do have to baby this but it’s worth it because in the end you have a delicious caramel sauce that can be added to just about anything you can think of.  Cake? YES! Coffee? YES!  Pancakes and waffles! Drizzle it into some brownie mix to make caramel brownies.  Drizzle it over some coffee cake.  Add it to ice cream? The list is endless!

You can see that I put this on top of some cake.  Some Buttermilk Spice Cake!

Since I’m cutting down on my dairy intake, I made this with full fat coconut milk instead of cream.  You won’t notice the difference because it tastes amazing.

Also, since it’s #BoozeyHoliday, I added bourbon at the end.  You’re welcome.

Andrea’s Bourbon Coconut Caramel Sauce

  • 1 Can Full Fat Coconut Milk
  • 1/2C Maple Syrup
  • 1TBSP Butter
  • 2tsp Vanilla
  • 2TBSP Bourbon

In a medium sized heavy sauce pan add in the coconut milk, maple syrup, and butter.  Heat over medium heat and whisk until the butter is melted and everything is incorporated.  Bring the mixture up to a boil and boil for two minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 60 minutes.  Whisking every few minutes. The mixture should just be slightly bubbling.

Yes 60 minutes is a long time, but this needs to reduce down and thicken up.  You’ll know it’s ready when the sauce coats a spoon and has a slow drizzle to it.  It should be thick.  At this point, turn off the heat, add in the vanilla and bourbon and whisk.

Put the sauce into a heat proof container (I used a mason jar) and allow to cool.  Either use right away or store in the fridge.  If it’s cold, gently heat the sauce by adding some of the caramel to a sauce pan and heating over low heat.  Just until the sauce can be drizzled.

Yeah it takes some time but it lasts for two weeks in the fridge!  Honestly, I doubt it will last you that long because you’ll be eating it by the spoonful.

 

Chocolate Milk Stout Brownies

Lugene Brownies I’m not much of a dessert fan but ever since I had some of Odell’s Lugene, all I could think about was how awesome it would be in some sort of dessert.

Lugene is Odell’s chocolate milk stout.  It’s creamy, sweet, and chocolatey.  Perfect for making some brownies.

The next time I was out, I picked up a four pack of Lugene and got busy in the kitchen making some brownies.  They turned out exactly how I hoped they would!

It’s a bit of a process but don’t let that keep you from trying them.

Lugen BrowniesAndrea’s Chocolate Milk Stout Brownies

Liquid:

  • 2/3C Chocolate Milk Stout
  • 1/3C Whole Milk
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 1/2 TBSP Cooled Coffee
  • 2tsp Vanilla Extract

Melted Chocolate:

  • 2C Chocolate Chips, melted
  • 2TBSP Whole Milk
  • 4TBSP Butter, cut into cubes

Dry: 

  • 1 1/4C Flour
  • 1/3C Brown Sugar, packed
  • 1/2tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • Pinch Cayenne pepper (very small)
  • 2TBSP Heaping, Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease up an 8×8 baking pan.  In a large mixing bowl, add all the liquid ingredients and combine well.

Melt chocolate using a double boiler method.  Once the chocolate is melted, add in the butter, a little at a time.  Stir and allow the butter to melt in the chocolate.  Once all the butter is in, remove chocolate from the double boiler.

Add in the 2TBSP of milk and stir.  Set aside and allow the chocolate mixture to cool. About five minutes.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, add in the dry ingredients and whisk together.

Once the melted chocolate has cooled a bit, add a small amount of the liquid mixture to the melted chocolate and stir.  This is to temper the chocolate. Now add that chocolate mixture into the liquid mixture and combine.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the chocolate and combine.  Once everything is incorporated, add that to the greased baking pan.

Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool, about 15 minutes.  Cut and serve!

Lugene Brownies

 

These are not your mama’s brownies.  These are dense and hefty brownies with a huge dose of chocolate goodness. They almost have the texture of a flourless cake, that’s how dense they are.

Also you don’t want the toothpick to come out completely clean, because you want the brownies to be a little soft and gooey.

I didn’t use a lot of sugar so these are also not very sweet.  If you like more sweeter desserts, you’ll want to add more sugar.  You could probably add up to a cup of sugar without effecting the batter too much.

No worries if you don’t have Lugene, you can use any chocolate milk stout that you like!

Now who wants some brownies?

 

Figgy Bourbon Refrigerator Jam

This is the recipe that got Scott to love figs. I have always had eyes for figs, even those silly Fig Newtons.

And once I had fresh figs sauteed in a little butter and sugar, I thought that was heaven.

Figs are in season now and I purchased a little pint of them to have for dessert one evening.

Scott wasn’t impressed.  He would eat them, he said, but figs weren’t something he would get excited about or look forward to.

Oh really?

The glove was thrown down.  I accepted this challenge and thought about how to make figs exciting for him.

Andrea’s Figgy Bourbon Refrigerator Jam

  • 12oz or One Pint of Fresh Figs
  • 3/4C Water, Plus another 1/4C
  • 1/4C Bourbon of your Choice
  • 2tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 2TBSP Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/4tsp Ground Cinnamon

Split the figs in half and cut off the stem.  To a small sauce pan add, 3/4C water, figs, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Bring to a simmer and simmer until the figs are tender and cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and place contents in a blender.  Add the other 1/4C water and blend until smooth.

The jam will be thick.

Scoop the contents out of the blender and back into the sauce pan.  Add in the vanilla and the bourbon and stir.  Heat pan over a medium-low heat just to thicken everything up a little more.  About 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour into a glass container to cool.  You can either eat immediately or cover in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

The bourbon flavor is prominent in this jam so you best like bourbon when you make it! It’s slightly sweet from the added brown sugar and has a nice vanilla background to it.

No canning involved since it’s refrigerator jam, it’s simple and super quick to make!

Guess who is excited about figs now?  Someone couldn’t keep his hands off this jam and demanded we get more figs at the store.

Figs 1, Scott 0.  WIN!

Other ideas for the jam:

You can eat it straight up on crackers or biscuits.  Or pair with a lovely extra sharp cheddar.

Maybe a little brie and prosciutto?

Or heck, drizzle a little on top of some vanilla ice cream!

However you choose to eat it, I’m pretty sure it will be tasty.

Have fun guys, and remember always play with your food!  Enjoy!

 

Peach and Goat Cheese Ice Cream Sandwiches

I’m not quite sure how I got the notion but the idea to create goat cheese cookies popped into my head and I could not leave it be.

I started dreaming of a lovely cookie that was sort of like a shortbread and sort of like a sugar cookie.

But with goat cheese.

Once the idea was there it was not to be ignored and I soon found myself in the kitchen making some cookies.

My idea worked and I was rewarded with golden cookies that are perfect with tea and as a late night little munch.

Considering I’m not a huge baker, I’m considering this a triumph!

Earlier this summer, I was contacted by Yagoot Frozen Yogurt Company asking if I would be willing to create a recipe using their yogurt.  Yagoot is based out of Cincinnati and also has a store in the Easton Shopping Center near Columbus, OH.

I knew right away that I wanted to make ice cream sandwich cookies using my new goat cheese cookie recipe.  I headed over to Yagoot in Easton to pick up some pints of frozen yogurt.  I spied the Summer Peach flavor and immediately knew I would be using that.

Andrea’s Goat Cheese Cookies

  • 4oz of Goat Cheese, room temperature
  • 4TBSP Butter, at room temperature
  • 1 Egg
  • 3tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1C White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1/2C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/3C Organic Cane Sugar
  • 1tsp Baking Powder

In your stand mixer bowl, add in the goat cheese, butter, egg, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat on low until everything is smooth and creamy.

In a medium size mixing bowl, add in the flours and baking powder.  Whisk until everything is blended and airy.

Put the stand mixer on low and slowly add in the flour mixture until everything is combined.  The dough should be a little stiff.

On a lightly floured surface, place dough and start to roll out into a log shape.  Roll it till it’s about a foot long and 1/2 inch in diameter.

Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchement or silpat.  Slice the log into slices about a 1/4 of an inch thick.  Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cookies start to crisp up and brown on the edges.

If you can only fit one cookie sheet in your oven, place the remaining cookies back in the fridge until you are ready to slice and bake.

Allow about 4 minutes to cool and then serve.

 

Ice Cream Mixture:

  • 1/2 pint of Yagoot’s Peach Flavored Frozen Yogurt
  • 2oz of Plain Goat Cheese at room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 TBSP Organic Cane Sugar

With a hand mixer or stand mixer, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until the goat cheese is combined.

Sometimes goat cheese has a tendency to break down into little balls of goat cheese when it combines with something cool.  This is okay!

 

Assembling the Ice Cream Sandwiches:

  • Cookie Sheet
  • Parchment Paper to line the cookie sheet

Scoop a little bit of the frozen yogurt onto a cookie and top with another cookie.  Gently press down and place the ice cream sandwich on the cookie sheet.

Repeat until all the frozen yogurt is used.  This will make between 8-10 sandwiches depending on how much frozen yogurt you use for each sandwich.

Work quickly because the frozen yogurt melts fast!

Once you’re finished, place the cookie sheet with the sandwiches in a freezer and freeze for at least two hours giving the frozen yogurt a chance to set back up.

Serve as a cool treat or a sweet ending to a summer meal!

 

The goat cheese freezes a bit when the cookies go back in the freezer and so you get little crunchy tangy bites of goat cheese while eating the ice cream sandwiches.

A great little summer treat with a twist!

Yagoot is graciously giving away a $20 gift card to readers of Food Embrace!  Keep in mind Yagoot is only available in Columbus and Cincinnati right now.  If you’d like to enter to win the gift card all you have to do is:

Comment, telling me what flavor if yogurt you’d like to try!

Contest ends on Friday, August 24th, at 5pm EST.  I’ll contact the winner by email so make sure you leave a valid email address in the comment!

WINNER: Random Number Generator picked Comment Number 3! The winner is Joe!  Thanks for commenting Joe!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!

 

Disclaimer: Yagoot Yogurt contacted me and asked me to create a recipe using their product. They supplied me with a gift cards in order to purchase the product and for supplies needed to create the recipe.

Rum Gingerbread

I know that it might not be the holidays any longer but it technically is still winter and that means winter foods are still acceptable.

One of my favorite flavors of all time is that of gingerbread.  The combination of clove and molassess is a match made in heaven.

Gingerbread is so spicy and not overly sweet which makes it the perfect dessert for me.

I experimented a lot this winter with cooking and baking with bourbon and rum.  This is one of those experiments and it turned out to be a favorite.

Andrea’s Rum Gingerbread
Dry:

  • 1C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
  • 1C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 1/2tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 1/2tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4tsp Ground Allspice
  • 1/2tsp Ground Clove
  • 1/2tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1tsp Grated Fresh Ginger
  • 2TBSP Brown Sugar

Wet:

  • 1/2C Unsweetened Coconut Milk (the kind found in the dairy aisle)
  • 1/4C Rum
  • 1/2C Molasses
  • 2TBSP Light Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 375 and spray a square baking dish (9×9) with oil or nonstick spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk together.  In a medium sized mixing bowl combine wet ingredients and whisk.

Gently pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir.  The batter will be slightly thick and sticky.

Pour gingerbread batter into the greased baking dish and place in oven.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for about five minutes before cutting.  Serve and enjoy!


This gingerbread is spicy and a bit denser in texture providing a hearty dessert.  Or breakfast in case you roll that way.  I definitely do sometimes.

I tend to lean more towards the clove and molasses flavor so if you would like more ginger punch, feel free to add in some more.

You can use your favorite nondairy milk of choice or regular milk if you have it.

Perfect for a party or just a lazy Sunday at home.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

The other day I was surfing around looking at different recipes for stuff when I stumbled up on a chocolate chip cookie cooked in a cast iron skillet.

Whoa! Back that train up!

They completely had my attention because that sounds darn good!  I looked at the recipe and immediately started figuring out how I could make my own.

Everyone’s heard of those BIG chocolate chip cookies sometimes people use in place of birthday cakes.  But this?  This is a completely different concept.

It really is just a basic chocolate chip cookie cooked in a cast iron skillet which results in a thicker cookie with a gooey middle.

I wasted no time in making my own version.

Andrea’s Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

  • 1C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1C White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1/3C Unsweetened Coconut Milk (Found in the dairy aisle, not the canned kind)
  • 2 1/2TBSP Unsalted Butter, room temp + 1/2TBSP
  • 1 Egg, room temp
  • 1/2C Brown Sugar
  • 1/2C Unsweetened Applesauce
  • 2tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2tsp Sea Salt
  • 1C Dark Chocolate Chips
  • 1C Walnuts, crushed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use 1/2TBSP butter to grease your cast iron skillet.  In a large mixing bowl combine, flours, sea salt, and baking powder.  Whisk together then add in the nuts and chocolate chips.  Stir until everything is combined.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine 2 1/2TBSP butter, egg, vanilla, brown sugar, coconut milk, and applesauce.  Slowly add the liquid mixture to the dry and stir until everything is well combined.  This will be a slightly thick dough.

Pour mixture into greased skillet and spread around till it’s even in the skillet.  Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven, allow to cool for about 5 minutes, slice and serve.  Best served warm.

Both Scott and I were very happy with the way this cookie turned out!  Because of the white whole wheat flour it’s a more dense and chewy cookie.  A lot more filling as well!  It’s not a crumbly crispy cookie, instead it’s soft with gooey melty chocolate.  I added the walnuts just for a little extra kick.

This cookie is best served warm and the slices can be easily heated up in the microwave before serving.  It also freezes well!

If you have a cast iron skillet you should probably make this for a holiday dessert.

Or for Christmas morning breakfast, whichever you feel is more appropriate.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

2011 International Blogger Cookie Exchange Roundup

Whew that’s quite the title! The day has arrived where we get a chance to look at all the lovely cookie recipes that were passed around for this year’s cookie exchange!

Please take a look at these links and have fun checking out all the cookies that everyone made!

Diana made Whiskey Molasses cookies, recipe by yours truly.

Rachel made pecan brittle bars.

Alyse made gingerbread cookies.

Jess made oatmeal cookies.

I made Italian Chocolate Meatball Cookies.

Also swing over to Lori’s site to see the rest of the roundup! She’s got a big list of recipes to share!

Thanks to everyone who participated this year! What fun to see all these cookies!

Italian Chocolate Meatball Cookies

For the Holiday Cookie Exchange, I was paired up with Jess! She sent along her recipe for Italian Chocolate Meatball Cookies.

I made a few changes to accomodate what I had on hand along with adjusting to suit our tastes.

Below is the original recipe from Jess:

 

Italian Chocolate Meatball Cookies
from Dianna Petrella’s recipe (a family friend)
Ingredients
  • 1 cup shortening (yes, you have to use shortening or something like Earth Balance – unfortunately butter just doesn’t work right)
  • 1.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 5 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder (Hershey’s, Ghirardelli, or Scharffen Berger are good)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cloves
  • 1 cup walnuts (finely chopped)
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl (ideally you would do this in a stand mixer if you have one; I wouldn’t recommend a hand mixer unless you’ve got an industrial strength one). Roll into balls. Bake at 350º for 10-15 minutes. Cool and dip tops into confectionary sugar frosting and sprinkle tops with confetti. Freeze for up to three months. Yields 4-5 dozen.
For frosting, mix 3 cups confectionary sugar, 2 Tbsp milk, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
My adapations are as follows:
  • I didn’t have shortening, so I used 1/2C coconut oil as a sub.
  • I also don’t have milk, so I subbed in 1C of warm unsweetened coconut milk.
  • I used 2C Unbleached All Purpose Flour and 3C White Whole Wheat Flour
  • Used 1/2C Cane Sugar
  • And I didn’t have any raisins so I had to leave that ingredient out.
I did end up adding just a splash more liquid, since I used whole wheat flour that requires a touch more liquid to the recipe.  No more than 1/4C though I could have gone up to a 1/2C and been fine.
The dough for this recipe is a tight stiff dough and I thought these cookies were going to turn out very dense.  However they are light little cookies with a great chocolatey taste! We are not much fans of icing which is why I didn’t ice these cookies but if you do like icing then I highly suggest adding that as well!  Or sprinkling with a little powdered sugar on top.
Great little cookies to have on your holiday table!  Thanks for participating Jess!

Sweet Potato Pie

Pumpkin pie is one of those items that I stopped making for our Thanksgiving dinner a few years back.  Don’t get me wrong, I love pumpkin!

But we have it all the time and I use it in a lot of different applications.  Sweet potatoes were something that was completely traditional for Scott to have at Thanksgiving so we couldn’t skip them.

What to do? They had to be part of the menu yet as a side dish would put us way over the edge.

I decided to remove them as a side dish and return them as dessert.

This has worked out very well!  We’re still getting sweet potatoes for the big day but not as a sticky gross mess (sorry but that whole marshmallow thing needs to go!).  Instead it’s served up in pie form!

And if you’ve got folks who claim they hate pumpkin (GASP!) you can serve them this instead!

This year I experimented a little and added a crumb topping and some good rum into the mix.

Andrea’s Rum and Sweet Potato Pie

For The Crust:

  • 2C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
  • 1/4C Coconut Oil
  • 1TBSP Light Olive Oil
  • 1/2TBSP Sugar
  • Cold Water

Combine flour, oils, and sugar into a food processor.  Pulse and slowly add in the cold water, 1/4C at a time.  Pulse until the mixture comes together and starts to form a ball.  The mixture should be easy to handle and come out of the food processor without sticking.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least two hours.  Can be made up to two days ahead of time.

For the Filling:

  • 1, Very Large Sweet Potato
  • 2TBSP Butter, room temperature
  • 1/4C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
  • 1/4C Dark Rum
  • 1tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4tsp Ground Clove
  • 1TBSP Molasses
  • 2TBSP Brown Sugar, Packed
  • 2tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2tsp Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Poke holes in the sweet potato and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake until a knife can be inserted easily.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.  Remove the outer skin and place sweet potato into a bowl for your stand mixer.  Add all the remaining ingredients for the filling and mix until everything is well blended.

For The Topping:

  • 1C Pecan Halves
  • 1C Oats
  • 1/4C Rum
  • 1TBSP Brown Sugar
  • 1TBSP Butter

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it resembles a crumble mixture.

Assembling and Baking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pull out a 9inch pie pan and grease using nonstick spray or olive oil.  Roll out pie dough until it’s about 1/4inch thick.  Place and fit into pie pan.  Crimp the edges and use a fork to poke holes in the bottom to allow steam to escape.  Add filling and smooth the top.  Sprinkle crumble topping on top using all of the mixture.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes.  A toothpick inserted will come out clean.  Remove and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Serve and enjoy!

This pie went over very well this year!  The crust was flavorful but since I used whole wheat pastry flour, it had some great chew to it.  I like pie crusts to have some heft and not be too much like a pastry.

The rum was extremely prominent in this pie!  Next time I would probably leave out the rum in the crumble topping but feel free to play around with it and see what you like! I would probably add a little bit more olive oil or butter to the topping as well so it has a little bit more moisture to it.

Leftovers can be frozen and pulled out when you feel like a little slice of the holidays is necessary.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!