Okay you guys.

I’ve done something. Changed something. Opened some sort of magic box, some secret portal to a new world. And now that I’ve glimpsed the other side, I rather doubt I’ll be the same again.

It all started with an innocent breakfast suggestion. On my recent winter escape to Oregon, all we wanted was a place to eat one misty Wednesday morning in Portland. Instead, we ordered a plate of food that, rather than fading from my memory as most meals do, has haunted my daydreams ever since.

It was praline bacon. And within moments of eating it, I knew that I wanted to, nay, that I must!  try to recreate it at home. This weekend I finally had the time, the health, and the daylight. It took four failed attempts, but I finally found the balance I was looking for. And the best part It’s so absurdly, ridiculously easy.

Obviously, we start with bacon. Then we have pecans, maple syrup, brown sugar, a little salt, and some cayenne pepper.

THAT IS ALL, PEOPLE.

Instead of pan-frying the bacon, I baked mine. It helps the bacon stay flat (necessary for topping with sugary pecans later) and the excess fat drains into the pan below. I may actually start making all of my bacon this way.

While the bacon cooks, chop up some pecans. I’ve seen some versions where the pecans are food-processed into oblivion, but I prefer a larger cut. Smaller than a rough chop but bigger than a fine chop, does that make sense About the size of a tooth (Is that gross?)

With the pecans, mix in the brown sugar, maple syrup, pepper, and salt. I know, it sounds crazy to add a little sea salt to a mixture that is going to be slathered across notoriously salty bacon, but I really thought it helped to balance out the sugary-sweetness of the topping.

After about 20 minutes in the oven, the bacon won’t be done but it will be ready for its glorious topping. Don’t be tempted to let the bacon cook to completion before you add the pecans, though: if you do, you’ll have nothing but rock solid strips of bacon-flavored cardboard topped with sticky pecans.

Past this, you will only have to wait a few more minutes. I baked my bacon for another eight minutes or so, just enough to toast the pecans and cook the sugars a bit.

The finished product is unbelievable. Slightly chewy, slightly crunchy from the pecans, salty, sweet, rich… it’s just everything. It’s quite delicious warm, which is how we ate it that fateful morning in Portland. But I’ve found I like it even better at room temperature or even cold. And it you want to pretend that you’re not eating half a pound of bacon all my your onesie, chop it into pieces and put it out for your colleagues like an honest-to-god bowl of candy.

It will not last long.

Maple Praline Bacon
Inspired by a delectable meal at Screen Door

Note: I am hesitant to call for “thick-cut” bacon here. In this age of bacon obsession, I’ve seen bacon nearly half an inch thick marketed as “thick-cut”. On the other hand, this is not the time for cheap, lunchmeat-section bacon so thin you can barely pull it apart. I recommend getting your bacon from the butcher or meat counter for the perfect happy medium.

8 strips thick-ish bacon
3/4 c pecan halves, chopped fairly small
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1/3 c maple syrup + additional for brushing
1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire cooling rack on the baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Lay the bacon on the cooling rack with a bit of space between each piece and bake for 15-20 minutes. The fat should not be completely rendered by the time you remove it from the oven.

While the bacon cooks, chop pecans and combine them in a bowl with the sugar, maple syrup, sea salt, and cayenne. Mix well. If the mixture is crumbly, add a bit more maple syrup until it forms a thick, liquidy sludge of deliciousness.

Remove pan and flip each piece of bacon over. Brush each piece of bacon with maple syrup, then flip the strips back over. Carefully spread the pecan mixture on each piece of bacon. Return to the oven for 5-8 more minutes.

Serve hot. Or at room temperature. Or cold, it’s REALLY good when it’s cold. Serve it in whole strips, or cool it down and chop it into squares to serve as candy.

I’ll always love my mom’s classic sugar cookie recipe. It tastes like tradition and family gatherings and anticipation for what Santa might put under the tree. But I must admit: these cookies, based on a recipe I’ve been eyeballing for a while, are definitely worth repeating. And while I only make classic sugar cookies at Christmas, these maple-rockin’ ones qualify for year-round baking.

The stars of this little cookie show are maple syrup, nutmeg, and sea salt. I’m not certain I’ve ever tasted cookies so magical and complex in flavor before. I also added a bit of cinnamon to bring even more seasonal flavor to the mix, but the combination of sweet maple and the occasional punch of salt make each bite a pleasure.

Like most cutout cookies, this dough needs a good long chill in the fridge before rolling. And like pie crust, it’s best to keep it as cold as possible. I work with only a quarter of the dough at a time AND return the unbaked trays of cookies to the fridge for a few minutes before they go in the oven. The cold helps the cookies keep their shape so your reindeer look like reindeer and not bulbous root vegetables.

These cookies are darn good right off the pan. But it’s Christmas, so I wanted to add a little extra panache. While still warm from the oven, each cookie gets a final kiss of maple syrup and a sprinkle of large grain sugar (I found mine in the sprinkles section at the grocery store). The result is a chewy but crisp, flavorful cookie with just the right amount of sparkle.

I’d love to sit here and chat cookies with you, but I have a lot of actual cookies to bake right now. And I bet you do, too.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Salted Maple Cutout Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 5-6 dozen cookies

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 c pure maple syrup (Grade B)
3 c all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or 3/8 tsp ground nutmeg, which packs more tightly)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 c additional maple syrup (for decorating)
large grain sugar sprinkles (for decorating)

Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy. With mixer on medium, add egg yolk and drizzle in maple syrup.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sea salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix just until combined, making sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl several times to incorporate all dry ingredients. Gather the dough onto a two-foot stretch of plastic wrap and wrap well. Place dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Remove about a quarter of the dough from the fridge and place on a floured surface. It’s important to keep the dough cold as long as possible, so working in small batches is best. Roll dough out to about 1/4″ thick and cut into desired shapes. Lift each cookie onto the lined cookie sheet, leaving about 1/2″ between cookies.  Once the first sheet is full of cookies, place it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Chilling the uncooked cookies will help them retain their shape while baking. Gather scraps into a ball and return to the fridge. Remove another cold quarter of the dough and repeat with second cookie sheet.

Once first cookie sheet has chilled, bake on a center rack for about 10-12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and carefully lift each cookie onto a cooling rack. Pour 1/4 c maple syrup into a small dish. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush each cookie with maple syrup (think kisses, not puddles). Once all cookies from the first sheet have been brushed, lightly sprinkle each cookie with the large grain sugar.

Continue this process of rolling out dough, cutting cookies, chilling cookies, baking cookies, brushing with maple, and sprinkling with sugar until all dough has been used up.

Cookies can be served warm (obviously) or can be stored in an airtight container for several days.

I haven’t baked much since I spent four days in early October creating two massive cakes for Sierra’s wedding. So it might seem rather surprising that the first time I pull out my cake pans after such a project, it’s to reprise the very recipes I used for the largest tier of the wedding cake. I, however, am not surprised, as I have been wanting to share this recipe in a normal, human-sized dessert that you can make for you and your family instead of a full wedding guest list.

Before autumn wanes completely, I urge you to make this cake. This cake is rich, moist, and full of pumpkin flavor. This maple cream is studded with these sugared pecans (easily my favorite discovery of the season) and compliments the spicy cake perfectly. And for layer cake, this is pretty easy! No icing to smooth, no crumbs to worry about, no delicate folding dry ingredients into the batter, no piping. You can totally do this.

And while we’re taking this moment to bake, I would be remiss not to introduce the newest member of my little kitchen family. See that gorgeous red KitchenAid peeking out from behind the ingredients It’s mine! A beautiful gift from my mom, waiting for me when I went to Colorado to bake the wedding cake, it has now made its way across the country to live with me in Durham. I confess, I got a little emotional selling my original KitchenAid (which I’ve been using since the age of 10) to a friend, but I know it has a good home. So here’s a warm welcome to new, red mixer!

Once the pumpkin cake is out of the pans and cooling, the fabulous icing begins. First, the pecans. I’ve made these nuts for almost every social gathering I’ve attended or hosted in the last two months, and I have many batches of them planned for the holiday season, as well. If you’re whipping up this cake, be sure to make the full batch of pecans: you’ll lose quite a few to taste-testing

Finally, the maple cream. This icing is truly beautiful. While it’s not ideal for piping, it’s a dream to spread and thickens up well once it cools. I desperately want to try it sandwiched between sugar cookies. But that’s a test for another day. Today, its fate is the dressing for pumpkin cake.

Then these three recipes, totally delicious on their own, come together to create a pretty little dessert of pure autumn.

PS: Six-inch layers are SO much easier to work with than fourteen-inch layers. This felt like hardly any effort at all.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream & Sugared Pecans

Makes one, 6-inch three-layer cake OR one, 8-inch two-layer cake

For the Pumpkin Cake
Adapted from About.com

1 1/2 c sugar
3/8 c oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
3/8 tsp ground ginger
3/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 c pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 6-inch cake pans with pan coating.

Combine sugar, oil, and eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer or other large bowl and beat well. Sift dry ingredients together into a separate bowl. Mix dry ingredients slowly into the wet mixture, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add pumpkin and mix well.

Pour batter into cake pans in even amounts, about 1 1/2 cups of mixture per pan (2 1/4 c if using two 8-inch pans). Wrap a damp, thin strip of tea towel around each cake pan and tie tightly. Bake cakes for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick removes cleanly and cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Allow cakes to rest in their pans for 3-5 minutes, then carefully flip them onto cooling racks. Allow cakes to cool completely, then store in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the cake.

For the Maple Cream
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cake

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 c maple syrup
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 c powdered sugar, sifted after measuring

Place butter in a small pot over medium heat. Once butter has melted, stir in maple syrup. Allow mixture to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Remove from heat and pour maple butter into a small dish. Allow to cool to room temperature, placing it in the fridge if you want to speed the process up.

Beat the room temperature cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add sifted powdered sugar to the bowl and beat until well-combined, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Pour in the maple butter and beat for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.

For the Sugared Pecans

Prepare one batch of Sugar ‘n’ Spiced Pecans as directed. Allow to cool completely.

Set aside half of the pecans. Place the remaining pecans on a cutting board and roughly chop into pieces no larger than 1/2″ across.

Assembly

Add chopped pecans to the well-beaten maple cream. Stir well until pecans are evenly distributed throughout maple cream.

If cake layers are not level, slice them across the top with a bread knife until they each layer is level. Place one layer of cake on a plate or cake stand, top-side down. Spread a generous layer of icing  (about 1/3 of the icing) over the top surface of the cake, leaving about 1/4″ of space between the icing and the edge of the cake.

Carefully place the next layer of cake onto the iced bottom layer and repeat the icing with the second third of the icing.

Place the final layer of cake on the middle layer and spread remaining icing onto the entire top surface of the cake.

Use the un-chopped pecans to adorn the cake however you see fit. I mounded about half of them on the center of the cake and used the remainder as a border for the bottom layer.

Refrigerate until 30 minutes before ready to serve.