Pecan

Gina: This is Momma Neely’s calling card (and when Momma Neely comes calling, people answer). It’s a traditional Southern butter cake filled with pecans and cinnamon and finished with a light sugar glaze. At the restaurant, this dessert rules the house! You can serve it with ice cream at the end of a meal, or for breakfast with coffee to start your day. When Patrick gets to the restaurant early in the morning, it’s the first thing he reaches for. Our recipe yields an extremely moist and delicious yellow cake. It will knock your socks off!

Gina: One is juicy and sweet, the other sassy and tart, and the glue that holds them together? Plenty of sugar! Strawberry and rhubarb are made for each other, kinda like Pat and me. I love this pie because there is just one crust to roll, the filling is a snap, and the crumbly topping adds another layer of sweet crunch as it bakes down into the fragrant fruit filling. The result is a pie that’s as much fun to eat as a bar cookie.

Pat: We all have our vices, and mine is brownies—particularly these brownies, which have candy bars and crunchy pecans baked right in. They are some of the most decadent brownies you will ever eat. When I have one of these at two in the morning, I’m tempted to let out a loud moan, but then Gina would probably throw me out. Gina used to make them for me when we were courting hence the seductive additions. They say that chocolate is an aphrodisiac, so if you’re looking for a sweet deal to spark a little romance in your house, take my advice: Light a fire, add the Whipped Cream, fresh raspberries, and silky chocolate shavings, and you’ll be well on your way to a blissful ending!

Pat: Gina’s grandmother loved cane syrup, which is a sorghumlike syrup that has a deep bittersweet flavor. If you can’t find cane syrup, use an equal amount of dark-brown sugar plus 2 tablespoons molasses. This dish gives a new twist to a classic Thanksgiving side. The gooey marshmallows and brown sugar keep the kids happy, while the “big kids” will love the addition of orange liqueur, warm spices, and pecans.

Gina: Ours is a spinach salad with some serious attitude. In addition to the bacon and creamy blue cheese dressing, we add sweetened pecans and tart dried cranberries, and the overall effect is to give this salad a festive feel. It’s a great dinner party starter, and it’s especially good partnered with a fat grilled steak. The spiced pecans are good enough to eat on their own as a snack, but try to save them for the salad! And even though we call for dried cranberries, you can substitute a variety of dried fruit, including dried cherries or golden raisins.

Gina: These crispy crackers—cheese, nuts, and a serious visit from the spice fairy—are my kind of snack. I like this recipe because it makes several logs of dough, giving me a few to bake off now and a few more to have in the freezer, for the next time guests stop by. These crisps are the perfect holiday appetizer, when folks are overloaded on sweets and craving a savory snack to have with their drinks.

Gina: Girl, my favorite nut is the pecan! It is the all-American nut, and once you mix in cashews, you’ve got somethin’ rocking. I serve this dangerously addictive appetizer at my “Girl Power” get-togethers because it’s great with drinks (and because we ladies deserve a special treat). The combination of dark rum and soy sauce gives these nuts their exotic flavor. For a true island feel, and a little kick, use a hot sauce made from Scotch bonnet peppers.

This country was built on apple pie with a very flaky crust, thanks to an abundance of lard or vegetable shortening. Instead of an overly caloric full-blown crust, this lightened-up pie has a crumbly Brown Betty–type topping. When you pulse the topping mixture, don’t over-mix or it will be tough—not melt-in-your-mouth tender. If you must serve ice cream with this pie, look for a low-cal alternative. The usual scoop of “à la mode” adds 250 to 350 calories.

A classic—like biting into a chocolate-covered cherry, only lower in carbs, and better!

This recipe takes a little planning, as it needs to chill before cutting. It comes together in a snap, however, and is truly yummy—just like the Creamsicles you had as a kid!

These sticky buns can be prepped in the skillet the day before, stored in the refrigerator, and baked in the morning for a decadent weekend breakfast indulgence—although they are so good that sometimes we just make them for lunch and ride the sugar high into the afternoon. Soft raisins make a big difference. If yours are dry you may want to soak them in water at least overnight. Instead of rolling out individual buns, we score the top of the bread for easy cutting and bake it as a whole. That way you can control the portion size and the bread itself cooks more evenly—no more doughy centers. We love that.

I don’t know a man, woman, or child who doesn’t love a fluffy stack of pancakes. You can substitute anything for the pecans and the banana: strawberry and almond, blueberry and orange, honey and ricotta.

Chewy with nuts, coconut, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Using my quick one-bowl method, you can stir up the cookie dough in the same time it takes for the oven to preheat.

These are my favorite “mass-production” cookies. So, when I have little time to bake, these are the cookies I choose.

Use flavorful, tart apples for this cake for the best flavor. Baked on the convection bake mode, it bakes considerably faster than in a conventional oven.

Baking temperature is reduced when baking these gooey rolls, but the baking time remains about the same as in a conventional oven. The advantage of convection? The rolls are moist and delicious, not doughy.

Cinnamon perfumes the air as this loaf bakes. This not-too-sweet wheat bread is a perfect match for aged sharp Cheddar. This dense loaf bakes beautifully in the convection oven at a lower temperature than you’d expect.