Bourbon Pecan Pie

Do you love pecan pie as much as I do? It's the best, isn't it? I have to be honest though... I didn't realize I had a devoted love for pecan pie until last fall. I didn't grow up having pecan pie at Thanksgiving; there were far more important pies to be made on that glorious day where you can stuff your face and not be ashamed. I always knew about pecan pie, but the weird, jelly stuff was a confusing concept to me. Why did it look the way it did? What did it taste like? Why was it jelly?

Here's the answer: BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT GOOD!

There's no need to ask questions. Just accept pecan pie for the delicious, sweet gift from the Food Gods that it is. 

Now that I've developed a love for pecan pie, I've become a pecan-pie-baking-machine. I can't lie, it's something you have to master- especially when you dub yourself a "southern cook". I had a phase for a while where I craved it constantly and I wanted to try it in all forms, shapes and sizes. So I made it- several times over. My family and I finally got sick of pecan pie, so pecan pie and I took ourselves a little break.

Now we're back on full force.

This is no ordinary pecan pie... this is bourbon pecan pie. That means it's laced with that sweet, "can't-find-another-flavor-like-it" whiskey flavor. Don't you think that makes it a little more southern? Me too.

I, of course, turned to one of my favorite food bloggers, Pioneer Woman, for her delicious pecan pie recipe. I've made it several times and it's never failed me. I just happen to like to spice it up a bit....with booze! You've been introduced to the Pioneer Woman right? If you haven't, do yourself a favor and get lost in her website. I know I have several times. The pictures she has with each of her recipes will make your mouth drool and make you crawl  walk to the kitchen and look for all of the ingredients to see if you can make it too at that very second. Her writing is hilarious and she makes you feel like you could be friends in real life. I know my girl Hayley knows what I'm talking about!

Let's get cookin'!

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Recipe Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 pie crust, unbaked (recipe below)

1 c. sugar

3 tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. light corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, melted

3 whole eggs, beaten

2-3 tbsp. bourbon or whiskey (Really, this is optional, but it tastes amazing with it!)

1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Pie Crust:

1/2 c. (1/2 stick) of Crisco shortening

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. water

Let's start off by making the pie crust. We want to get that ready to go before we make the pie filling.

This pie crust has never failed me. It's totally old school, but it's reliably flaky and perfect.

In a mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and the salt. Stir it around so everything get's mixed and evenly distributed. Then cut your stick of shortening in half and place it in the bowl. (Note: If you aren't using the sticks and are just spooning it out of the tub, that's fine too. The sticks are just a lot easier to measure.)

Have I told you about my pastry cutter? This one was my Grandma's. I absolutely love it. You can tell that the wood handle used to be red, but it was either washed or used so much that it's now just wood-colored. You can still see a few streaks of red. It's probably one of my favorite kitchen tools; mostly because it was hers.

Use your pastry cutter (or you can use two knives) and cut the shortening into the flour and salt mixture. When you first get started, the shortening will flat out stick to the pastry cutter. Just slide it back off with your fingers and keep on truckin'!

You should end up with a mealy mixture like this:

When you cut the shortening into the flour and it becomes lots of tiny pieces, this is what makes pie crust flaky. Cool, huh?!

Next you're going to pour in the water and stir until it comes together. It won't come together perfectly, but you're going to knead it in a minute, so don't sweat it.

Dump the dough mixture onto a floured surface and start kneading it all together.  Pat it into a small round shape. Flour a rolling pin and start rolling! You want to make sure it's big enough to fit the pie plate. The dough will end up being between 1/8"-1/4". Don't worry if it's not perfectly round. You can fix that later! Transfer the pie crust to the pie plate and get it centered and fitted. Make sure the crust is fitted, so that every part of the inside of the pie plate is touching pie crust. Does that make sense? Basically, we're optimizing space for pie filling.

Once the crust is fitted, trim the edges so that there's not a lot of spill-over. if there's a spot where the crust is lacking, rip off a part of the crust where there's a lot of extra and press it into the naked spot. Press it in, like that's where it always belonged. No one will know!

There ya go! Okay, now what I do is fold over the slack to make a rim on the pie crust. Then I take a fork and press the fork into the pie crust to make a little bit of a design.

That's it! The pie crust is done! I know it was a long road. Luckily, the rest of the pie is easy breezy. All it consists of is measuring and dumping. Simple!

In a large mixing bowl, dump in the sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Whisk it all together and get ready to get crazy. (Note: When you're measuring the corn syrup, make sure you spray your measuring cup with non-stick spray. This will help the corn syrup slide ride out with minimal stickiness!)

Ready to make this pie a little more interesting? Let's do this.

Drag out your bottle of whiskey. Jack Daniels is my whiskey of choice, but you could use any type of whiskey or bourbon. If you feel the need to make yourself a little cocktail because you had so little whiskey left that you decided that it wasn't worth saving and it was, instead, worth drinking, then so be it. You have my approval. Drinking and baking can be a good thing!

Pour in 2-3 tablespoons of whiskey and stir it into your mixture. I used 3 tablespoons and I could really taste the whiskey. Use however much you want, or leave it out all together. This pie will be delicious no matter what!

Add 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans to the mixture. You could also use pecan halves, but I like using chopped because I feel like you get more pecan in each bite when they're chopped small. That makes sense, right? 

Pour the pie filling into the prepared pie crust. The little pecans will float to the top, so don't worry. I know it looks like a hot mess right now, but just you wait!

Whenever I'm baking a pie, I like to place the pie on a baking sheet that has been covered in foil. You never know what's going to happen in the oven and it's better to be safe than sorry. In this case, it's better to waste a piece of foil then to stand over the sink scrubbing bubbly, burnt caramel type substance off the baking sheet... or even worse- sitting in front of oven scrubbing the mentioned substance off the dirty oven floor.

Take my word for it. Bake the pie (and all future pies) on a baking sheet covered in foil. Trust me on this one.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. We're going to go ahead and cover the pie itself with foil for right now. This creates a little pocket of heat that will help the pie set up without overcooking the pecans or pie crust.

Once the pie has baked for 3o minutes, uncover the pie and bake for an additional 20 minutes. At this point, you should check the pie and see how jiggly it is. If it's still super jiggly, then cover the pie back up with foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Check the pie again and if it's still overly jiggly, bake for another 5 minutes. I probably baked mine for an additional 15 minutes, but my oven is old and raggedy, so it really just depends. 

The pie shouldn't be overly jiggly. A little jiggle in the middle is alright. Just make sure that the pecans look brown and toasty, the crust is lightly brown and the filling is pretty sturdy. That's what we're going for. If the pecans and crust aren't brown enough, then bake it uncovered for a little longer. If the pecans and crust are brown, but there's still some jiggle, then bake it covered for a little longer.

Betcha didn't know someone could use the word "jiggle" so many times in one paragraph!

Once your pie is perfect, take that baby out and stare at her and all her glory.

The filling will look puffed up, but it will de-puff and smooth out. Let the pie come to room temperature before you cut yourself a slice. If you cut into this pie before it's at room temperature, you're going to regret it immediately. You might cry. I've learned this lesson the hard way.

If you really can't contain yourself, throw the pie in the fridge to speed up the "setting up" process. Then you'll be able to have a slice in half the time! 

I know that after you have one bite, you'll be hooked and on the pecan pie train! If you're looking for another outrageous pecan pie recipe, I made these last fall for our Thanksgiving potluck at work. They were the bomb.

Hope y'all enjoy!

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

That's right, folks! I'M BACK! I know I've taken a (very) extended leave of absence from this blog, but I made it a New Year's resolution to start this thing back up and to keep it updated, so I'm going to need everyone to keep me accountable. Okay? Okay, thanks!

I've made so many yummy things in the last few months and I feel guilty not sharing all the recipes! I can't lie, since I finally found a "big girl job" last June, I've been slacking a little bit on cooking dinner at night. I'm just tired when I get home. I know- enough of the whining.

Now wait, don't get me wrong- I still cook dinner a lot... it's just things that aren't as time-consuming or extravagant. I'm more into the quick, tasty meals these days. (Emphasis on the "quick".) Baking on the other hand.... now, I always find time to bake :) Y'all know me better than that! With all the stresses that come along, baking is what calms me down and makes me feel better.

Anyways...

I want to share a very special recipe with y'all. This is my Grandma's chocolate chip cookie recipe. These cookies mean so, so much to me. Not only do they remind me of my sweet Grandma, but these are the cookies I grew up with. Just the smell of them brings back so many memories for me.

Growing up, my Grandma lived a street away from me. I loved this because if I was ever bored at home, I would just walk over to Grandma's and there was so much to do there! I have so many good memories of playing in her backyard, swinging on the swing she put on the big oak tree just for her grandkids, shelling pecans from the pecan tree on the side of the house, eating ice cream out of her special dishes, and having big, family dinners at her house. She was such a great cook and I can still remember standing eye-level at her counter-top, watching her gracefully slice bananas into her big bowl of fruit salad, filled with fresh summer fruit. I remember memorizing the way she was holding the fruit in one hand and her paring knife in the other, and now I catch myself cutting things up that way myself. All of her recipes were so delicious and I love that I share the connection of cooking with her. Even when she was sick, I could talk to her about certain recipes I had been trying and I could ask her questions about how to do a certain step in a recipe and get her advice. I could tell how much she loved that I was so passionate about cooking and baking. I just wish that I had more time to cook with her in the kitchen.

My Grandma was the only grandparent I had growing up, so she was always so special to me. She was always there when I needed her and even though she wasn't one of those Grandma's who was physically affectionate (you know the type), it was extremely obvious how much she loved all of us. She would do anything for anyone in her family and she taught us how family is the most important thing in life. 

This past fall, my Grandma lost her battle with Parkinson's disease. She had been sick for a long time, but nothing prepares you for how it feels to lose someone so close to you. I think what got me through it was knowing that she wasn't in any pain anymore and that she was going to be with Grandpa in heaven. She was going to be happy and healthy.

So, I hope y'all enjoy this recipe. It's, without a doubt, one of my favorite recipes of all time. I promise- you'll never taste a better chocolate cookie! And I hope you taste the love in them when you make them, too :)

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies
This cookie recipe will knock your socks off! It's perfect. If you like your chocolate chip cookies crispy on the outside and wonderfully chewy on the inside, then look no further than this recipe!

1 c. butter-flavored shortening (This is the key ingredient!)
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. flour
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 c. oatmeal (quick-oats)
1 c. chopped nuts (I use pecans, but walnuts would be good, too)

Let's get started! Go ahead and preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While you're at it, get a baking sheet out and line it with parchment paper. Oh, you don't use parchment paper? Well, you should! It's a God-send. Nothing sticks and clean-up is a breeze! It's only a couple bucks. Pick some up at the store next time!

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Butter-flavored shortening? What in the..." No- trust me. This is what makes these cookies so, stinkin' delicious. I like to think that it makes them a little old-fashioned, too!

You can find butter-flavored shortening right next to the regular all-vegetable shortening. Just look for the yellow Crisco instead of the blue shortening! I like to get the sticks of shortening because they're so much easier to measure.

Another great thing about this recipe: no waiting around for butter to soften! I love it. Waiting for butter to soften is in the same category as watching water boil. Booooooooring and sloooooooooooow. It takes foreeeeeeevvvvvveeeeeerrrr.

Okay, I'll stop.

Get your mixer out and dump in 1 cup, or one stick, of butter shortening and add your two sugars. Did you know that brown sugar is what makes cookies chewy? Yup!! So when you see a recipe with a whole cup of brown sugar, you know you're going to get chewy, wonderful goodness.

Mix those three ingredients up until they're all combined. Once they're combined, crack your two eggs and dump them in the bowl. Combine all the ingredients until everything is evenly mixed. The mixture will be very wet and it will drip off the paddle attachment.

You know how a lot of recipes want you to mix together all the dry ingredients and then dump them in the bowl? Well, the way I see it, that means you have to get another bowl dirty and you have to clean another bowl.

Yeah... we're not going to do that.

With the mixer running on low, add the salt and baking soda. Then slowly add the flour, allowing time for each addition of flour to incorporate.

Once the flour is all incorporated, the mixture is going to start getting thick. Stop the mixer, and dump in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

Run the mixer for a few seconds until everything looks more evenly distributed. Then, with the mixer running, start adding the oatmeal slowly. Don't freak out! This cookie dough is thick, crumbly cookie dough. If you're really nervous, just add 2 cups of oatmeal. You can add 1 cup-3 cups, depending on how oatmeal-y you want them to be.

And there it is. Delicious cookie dough. And this dough smells good. It's that butter shortening, I'm tellin' ya! It really makes these cookies amazing!

Like I said, this is a really crumbly dough, so don't get nervous when you put it on the baking sheet and it crumbles up. Just use your fingers to press the dough together. No big deal!

Use your cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven. For the first batch you put in, check them at 9 or 10 minutes and gage the baking time from there. Mine took about 11 minutes. The cookies should be lightly browned and irresistible!

Well, there you have it- the most perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe! Just one the many wonderful memories I have of my Grandma. I hope I'm making her proud and I plan to share many of her amazing recipes in the future!

Pecan Toffee.... It's easier than you think!

Ahhh.... toffee. Don't you love it? I do. I've always loved it. Almond toffee, pecan toffee, plain toffee... I'll take it any way I can get it. I was a Camp Fire Girl (NO... not a Girl Scout) and we sold candy instead of cookies. Camp Fire Girls were ready for anything the world threw at them. We had cute little red vests with patches sewn all over them. I still have mine and I earned so many patches that I ran out of room on the outside of my vest so there are some sewn on the inside. Just sayin'.

I remember when that time of year rolled around when it was time to sell, sell, sell some candy and there was a box of toffee or "almond roca" you could buy and each little toffee log was wrapped in pretty gold paper. They were the only candy option that was individually wrapped...they were special. They seemed so fancy. They weren't just your regular ole' chocolate covered cherries or peanut butter/chocolate combo....no, these were fancy and sophisticated. Or at least they made me feel fancy and sophisticated when I ate them. Those are definitely two words you could use to describe a 7-year-old Camp Fire Girl, right? Thanks for agreeing with me.

If you've never had toffee you are MISSING OUT. Honestly. It's so good. And homemade toffee? Can't beat it.

This recipe is from Southern Living (my Bible) and I've had my eye on it for a while. Last night I was itchin' to get in the kitchen and do something. The job hunt is totally stressing me out and when I get stressed I bake. It helps me clear my mind and let's me focus on something else. So I went back to this recipe and off I went to the kitchen!

Toffee is easier than you think. The only crucial thing you need is a candy thermometer. I bought one last year at school because I attempted another toffee recipe (it wasn't nearly as good as this one) . They're not expensive and it's too hard to try and eyeball when it's at the right temperature. But really, don't try making this recipe if you don't have one. It's important that the toffee is cooked to a certain temperature!

Okay, let's get down to it! 

Pecan Toffee
Recipe adapted from Southern Living 

1 1/2 c. chopped pecans, divided
1 c. sugar (2 sticks)
1 c. butter (Use REAL butter. Don't try using margarine. I've tried before, it's not good!)
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Get out a medium saucepan and toss in your two sticks of butter, sugar, corn syrup and water. Turn it on to medium-high heat and let it all melt together. This will take a few minutes.

 

Here's the deal... I didn't see that I was supposed to add the water in with this until I read the recipe again a few minutes later. So here's the butter, sugar and corn syrup all together! Just make sure you add the water in with this.

While that's melting, chop up your pecans finely. Yeah I know, you can buy a bag of "chopped pecans" and that's what I usually buy because they're so easy, but for this recipe specifically I think that finely chopped pecans are better. I started with halves so I had to do a lot of chopping!

 I don't know why I chopped from right to left? That is not normal.

 Meanwhile, the mixture is melting away...

Are your pecans all chopped? Okay good. 

I decided to get cute with it! Benihana's does this with fried rice!

Now get out a small baking sheet and lightly grease it. Just dab a paper towel into a tub of margarine or shortening and wipe it down good.

 

Now sprinkle about 2/3 of your chopped pecans on the baking sheet. You don't have to do it all the way to the edges (I did) because the toffee mixture doesn't make enough to spread over the whole cookie sheet (I didn't know this). Just a little tip :) OH, also, put the baking sheet on top of two oven pads. The mixture is going to be SO hot and it might not be good for your counter.

The butter/sugar mixture should be bubbling now so stick in your candy thermometer! It should have a little clip on it so it will sit up and attach to your pot.

What we're looking for here is for the mixture to reach the "hard crack stage". This is labeled on the thermometer and it's at 300 degrees. This is easy. Seriously. You don't even have to stir this! Just let it bubble and cook away until that little red line reaches 300 degrees! Simple!

Not quite there. But do you see in the yellow where it says "hard crack"? We need it to get there!

 

See, the color is starting to change and get caramel-y. Almost there!

 .... and we're there! 

Now turn off the heat and pour the toffee mixture over the pecans on your baking sheet (which is laying on top of oven pads) and immediately spread it as far as it will go without leaving holes in between. Act fast because the mixture starts cooling immediately!

Now get out your chocolate chips and just sprinkle them over the whole mixture. The heat from the toffee mixture will melt the chocolate chips and all you have to do is spread those bad boys around.

Is there anything better than melted chocolate?

 

Do what you want with this... I chose to lick it. I considered it a wise choice.

 Now liberally sprinkle the remaining chopped pecans over the whoooooooole thing. 

Mmmm hmmm.

Put the baking sheet in the fridge and let it refrigerate for a few hours until everything is set up and firm. Or if you're impatient, throw it in the freezer for a little while. 

Once it's all set up, break it into pieces and scarf it all down. To break it up, I just got a knife and jabbed it under the toffee to lift up some pieces. Just break them into smaller, bite-size pieces. Once it's all broken, put it in a ziploc bag or airtight container and store it in the fridge.

You'll have a hard time not eating all of this. It's going to call to you from the fridge. The thought of it's chocolatey-nutty-caramely-crunchy yumminess is going to be on your brain constantly and before you know it you'll be making another batch.

Oh, this makes good gifts too! But that's only if you don't eat it all yourself. It happens. I'm not judging you.

Praline Pecan French Toast and the beginning of baseball season!

Ahhhhhh yes. That's right, folks. Baseball season has officially begun and I am ecstatic! Here's another thing you should know about me. I LOVE baseball. But not just "baseball", more specifically, the Texas Rangers.

What's that? You're surprised I'm not just another bandwagon fan of the ever-so-popular New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox because that's who everyone likes? No, no....I'm all about the Rangers. I've grown up a Ranger fan and I'll be one 'til my last day on this earth.

I'll go ahead and be honest. I haven't always been die-hard about this. I can remember going to a lot of games when I was younger and I can remember going to the new ballpark after it was built a while back, but it's not like I knew what was going on back then. I was more focused on girly things like make-up, shoes and N'Sync. My love for this team and for baseball was reaffirmed in college. I guess I was too busy to pay attention before then.

My first year in an apartment was when I really fell back in love with baseball. My roommate and I (Hi Val!) would watch all the games and do our homework in the living room. It was so nice because you could listen while studying and then look up and watch when big things were happening. One of the best things about baseball is that it is relaxing. You can sit back and enjoy the game, but it has it's exciting parts too that keep you on the edge of your seat. There's nothing more intense than the bases being loaded and your team is one infield hit away from scoring and taking the lead. Or when a homerun (or even better, a grand slam!) comes out of nowhere and the crowd goes wild.

I've completely kept up with the Rangers since then and have only become more devoted to them. I think last season I missed less than 5 games. No, I didn't go to them all, but I always watched them on tv. Daddy and I formed a habit of watching them every night. 

Two years ago when they missed the wildcard by a hair I was crushed. The next year when Salty hit that walk-off single to win the game on Opening Day I knew that season was going to be special. I had so much faith in them and told everyone that they were going all the way that year. My mom and dad, who have watched the Rangers since the 70s, reminded me that this is a team that has never gotten past the first round of the playoffs, let alone gone to the World Series. I told them this year was different.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but the Rangers went to the World Series last year :) It was AMAZING! I made sure I let everyone know that I called it and knew they could do it. It was so cool to follow the whole season and see it all pay off in the end. I was so happy for the players because it is such a great accomplishment, especially for a team it's not expected from.

Daddy and I went to Game 6 of the ALCS against the Yankees last year, which was when the Rangers won the chance to go to the World Series...

Best. Day. Of. My. Life!

Seriously.

You can't really see it, but there was confetti everywhere!

 

The team putting on their championship shirts and celebrating!

The banner going up!

 

Daddy and I were so excited! (As you can see on his face...) He's doing the claw!

I will never forget the buzz in that stadium once they sealed the deal! The sweetest part was that the last strikeout was against Alex Rodriguez (oh my, I cannot STAND him). He just watched it go by and it was a done deal! The crowd roared and it was incredible. It was really one of the best days of my life!

Okay, anyways. I'll get to the food now, but I just wanted to share my feelings for the Rangers. I love them. Bottom line. :) (In fact, I'm watching them right now!)

Alright, y'all! Last Sunday I made this french toast and it was phenomenal. I had this recipe written down in my little homemade cookbook and it did not disappoint. It was perfect because I had an extra loaf of french bread lying around after I made this olive cheese bread. (To. Die. For. Go make it now. It's one of the best things I've ever had in my life.)

This french toast is actually really easy, you just have to kind of plan in advance. It needs to chill in the fridge for 8 hours, so I made it before I went to bed and threw it in the oven when I got up. It is incredibly, incredibly good! It will quickly become one of your favorites.

Praline Pecan French Toast

Recipe from Southern Living 

1 French bread loaf

1 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/3 c. butter or margarine, melted (I used margarine and was still heavenly)

2 tbsp. maple syrup (give or take...uhh 1/4 cup? :) I added more, let's just say that.)

3/4 c. chopped pecans

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 c. 2% reduced fat milk

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cut the french bread loaf into 10 (1-inch thick) slices. You don't need the butts. Slap some jelly on them and consider them a snack for the chef!

Stir together the brown sugar, melted butter/margarine, and maple syrup. Okay, we only had pancake syrup. Yes, I know that's not the same thing, but I wasn't about to run on over to Kroger at midnight to get some stinkin' real maple syrup. Aunt Jemima will have to do!

Okay, technically 1/3 cup of butter (or margarine) is 5 1/3 tablespoons. Yeah... a third of a table spoon. Just do your best. I guessed and sliced it somewhere between 5 and 6 tablespoons. Let's be real. An extra little bit of butter isn't going to hurt.

Feel free to add as much "maple syrup" as you like. I added a couple extra squirts into this mixture. Can't hurt, right?

You need to lightly grease a 13"x9" baking dish. I used PAM Baking spray. I don't know why, but this stuff smells so good. It smells like warm, buttery cake. Do you think PAM makes candles or room scents?  I'll look into it.

Pour in the brown sugar/butter/maple syrup mixture into this dish so it covers the bottom. Then feel free to squirt more maple syrup in the bottom and make a pretty design.

Sprinkle the pecans all over this mixture so there's an even layer.

Does anyone have a spoon?

Now, in a separate bowl, crack the eggs in and give them a whisk so they're all combined. Add the milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and stir it all together.

This is the massive bottle of vanilla extract I got in Mexico last summer. It was only $8 and it's almost gone! I'll be so sad when I have to go back to using McCormick's.

Once that's all combined, arrange the bread slices in the pan so they look like this.

Then dump the egg mixture all over the bread.

I know it doesn't look appetizing right now, but trust me, the bread is going to soak up all that delicious flavor overnight and it will blow your mind tomorrow.

Cover the pan up with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight (or 8 hours). 

When you get up, the bread will have soaked all that goodness up and the pan will look so different from when you saw it last.

 The bread is all saturated and has soaked up all the flavor!

Remove the plastic wrap and put the french toast in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 35-37 minutes, or until the bread looks brown and golden. Serve while it's warm.

 Yum, yum, yum!

Once I cut myself a piece, I flipped it over so that pecan/brown sugar yumminess would be on top. Great decision!

I think you'll win over anyone with this recipe. Shoot, I'd even take this as a dessert, even though I think it's technically a breakfast dish. 

Hope y'all enjoy! The Rangers game just ended and they won 7-3 :) Now they're 6-0! Off to a good start.... I smell another trip to the World Series!