As promised, today’s Country Chef brings some wonderful celebratory desserts that are perfect for the season’s holiday parties, Hannu-kah or the Christ-mas table. We’ll begin with our pictured delight, Southern Chocolate Pecan Pie. Enjoy.

Holiday Pecan Pie

1 package (4 ounces) German’s Sweet Chocolate

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon instant coffee (not flavored)

½ cup cane sugar

1 cup maple syrup (only)

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (purchased or your own)

Coffee topping (below)

Set oven to 375. Have pie shell at hand. Beat eggs gently together in medium bowl; set aside. Melt chocolate with butter in saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Stir in coffee powder, remove from heat. In another saucepan, combine sugar and syrup. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and boil gently for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add chocolate mixture, combining well. Slowly pour overeggs, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in vanilla and pecans and pour into pie shell. Bake at 375 45 to 50 minutes or until filling is completely puffed across top. Cool, Garnish with piped-on coffee flavored topping and pecan halves (if desired).

Coffee Topping:

Combine 1 teaspoon full blend (unflavored) instant coffee, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon vanilla and ½ cup heavy cream in small bowl. Beat just until stiff peaks form. Pipe in lattice design as shown, (or dollop as desired) over top of cooled pie.

Eggnog Pie

9-inch pie crust

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1½ cups eggnog

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon rum extract

½ pint whipping cream

Have pie crust ready. Graham cracker crust, whether homemade or purchased is nice for this pie.

In small saucepan, evenly sprinkle gelatin over ½ cup of the eggnog. Let stand a minute or so to soften gelatin. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, set aside.

In large mixer bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter and cream cheese. Beat on low speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add nutmeg, rum extract, gelatin mixture and remaining eggnog. Beat on high speed until smooth. Refrigerate 15 minutes or until mixture mounds slightly when stirred; pour into crust. Store in refrigerator till an hour or two before serving. Whip cream into stiff peaks and top pie as desired: fully covered, dolloped, or wreathed around the outer edge of the pie. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Chill till serving time.

Old-Fashioned Applesauce

Cake W/Caramel Sauce

1 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon EACH ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 cup applesauce

½ cup finely chopped dates (or raisins)

1 cup finely ground coconut

1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Optional – 1 cup chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. In a large bowl cream butter with sugars until light. Add eggs, mix well. Set aside. In a small bowl combine flour, spices, salt and soda. Add to sugar mixture, stirring to mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients, incorporating well. Pour into prepared tube pan and bake 1½ hours until tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake till it is able to easily come out of the pan.

* Traditionally, chocolate chips were not used in this cake, but nowadays some people like them. It’s up to you.

Shortly before cake is ready to come out of the oven, prepare the caramel sauce.

Caramel Glaze

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup granulated cane sugar

4 tablespoons flour

1½ cups cold water

1 stick butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Whole walnut or pecans halves for decoration

Combine sugars, flour, cold water and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook until sauce is clear and thick, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wire whisk. Stir in vanilla and remove pan from the stove. When cake is removed from pan and still warm, place on serving plate. Stir warm glaze and pour it over cake, covering top completely and allowing it to drizzle lavishly over the sides. Decorate top with walnut/pecan halves if you wish.

For the cook who needs to cut corners, here’s the easiest dessert of all. First, buy a ready-made angel-food cake at your favorite bakery. At serving time, bring it to the table already cut into slices, to be served on individual plates and topped with the following:

Caramelized Pears

(Makes 3 cups)

3 cups peeled, seeded ripe pears, chopped

1 can dark red sweet cherries, drained (rinsed if in syrup)

1 cup firm packed light brown sugar

½ cup white wine

½ teaspoon vanilla

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine pears, brown sugar, wine and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 25 minutes. When nearly thick, stir in cherries to heat through. Serve warm in a pretty dish with a ladle for all to spoon on their own cake slice as desired. Have a bowl of whipped cream at hand for dolloping.

Note: You can make this without the cherries, or perhaps add chopped walnuts to the mix if you wish.

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com or by phone at 208-265-4688.