Soak Dried Fruit In Bourbon For A Subtle Way To Booze-Up Baked Goods

While splashing booze directly into recipes can help create textured maturity in your favorite baked goods, there's a softer, more subtle way to invite a bit of punch to your cherished treats. Soaking pieces of fruit in bourbon may take a bit of planning, but a juicy burst of alcohol-infused sweetness can elevate basic recipes and make you look like a culinary star at your next dinner party. 

When soaking dried fruit in alcohol, allow at least 20 minutes for the pieces to rehydrate and turn into tempting, plump morsels of boozy fruit. Once you have the soaked fruit at the ready, you can easily sprinkle pieces into the batter to make pomegranate muffins or fruit-enhanced bourbon butter cake. The result is a gentle flavor that won't pack as much of a wallop as a straight-up pour of alcohol. Boozy cubes of pineapple and cherries can be folded into bread loaves and pies, and you may soon find yourself sneaking these alcoholic bites of fruit into your go-to morning pancakes. 

Though raisins and cranberries can be an easy standard, consider adding figs, apricots, prunes, and dried peaches to boozy baths of bourbon. Depending on the tasting notes of the bourbon you use to infuse the fruit, you can also include cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, or vanilla beans to build flavor. Fresh fruit can be soaked in bourbon as well, but you'll want to adjust recipe ingredients and cooking times accordingly to account for the added moisture these pieces provide. 

Get creative and use candied orange and lemon peels, dates, and dried mangoes. Chop up larger slices of fruit to achieve an even texture among the pieces. The longer you let dried fruit steep, the more of a boozy flavor each piece will deliver. Just be sure that the boozy fruit spa is stored in a closed container and kept in a cool place. The rich flavor these alcohol-infused pieces will bring to your dishes will have you planning to add bourbon-soaked fruit to crepes, tarts, and even fluffy dinner biscuits. Just be sure to set these goodies apart from the rest of the meal so that the younger eaters at your table aren't tempted to start snacking.