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Beer: A Special Treat Ingredient in Sweet Recipes

Fall Recipes For Sweet Treats Spiced with Beer

Recipes below
When planning for fall festivities, look no further than beer to add a special spice to any treat. Beer distributors make nearly 13,000 labels of beer available to consumers across the country.  Those labels include favorite autumnal flavors like pumpkin, ginger and nuts. These beers are delicious served with traditional fall dishes like barbeque and meat stews, as well as desserts such as apple and pumpkin pie and even your Thanksgiving turkey.

Ginger Beer Halloween Cookies use Pumpkin Ale Beer or a Ginger-Brewed Wheat Beer as the accent flavor in the jack o’ lantern-shaped cookies. Start by boiling a bottle of beer together with honey and chopped crystallized ginger pieces to make a thick syrup. Combine other cookie ingredients with the syrup, add a few drops of bright orange food coloring, and chill the dough until firm. Roll out teaspoon-size balls of dough into ball shapes, flatten and add a piece of crystallized ginger in the top of the balls to make a pumpkin stem. Bake the cookies, cool, and use tube icing to decorate with a jack o’ lantern face. These cookies are a perfect buffet item for a Halloween party; save the recipe and make plain pumpkins without the faces for other autumn occasions.

For a beautiful fall dessert, serve Pineapple Upside-Down Beer Spice Cake. The same Pumpkin Ale Beer, or a favorite Brown Ale, flavors this warm, rich cake. Chop pieces of fresh pineapple into two-inch chunks; cook in brown sugar and the beer to caramelize. Add mixed dry ingredients to the skillet containing the pineapple pieces and bake in preheated oven. When done, turn the upside-down cake over to a serving platter.

The National Beer Wholesalers Association of Alexandria, Virginia,  developed these two new fall party recipes that are perfect for adult Halloween gatherings, football tailgate parties, or other special events.
 

RECIPES
GINGER BEER HALLOWEEN COOKIES
Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients
• 1 bottle (12 oz) Pumpkin Ale Beer or Ginger-Brewed Wheat Beer
• 3 TBls honey
• 4 slices crystallized ginger, finely chopped
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 stick margarine, softened
• 1¾ cups confectioners sugar
• 1 egg
• 1½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour

For decorating:
• 48 1-inch slices crystallized ginger, black or brown tube icing or gel
• Orange food coloring


Directions
In large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine beer, honey and chopped ginger pieces. Bring mixture to a boil; boil 10 – 12 minutes, or until mixture is reduced to a thick syrup, about 1/3 cup. Pour syrup into small bowl and cool completely.

In large bowl, beat together butter and margarine until creamy. Beat in confectioners sugar, egg, ground ginger, vanilla, lemon zest and baking soda. Beat in beer mixture. With mixer on low, beat in flour until well-blended. With orange food coloring, tint batter to pastel or bright orange color. Chill dough in refrigerator for at least two hours, or up to three days, covered, before baking.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out heaping teaspoon of dough and roll into ball; place balls three inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten balls slightly and insert ginger stem at top of each ball, so that it is parallel to cookie sheet. Place in oven and bake 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven, cool slightly and remove to wire rack to cool completely and to decorate.

Using black or brown icing or gel, pipe jack o’ lantern face on each cookie.

Nutrition Information, Per Serving:
90 calories; 4 g fat; 1.5 g saturated fat; 12 g carbohydrate; 6 g sugar
 

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN BEER SPICE CAKE
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
• ½ fresh ripe pineapple
• 4 TBLS butter
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 bottle (12 oz) Brown Ale or Pumpkin Ale Beer
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1½ tsps vanilla


Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice pineapple to two-inch size chunks.

In a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet, melt butter. Crumble in brown sugar and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat, until sugar is dissolved. Add pineapple pieces and 1 cup beer; raise heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Boil 10 to 12 minutes, turning pineapple pieces occasionally, until beer has cooked down into bubbling caramel that coats the pineapple and the bottom of the skillet. Remove from heat.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt until well-blended. Add remaining ½ cup beer, cream, pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla; whisk until batter is smooth. Pour over pineapple mixture in skillet to cover.

Place skillet in oven and bake 38 – 40 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in skillet on wire rack 15 minutes. Place an inverted serving plate on top of cake and, using oven mitts, invert the skillet to release cake and caramel onto plate.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition Information, Per Serving:
360 calories; 13 g fat; 7 g saturated fat; 56 g carbohydrate; 36 g sugar
 

Founded in 1938, the National Beer Wholesalers Association advocates before government and the public on behalf of more than 2,750 licensed independent beer distributors with operations servicing every congressional district and state across the country. Beer distributors are committed to ensuring that the products they provide are consumed legally, moderately and responsibly.
For more information about beer distributors, please visit www.nbwa.org