Fifty Shades of Pecan Pie: Baby Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pies

I don't believe in guilty pleasures, I believe you should be able to like what you like ~ Dave Grohl

Bookshops are selling out of it.  Comedians are lampooning it.  It even made it on to our national news.

Everyone seems to be talking about Fifty Shades of Grey.

I'm a wee bit hesitant to wade into the Fifty Shades frenzy but it's such a cultural phenomenon that it's pretty hard to ignore.  AND I'm dying to know what you lovely readers think...

Now I'm no book snob, I mean, what's not to love about fun trashy quick reads, right ladies?  I'll happily own up to being one of the legions of Twilight, Sookie Stackhouse, and Jamie Fraser fans but with Fifty Shades....me not so likey.  I don't even know if I enjoyed reading the books.  Not because I was put off by the smexy factor (although some of it was cringe) but it was more that books just weren't that great a read.  They weren't terribly romantic at all: Christian was a bully, Ana, a push-over, there wasn't a heck of a lot of plot, and the whole thing just dragged ooooooon.    Anyhoo, have you dipped into the Fifty Shades books? What did you think? Am I being too harsh?

On a semi related note, this recipe for Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tarts is so adaptable, I like to think of it as Fifty Shades of Pecan Pie:  dark, sinful, and easy to whip up.

If at first you don't succeed: Guilt-free Oreo Chocolate Mousse Tart

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm ~ Winston Churchill

Recently my in-laws decided to go vegan.

Whereas I am very happily non-vegan.

I unabashedly love all things creamy and cheesy and can't help but be skeptical of vegan recipes that say they are just as good as the full cream versions.  Cream, cream cheese and butter, makes all things luscious and delicious.  I always find myself poo-pooing vegan recipes, I mean how could a soy/nut alternative be anywhere near as good?  And how reliable are the tastebuds of someone used to vegan fare when comparing to decadently delicious dairy equivalents?

But to accommodate my in-laws' new diet, I've ventured into the weird and wacky world of vegan dessert making.  Unfortunately, I didn't hit the ground running.  In fact, it was a big fat vegan FAIL.  I made a vegan lemon cheesecake that stubbornly wouldn't set and tasted like a lemony cashew nut milkshake.  Not quite the "tastes just like cream cheese" decadent dessert the recipe promised.

{lemon cheesecake FAIL}

But instead of being put off, it made me more determined to try out more recipes to get that elusive vegan victory.

And sweet sweet victory came in the form of this Guilt-free Oreo Chocolate Mousse Tart - a chocolate cream pie with a secret ingredient.