Hooray holiday weekend! I have two really easy and fun recipes for the long weekend.

This first one almost didn’t make it to the blog, as I feel like chess bars might be in the same category as Rice Krispie treats (that is to say, a little too “no duh, Hannah”).

But they are so good and SO easy, they deserved a little blog time.

I have a couple of tricks for serving chess bars.

First, you want to slice them as neatly as possible, as they tend to crumb up and get all gooey on you — kind of like brownies. So I wipe off my knife with a damp paper towel after each cut, and I also reun my knife through the cuts before pulling the chess bars apart. (This isn’t really a trick. Everyone knows how to do this. I guess I’m just giving fair warning to those who have never made chess bars before.) They’re still not perfect — which, in my opinion, is fine — but at least they don’t look like a monkey made them.

My other trick is to cut the bars very, very small. People look at a large chess bar and say, “I really shouldn’t.” But they look at a tiny chess bar and say, “Well, okay!” And then they eat 15 more. Suckers.

My other recipe is for a festive little libation that was served to us and our guests at the Woodford Reserve Distillery three years ago. It was the day before our wedding, and our dear family friends, Alyson & David Codell and Rusty Cheuvront, hosted a tour of the distillery followed by a luncheon.

Our California friends became dedicated bourbon drinkers the moment this bourbon peach smash hit their lips. (“Once it hits your lips, it’s so good!”) This is my re-creation of it, and I hope you love it as much as we all did.

CHESS BARS (pdf)
Adapted from a recipe on Cooks.com

• 1 box butter cake mix
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, divided
• 1 box powdered sugar
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened

In a mixing bowl, beat together cake mix, butter, vanilla, and 1 egg until thoroughly blended. Spread into a greased 9×13 pan, using your fingers to press the dough evenly into the pan.

In another bowl, beat together 3 eggs, sugar, and cream cheese until smooth. Spread over the first layer. Bake at 350 until the edges pull away from the pan and the top turns golden. Mine took about 50 minutes.

BOURBON PEACH SMASH (pdf)

• Crushed or pellet ice – enough to fill your glass to the top
• 1 oz bourbon
• 2 oz peach nectar
• 1 oz club soda
• Mint sprig for garnish

Fill a glass (a julep cup if you have one – mine wasn’t polished so I went with one of Hubba Bubba’s monogrammed double old-fashioneds) to the top with ice. Pour in bourbon, then peach nectar, and top off with club soda. You can adjust these proportions to suit you, depending on how much of a lush you are. 😉 Garnish with mint and serve with a straw.

If you’re a big fan of mint, you could also muddle some and include that in the drink. Personally, the aroma of it (in the garnish) is enough for me.

Have a wonderful weekend!