Why does adding liquor of some kind to some baked dishes make them taste unique, if the liquor just cooks away?

The alcohol cooks away but not the flavor of the liquor.

Usually the alcohol will cook or bake away. In this case, the mixture with the added liquor is frozen and then dipped in hot chocolate. There is no chance for it to cook off in this recipe, so yes, you could get a buzz off of these.

Oh!

@janbb is correct. Plus – if you save half the bottle to drink with the meal… even better!

Different flavor compounds are unlocked by different items.

Some are oil soluble, some are water soluble and others are soluble only in alcohol.

Therefore, a recipe containing oil and alcohol in addition to water will have a richer flavor because there are more flavor compounds released.

This is why even recipes using a basically tasteless alcohol have a much better flavor than the exact same recipe using no alcohol at all.

This is the rationale behind Penne a la Vodka. The Vodka doesn’t provide any taste on it’s own, but releases flavor compounds in the other ingredients which are only soluble in alcohol.

And as previously pointed out, some recipes using strongly flavored forms of alcohol also add their own unique taste.

But, as any vigilant alcoholic will tell you, there is no way to cook off ALL the alcohol in any recipe. The percentage left depends mostly upon cooking time and method.

A flambé, for example, will burn off a lot of alcohol rapidly (but it’s still not 100%) and a long simmering braise will burn off a lot because it cooks for hours. But again, not 100%.

I recently made an Apple Bourbon cake, recipe from NY Times. (That’s why I posted on FB that I have bourbon in my cupboard). Even though the cake was baked thoroughly, you could definitely taste the bourbon.

I read recently (on Epicurious maybe), that liquor makes baked goods taste better. I didn’t read the article, but I think I posted it on my FB timeline. It was from a few weeks ago.

I have the bourbon in the cupboard and the Pecan Pie truffles look like something to do with it, since I’m not likely to be drinking it any time soon.

I keep brandy in the cupboard and sometimes I’ll put it in something like banana bread. Just kicks it up a notch, flavorwise.

Great question!

^^^ I just assumed you had bourbon in your cupboard cuz you’re a lush, @jca! ;)

Mm. I wonder how Natty Lite would taste in my banana bread. :D

@Dutchess_III: If I was a lush, the bourbon would not be lasting long in my cupboard!

unfermented sugar and tannins left over after cooking the alcohol away. Pure ethanol by itself isn’t very tasty.

If the booze don’t cook all of the way away, is giving minors 2nd hand booze legal?

@Dutchess_III Mr. Boh sells a light beer? I’ve been living in ignorance!

The filling recipe was uncooked, so the alcohol content of the ingredients was unchecked.
The ‘shell’ would prevent any alcohol from evaporating.

Hilarious that an underage kid could eat enough to get drunk!

Can an overage kid eat enough to get drunk @ibstubro? Helluva a way for an alcoholic to hide their addiction!

@jca I know you aren’t a lush! I was just teasing you. ;)

Let’s see.
¼ cup bourbon divided into 24 portions, less evaporation.
¼ cup = 2 oz.
A shot is one ounce.
So eating 12 bonbons an hour is about the same as nursing one drink.

My sister claimed she did this with rum balls when she was a teenager. I suspect she had been into Aunty’s rum as well, but in any case she puked and never ate another rum ball in her life.
I know that sounds incredible at this point, but is actually true.