Bourbon Brown Sugar Carrots (a Friendsgiving Recipe!)

I absolutely LOVE the idea of Friendsgiving.  Since I have such a large and close family, holidays have always meant celebrating with them.  This is, of course, super awesome- but how about all the friends that you want to celebrate with too?  Whether you’re hosting a bunch of friends on the holiday itself or picking an extra night to stuff yourself with pumpkin pie, Friendsgiving has emerged as a perfect celebration: all your favorite friends, a ton of great food created potluck style and a killer party.

Since I’m often tasked with bringing the vegetables to these kind of shindigs, I decided to share one of my favorite recipes for Bourbon Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots.  You know what’s glamorous?  CARROTS.   Especially carrots swimming in a bath of sweet bourbon-y syrup.  It’s the perfect recipe for sharing and impressing and feeling smug that you contributed to the health of the group.  You can just go ahead and call yourself a beta-carotene fairy. 

Before I get to the carrots, let me tell you about the sweetest soiree I hit up last week at Brit + Co.  The event was hosted by Gather, a new initiative from Clorox to give us all excuses to get together.  Since Gather is also really into Friendsgiving, the night was all about tips and tricks for a great event.

My top picks for the food and decor rounds?  Sweet potato fries dusted with Hidden Valley Ranch and this perfectly Fall-colored bouquet.

Also loved these carafes filled with bright fruit and Brita filtered water- perfect for another tip from Gather’s Friendsgiving list: STAY HYDRATED.  

Since it was a Brit + Co event there were obviously plenty of easy crafts.  I loved these place cards made with folded cardstock, ribbon and a tube of Burt’s Bees– cute, right? That pretty rose gold tape snazzed up some Glad containers, which are right at home for Friendsgiving leftovers.  Have you seen these Glad to-go containers with a separate little container for salad dressing?  Perfect for mashed potatoes and gravy!!

 (Psst- I snagged a copy of the brilliant takeaway filled with all Gather’s Friendsgiving tips!)

Ok.  Back to the carrots.

My carrots had luscious tops and were begging for a closeup.  

You need about one and a half pounds of carrots for this recipe, so don’t worry if your farmer’s market or grocery store isn’t in the habit of carrying model carrots.  Any carrot will do.

Scrub your carrots down well, but no need to peel them.  Chop the whole lot into 1/4 inch rounds.

As I started to go orange blind from so many carrots, I noticed that I had a whole bag of clementines sitting on the counter.  Honestly, a WHOLE BAG.  The size of a large raccoon.  (Why are those bags so LARGE, Trader Joe’s?)  Still, carrots and bourbon AND clementines?  Don’t mind if I do.

Every little carrot gets smothered in that sweet glaze- see the little caramelized brown bits?  That’s a very, very good thing.

Also: cook these and your kitchen will smell like heaven.  

Thank you to Brit + Co and Gather for sponsoring this post!