Tammy Ljungblad / Kansas City Star / TNSThis recipe for Eggnog Waffles with Cinnamon Whipped Cream requires one tablespoon of bourbon, which means you can add a kick to your waffles without draining the whole bottle.

Morgan Murphy loves bourbon so much that he has found ways to enjoy the barrel-aged spirit at every meal.

At breakfast, the Alabama-based travel writer and food critic dapples his oatmeal with extract made by infusing bourbon with vanilla beans. At lunch he spikes sandwiches with apple-bourbon barbecue sauce, and at dinner he sips Sazeracs and dines on steak topped with bacon, onion and bourbon marmalade.

Murphy doesn’t stop there: “I just love cooking bourbon in a dessert,” he said in a recent phone interview.

Murphy’s book “Southern Living Bourbon & Bacon: The Ultimate Guide to the South’s Favorite Food Groups” (Oxmoor House 2014) contains a dozen recipes for decadent, bourbon-infused desserts that are perfect for the cold nights. Think bourbon-pecan pralines and pie, bourbon-cream cheese brownies and bread pudding drizzled with buttery bourbon sauce.

Bourbon adds complexity to sweets, Murphy says, and the alcohol “puts a kick in your girdle.”

Bourbon is made by aging whiskey in new charred American white oak barrels, which contribute to the spirit’s amber color and smoky flavor. By law, bourbon must be made from at least 51 percent corn and bottled between 80 and 160 proof (that’s 40 and 80 percent alcohol by volume).

Not just a Southern specialty

Bourbon is often associated with the American South and Kentucky, but not all bourbon is made there. Dark Horse Distillery in Lenexa, Kansas, makes small batches of bourbon in a copper pot still. Sip on the maple syrup-colored spirit, and you might notice notes of vanilla, caramel and smoke.

Damian Garcia, Dark Horse Distillery’s director of marketing, says he has heard from customers who use the bourbon in everything from glazes for pork, beef and chicken to savory soups, stews and chili. “For desserts,” Garcia adds, “we’ve seen tarts, cakes, pies, brownies and even doughnuts.”

Dark Horse Distillery’s bourbon has a sweet spiciness that adds kick to a wide variety of kitchen creations. “Our recipe is a combination of corn and rye,” Garcia says, “so you get the natural sweetness in the corn and a robust spice from the rye.”

Flavor profile fit for dessert

Every bourbon has a unique flavor profile, and those flavors shine through in a dessert. When it comes to selecting a spirit for a recipe, Murphy recommends skipping the cheap stuff and selecting an affordably priced bottle that you would enjoy sipping. (Choosing a higher or lower proof bourbon, however, does not affect the result.)

Murphy uses Bulleit bourbon in his pecan tarts. In his book he writes that Bulleit is an “amber beauty, with its notes of spice, rye and cedar.” The spirit’s woodsy characteristic “pulls out the complex flavors of the pecan,” Murphy says. “So pecan pie tastes — this isn’t a word — pecan-ier.”

Bourbon can echo and amplify nutty, caramel or vanilla flavors in a dessert. But it can also contrast those flavors with unexpected hints of leather, tobacco or smoke. Murphy’s Bourbon and Coke Cake, for example, looks like a classic chocolate Bundt cake. But the spirit in the batter and glaze adds an intoxicating aroma and a jolt of vanilla-tinged fire to every sweet bite.

“Bourbon is not a meek flavor,” Murphy says. “It’s a bold flavor that marches across your palate.”

Bold bourbon desserts aren’t exclusive to the South.

At District Pour House & Kitchen in Kansas City, Missouri, executive chef Johnny Magno makes pecan pie out of nuts left over from the bar’s popular brown sugar- and pecan-infused bourbon.

Before baking them into pies, Magno flambés the pecans on the stovetop to burn off excess alcohol, then roasts them in the oven to enhance nuttiness and concentrate the residual bourbon’s flavor. The chef also candies the bourbon-soaked pecans and uses them as a garnish.

At Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge in Kansas City, executive chef Derek Kieffaber adds the restaurant’s namesake drink to cobblers, crisps and caramel sauce.

Kieffaber says bourbon complements fruit that grows on trees, particularly apples, pears and peaches. He likes to cook off most of the alcohol, because its astringent flavor can overwhelm.

Baking bourbon into a cake, tart or pie should safely burn off most of the alcohol. Flambéing works too, but it can be dangerous. “When cooking with alcohol, you need to be mindful if you do anything around a flame,” Kieffaber says. Keep in mind that baking in an oven using a bourbon-spiked marinade or syrup can also be flammable.

Murphy has another tip for anyone who wants to incorporate his favorite drink into recipes. “Always taste a lot of bourbon before you start dessert-making,” he says. “It’s the best way to make cooking a joy.”