Sugared Cranberries

You might be wondering what you would use sugared cranberries for.  Well, snacking for one thing.  They are delicious.  You may or may not know that cranberries are tart when eaten fresh by themselves.  They aren't very many people's snack.  Plus, they are hard to find during the rest of the year when it's not Thanksgiving time. But sugared, they are devine.  You still get the tart bite and then the sugar coats your tongue with sweetness and you go back for more.

As it turns out, this year I found a recipe for a cheesecake that needed some sugared cranberries on top for decoration and for deliciousness.  So, I had these for two purposes and I've still got some left that I'm snacking on.  I love them.  Now I wish fresh cranberries were available all year.

Sugared Cranberries
Recipe from Damn Delicious

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar (divided)
• 1 (12 oz) bag fresh cranberries

Cooking Directions

1. Place 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 a cup of water in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
2. Pour in the bag of cranberries and stir around to cover.
3. Place the cranberries on cooling racks with wax paper underneath and let dry for at least an hour.
4. Use the other 1 1/2 cups of sugar to coat the cranberries in. Set aside to dry for another hour.

White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge

Another item I made on baking day with my friend Melissa this past weekend.  This one was one of my favorites (oh who am I kidding, I loved them all).  I've never been known to make great fudge.  I've tried often but I seem to always get it wrong.  This recipe was a great one, however.

I loved the combination of white chocolate and the cranberries.  I got the less sugar cranberries and I'm glad I did.  It was a great contrast between the tart cranberries and the sweet chocolate.

I'm also in love with the colors. The pure white with big red splashes of color is just so Christmas-y.

I am thrilled with how this recipe turned out.  So festive and different for a change in my usual dessert line-up.  I hope you'll give this one a try this year.

White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge

Recipe from Mom On Timeout

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream (not light)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (5 oz) bag dried cranberries

Cooking Directions

1. Line a 9x13 inch pan with tin foil and then scary with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, sour cream, butter and salt.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently.
4. Continue cooking until mixture reaches 238 degrees.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips, stir until melted.
6. Add the marshmallow cream and the vanilla extract and stir until smooth.
7. Stir in the dried cranberries.
8. Pour into the prepared dish and let sit until it has reached room temperature.
9. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours before cutting.
10. Store in an airtight container.

Dinner Club - Theme: Fall Foods

Big thank you to TiNeill for hosting our October Dinner Club.  I missed attending our September Dinner Club because I was sick so I'll thank Lisa for hosting that one as well.  I have no post for September however.  October dinner club was just a small group of us compared to some of the previous get-togethers because October is always super busy for everyone.  I loved the theme "Fall Foods".  We were instructed to either bring foods that had the Fall theme such as pumpkin, cranberry, apple and so on, or Halloween scary stuff.   Since TiNeill was this months host she made a delicious White Chicken Chili that you see above.  She also made a yummy Pumpkin Praline dessert that you see below.

Arriving at TiNeill's house was as it always is, which means her house is spotless and festive.  I really don't know how she manages to keep her house looking so good with a husband, two kids and a dog.  I aspire to be like that one day. Today is not that day though.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
• 2 cans white beans
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 pkg ranch dressing mix, powder
• 1 cup sour cream (I used light)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Cooking Directions

1. Drain and rinse beans thoroughly and toss them in the crockpot. Add everything else except the sour cream and whipping cream. Stir a little bit and cook on low for 7-10 hours.
2. Shred the chicken a little bit with two forks (this should be super easy - the chicken will be falling apart by this point). Stir in the sour cream and then the cream. Let sit for another 15 minutes or so to warm through. Serve.

Pecan Pumpkin Dessert

Ingredients

• 2 cans (15 oz) each solid pack pumpkin
• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pkg (18 1/4 oz) yellow cake mix
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 carton (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Cooking Directions

1. Line a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan with waxed paper and coat the paper with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, milk and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with cake mix and drizzle with butter. Sprinkle with pecans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Invert onto a large serving platter; carefully remove waxed paper. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Frost dessert. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 16 servings.

Melissa Y brought some delicious Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars.  Seriously a must try if you're a cheesecake lover.  This one was found off of Pinterest. 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling

• 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp sugar, divided
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Apples

• 3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caramel topping

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.
4. In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
5. For the streusel topping:
6. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.
7. Sprinkle Streusel topping over apples. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy! Makes 16 servings.

Lisa F was in attendance as well and she brought Macaroni and Cheese and Apple Cider.  I didn't photograph the Macaroni and Cheese because the recipe is top secret and I couldn't post it anyway.  She could have told me but then she would have had to kill me (name that movie). I just wanted to tell Lisa that it was cooked perfectly. ;)

I bought this cranberry salad and thought it was very good.  It reminded me of a salad that both TiNeill and I used to have growing up that was green and had crushed pineapple and mini marshmallows too.  Can't remember what it was called but man it was good.  I really liked this salad and in many of the reviews that I read for it people were using this to replace the regular cranberry sauce they usually served with Thanksgiving dinner.  Not a bad idea!  

Fresh Cranberry Salad

modified slightly from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 pound bag cranberries
• 2 cups sugar (I used slightly less)
• 8 ounces miniature marshmallows
• 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple with juice
• 1 1/2 cups red grapes, halved
• 1 cup whipped cream, unsweetened

Cooking Directions

1. The day before the dish is needed - place the fresh cranberries in a food processor or a blender and coarsely chop. pour in the granulated sugar and put in an airtight container overnight.
2. In a large bowl about 30 minutes before you plan to serve it place the chopped cranberry and sugar mixture and mix in the pineapple, marshmallows and red grape halves.
3. Right before you are ready to serve, fold in the unsweetened whipped cream.

Simple Cranberry Sauce

My husband is one of those people who loves that canned jelly style cranberry sauce.  In fact he requested it for Thanksgiving and like the dutiful wife I simply said "no".  Don't get me wrong, I eat it, I will eat it, I have eaten it.  Here's the thing.  Why on earth would I make a completely homemade Thanksgiving dinner and then buy canned cranberry sauce?

OK, so now that I've politely told my husband he can't have his canned cranberry sauce I was nice enough to include him in the picking out of the perfect recipe.  He wanted simple. Check.  He didn't want any chunks of other fruits other than cranberry. Check.  He didn't want any strange spices. Check. 

Here's how you make it.  It's very complicated so pay close attention.

Dump 1 Cup of orange juice in a sauce pan with 1/2 Cup of sugar. Cook until the sugar has dissolved.

Add one bag of fresh or frozen cranberries.

Cook over medium low heat for about 15 minutes until the cranberries have popped and the liquid begins to thicken.  Turn the heat off and add up to another 1/2 Cup of sugar.  Start with just a little (or non at all) and keep adding until you reach your level of desired sweetness.

Let cool in the sauce pan.  The sauce will thicken as it cools. You can either serve while warm or refrigerate.

I'm really happy with this recipe.  You can taste the slight orange background but it's very mild.  Perfect amount of sweetness/tartness.  Just delish. 

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 C orange juice
1/2 C sugar
1 bag cranberries - fresh or frozen

Heat the orange juice and 1/2 Cup sugar over medium low until the sugar has dissolved.  Add a whole bag of cranberries and cook until all the cranberries have popped.  About 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add up to another 1/2 Cup of sugar until you've reached your desired sweetness level.  Serve warm or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Cranberry Obsession Snow Cake

Sorry I haven't posted in a little while.  My mom was visiting from Oregon.  We made stuff.  A lot of stuff.  Here's one of what we made.

This was by far the most steps I've gone though to make a cake.  Here's the low down.  It is a spectacle.  It's really a show piece.  Fun to have tried, but I don't think I would make it again.  Don't get me wrong, there are aspects of the cake I might repeat.  The cake itself was very dense, and had a wonderful vanilla flavor.  The cranberry middle was delish.  The white chocolate curls on top, to die for.  The frosting....wasn't what I expected.  It was called a buttercream but it was unlike any buttercream I've made in the past.  There was no confectioners sugar involved.  Regular sugar yes.  I took a ton of pictures so keep reading. The frosting was very mellow, had the texture of whipped cream and tastes like vanilla with a slight hint of butter.  Just wasn't what I'm used to with buttercream.

We made this cake over a two day process.  We made the cakes one evening and let them cool over night.

The unusual steps for this batter were when you're about to add the flour, it says to add the flour in 5 batches, and after each addition you add 1/4 Cup of water.  Start with flour, and end with flour. 

I just covered these and let them cool overnight in their cake pans.

The next morning we made the cranberry filling.  Start with 3 Cups of cranberries (I used frozen - not thawed) add the sugar and preserves and 1/4 Cup water.  Heat over high heat until the cranberries begin to pop.

This is after the cranberries have started popping.

Now add in 3/4 C. of whole cranberries and then let cool.

Now, for the strange buttercream frosting. :)  Start by putting 1 inch of water in a 2 quart sauce pan and bring to a simmer over low heat.  Put egg whites, salt and sugar in a bowl and place on the simmering water.  I used my kitchen aid metal mixing bowl so I could then move it right over to the mixer after this step.  Whisk constantly until hot to the touch.  About 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Mix the egg whites on high speed until tripled in volume and side of bowl is cool to the touch. About 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put another bowl over the same pot of simmering water - with the heat off.  chop 4 oz. of good white chocolate and melt slowly, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat when melted and let cool to room temperature.

Once the egg whites are cool to the touch start adding the butter, a little at a time.  Reduce the speed to low and mix until smooth and fluffy.  About 10 minutes.

It's been 10 minutes.

Time to add in the melted chocolate.

Fold the chocolate in by hand using a spatula. Now, you're finally done with the buttercream.

Now, scrape off the golden color from the cakes.  My mom did this for me. :) Apparently this is how you get a pure white cake!

Place one cake layer on your cake stand.  I put some waxed paper around it so that I could easily pull it out once it was assembled.  Pile on the cranberry filling, leaving about a 1/2 inch border around the edge.

Now, place the second layer on top. 

Begin to frost it by only putting a thin layer on it just to cover it. 

Now put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  This will keep the crumbs off of the final layer of frosting.

Add the additional frosting now.  I didn't use all the frosting I had, just try to make it even.

Use a vegetable peeler to grate chocolate curls onto the top. 

Slowly pull the wax paper out from under the cake.  Now you have a nice clean cake stand.

Now, you're finally done.  Doesn't it look beautiful?

Sorry for the bad lighting, it was sunset at this point.  I'm glad I made this cake, I feel really good about it.  I think it turned out exactly as it was supposed to. 

We found this recipe from the December 2008 Sunset magazine.  It was the cover shot.

Cake:
10 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pans.
3 1/2 cups cake flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
7 large egg whites, at room temperature

Cranberry Filling:
3 3/4 cups cranberries, divided
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups cranberry or cherry preserves

Buttercream:
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
12 oz. white chocolate (bars or a block, not chips), divided
1 lb. unsalted butter, cut into pieces at room temperature

Assembly:
1/2 cup colorless liqueur such as creme de cacao or kirsch (We had Kirsch on hand but did not assemble the cake with it so that my daughter could have some.  If anyone wanted it we put it on the individual slices).
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter two 9 inch cake pans.  I used cooking spray and it worked fine.

For the cake: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together on low speed until light and fluffy.  Add egg whites in 3 batches, scraping inside of bowl as needed.  Beat in flour mixture in 5 batches, adding 1/4 cup water after each addition.  You will begin and end with flour.  Make sure the flour is completely blended before adding the water.  Pour the batter into the cake pans; making sure each has the same amount.  Smooth the tops.

Bake until the center is done, using a toothpick to test.  Takes about 40 minutes.  Cool completely on a cooling rack.  I didn't have any problems getting these to come out cleanly.

Cranberry filling: Put 3 cups of cranberries, the sugar, preserves and 1/4 water into a saucepan and cook over high heat until the cranberries begin to pop, about 5 - 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.  Transfer to a bowl, add the remaining 3/4 cup of cranberries and chill until ready to use.

Buttercream: Fill a 2 quart sauce pan with an inch of water and heat over low heat.  In a separate bowl put the egg whites, salt, and sugar and whisk together.  Place this bowl on top of the pan of simmering water and heat until hot to the touch.  Keep whisking constantly.  About 3 - 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the bowl of warm egg whites in a bowl for your mixer and whisk on high speed until tripled in volume and the side of the bowl is cool to the touch.  About 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop 4 oz of chocolate and place in a bowl over the simmering water you just used.  Stir until it melts and then remove from the heat.  Let cool to room temperature.

Once the egg whites are cool to the touch, reduce the mixer speed to low and start to add the butter a little at a time.  Keep mixing for about 10 minutes. 

With a rubber spatula add the melted chocolate and fold in gently. 

To assemble: Rub the tops of the cake to remove the golden brown layer and reveal the white cake beneath.  Place one cake on a cake stand. Use wax paper on the bottom of the cake stand, just beneath the edges of the cake for easier clean-up. Pour the cooled cranberry filling onto the cake, leaving about 1/2 an inch of space around the edges. Top with the second cake and press down slightly.  Put a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.  This will help keep the crumbs from spreading onto the final layer of frosting.

Once chilled, add additional frosting all over the cake, making it as even as possible.  Now use a vegetable peeler to grate the remaining white chocolate bars into curls on top of the cake.  Now remove the wax paper from under the cake.  This cake is best served at room temperature.

Serves 16
Takes about 2 1/4 hours, plus cooking time.

Cranberry Sauce

Another one of my husbands favorites from our Thanksgiving Day dinner was this cranberry sauce. Sweetened with maple syrup and cranberry juice.  Amazing.  Try it.  You won't regret it.

Add one bag of fresh cranberries to a large sauce pan. Pour in one cup of 100% cranberry juice

Then add the maple syrup (REAL maple syrup).

Add a splash of orange juice

Stir well and then turn the heat onto high.

Watch out for those bubbles, some of mine spilled over the edge.

Cook for 10 minutes or until the juice is thick. You can skim the foam if you'd like.  I didn't.

Now place this wonderful goodness into a jar and refrigerate.  Its delicious, enjoy.

You can find the recipe here: Cranberry Sauce