SHF : Rustic Apple-Cranberry Tart

It feels like it's been ages since I've actually been on time enough to do a Sugar High Friday event. Usually it can be summed up to bad timing - or, well, forgetfulness. *shrug*

This month's theme is the holidays is hosted by Cherrapeno, a blog I've just recently discovered and drooled over. ;)

After a disastrous attempt at a Nutella flourless cake on Wednesday night, I wanted something fruity. On a whim, I wound up at the Ocean Spray website, thinking, hey, at the very least, maybe I'll find a coupon for Craisins. I wound up finding this (alas, no coupons), and was thrilled to see that it could be easily put together on Thursday afternoon.

I would love to tell you lovely folks that I made my own crust. But I won't lie. Pie dough is still very intimidating, and I'll conquer that... when I get there. :) While I love the combination of the sweet apples and the tart cranberries, this is easily adjustable to any fruit combination you'd like.



Ingredients:
1 9-inch pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
21 ounces apple pie filling
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen, chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Place pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.

Combine the apples, cranberries, and cinnamon, mixing well. Spoon into pie crust. Fold eges of pastry over fruit, pleating so that crust lies relatively flat. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and crust is golden. Let cool a bit before serving. Makes about 8 servings.

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Cranberry Topping

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone's having a great day today. It's been such a happy, being home again. There've been some great holidays out in CA, but it was really good to be with my family again. My aunt, uncle, cousin, and her husband came over last night. Today it was just me, Dave, and my parents, and it was nice. Quiet, relaxing, and very nice. My dad and I even got to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which is my favorite Christmas movie. That squirrel flying out of the tree gets me every single time. :)

The other night, while watching the repeat Iron Chef episode of Battle Cranberry, I started contemplating cranberry cheesecake. Which led to white chocolate, figuring on the sweetness to compliment the tartness of the cranberry. I wound up combining a few different recipes, including a portion of this cheesecake and the cranberry topping from an Ocean Spray pavlova. The end result? Wow. Very smooth, subtle white chocolate taste, with that sharp tartness of the cranberry topping. I loved it. Dave felt it was a bit too sweet, but my dad said he would happily help out with the remainders.



Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

Cheesecake:
3 pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
4 ounces white chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. (300F if using a darker colored pan.)

Combine crust ingredients, and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Stir in chocolate. Pour over crust.

Bake at 325F/300F for 45-50 minutes, or until center is nearly set. After some cooling, run a knife along the outer rim to loosen cake from pan. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Cranberry Topping:
1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Zest of half a lime

Combine cranberry sauce and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Let boil for one minute before removing from heat. Add lime zest. Cover and refrigerate until cool. Spoon over cheesecake.




Penny (with her glowing eyes lol) and I wish you each a fabulous holiday season! :D

Cranberry Bliss Bars... almost

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season (food-wise, at least) is when Starbucks brings out the Cranberry Bliss Bars. I look forward to them every year, and have extolled their deliciousness to many a stranger. Probably about four years ago, I decided to try to make my own... they could have been named Cranberry Brick Bars. *shrug*

So Saturday morning rolls around, and I'm baking for me this time. No presents, no holiday desserts, just whatever I wanted. And since there was no need for 400+ cookies this year, I started searching for some cookie recipes. When I stumbled upon Good Eats 'N Sweet Treats and saw she replicated the recipe with non-brick results, it was as if the sun came bursting out behind the heavy clouds, blinding us all with its rays on the freshly fallen snow! (Is that a sentence, or what? LOL)

But that's not to say that I didn't have some concerns as the recipe was coming together. The batter didn't win me over and I found the frosting way too sweet. But put them together, and it was a match made in sweet cranberry heaven. The dried cranberries countered the sweetness of the frosting perfectly. And while it's not an EXACT match, it's the best I've done so far. :)

(Oh, I forget to mention this: I halved the recipe, just in case it didn't come out good. For the full 13x9-inch size, just double the amounts (not the eggs, though; those would be three for the full-size) or check out the original post) :D



Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 oz. white chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt. Gradually add in flour. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick insert near center comes out clean. Once completely cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.

Frosting:
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1?½ cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. vanilla
1/8 cup dried cranberries

Combine the first four ingredients until smooth. Spread on top of bars. Sprinkle dried cranberries on top.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

I originally set out today to make Cranberry Cobbler Bars. But after my usual Friday trip to Whole Foods, I remembered to buy the cranberries, but failed to get the lemon. Oops. This is why I really should write a shopping list out more often than I do.

Thus began the search for a good cranberry recipe. When - quite suddenly - my brain decided to work for good, and not for evil. Amazing! LOL I remembered this recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I was hesitant at first. I don't often use the stove, and was convinced that somehow I'd mess it up. But something reared up inside and said, "Kristen, you can do this," and this time I actually listened. :)

It came out better than I expected. The sweetness of the cake and the tartness of the cranberries go well together. I think the only thing I'd change is maybe using brown sugar instead of regular sugar. But it's pretty, tasty, and I didn't ruin it. Go me! :)



Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup jam, melted (I used Ikea's Queen's Blend jam)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Place a 9-inch round cake pan onto a baking sheet.

Melt butter in saucepan. Sprinkle in sugar, stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Pour evenly over bottom of cake pan and top with cranberries, smoothing them out.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Slowly add half of the flour mixture into butter mixture. Pour in milk. Add remaining dry ingredients. Spoon over berries and smooth.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Run a blunt knife along sides of pan/cake. Carefully turn out onto serving plate. Melt jam and gently pour over cranberries.

Oatmeal Muffins

It's just another manic muffin...

Oops. So I'm probably not supposed to be baking. It's late (for me), I rarely ever bake at night, and, oh yeah, I'm recovering from the laparascopic surgery that I had last Friday (yes, the 13th). But after watching Grey's Anatomy, I was feeling restless, and all of a sudden I knew: muffins would make everything better. Don't know how, but I just knew, and I'm really hoping that the pain that's in my belly right now is worth it. :D

taken from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1½ cups milk
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cinnamon (I upped it to ½)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp. vanilla

(I also added in a handful of dried cranberries and maybe a quarter cup of raisins?)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Line 12-16 muffin tins with paper liners.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the oats and the milk; set aside for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients and the oatmeal mixture until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Batter may be lumpy. Fill muffin cups about three-quarters full.

Bake at 400F for 16-18 minutes, until lightly golden or a cake tester inserted near center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not overbake.