Cranberry Crumb Bars

If you have any leftover cranberries, please use them in this recipe!  The addition of almond meal to the crust & top crumble is a delicious addition that takes these crumb bars over the top.  The cranberries are soft, but not mushy, after almost an hour in the oven.  The bars are sweet enough to stand up to the tart cranberries, but not overly sweet.

I used my food processor as mentioned in the recipe, and this barely took 5 minutes to put together.  I also forgot to add the cinnamon, but made up for it by a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar right before I put these in the oven.

Cranberry Crumb Bars

1 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
juice of 1/2 an orange
4 cups fresh cranberries
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cornstarch
.
Preheat the oven to 375 & line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.  In your food processor bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, flour, almond meal, salt & baking powder.  Pulse to combine, then add cubed butter and pulse several times, until mixture is crumbly.  Add egg & pulse until mixed.  Pat half the dough into the bottom of the pan.

In another bowl, mix orange juice, sugar, vanilla & cornstarch until combined.  Add cranberries and stir to coat.  Pour the cranberry mixture over the bottom layer of dough, then sprinkle remaining dough on top of cranberries.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture & bake for 45-55 minutes, until top is light golden brown.

Cool completely before cutting.
Recipe from My Baking Addition

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting a "12 Days of Christmas Cookies" series, featuring all of my favorite Christmas cookies!  

Cranberry Bread with Pecans

Fresh cranberries are very deceiving.  They are a beautiful bright red color & wonderfully fragrant.  However, one bite of a fresh cranberry will pucker your mouth right up.  When mixed with some sugar, flour & buttermilk, those tart little cranberries can bake up into a delicious loaf.

The buttermilk is the key to this tender quick bread, along with the orange zest, & the toasted pecans add a nice crunch on top.

Cranberry Nut Bread
recipe from Baking Illustrated


1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2/3 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
1 egg, beaten
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Mix flour, sugar, baking power, baking soda, & salt in a large bowl and set aside.  Combine orange zest, juice, buttermilk, butter, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Add dry ingredients to wet and mix with spatula just until moistened.  Add cranberries & pecans* being careful not to over mix.  Pour into a greased 9x5 pan.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes.  Cool on wire rack 10 minutes, then remove from pan.

*I did not mix the pecans into the batter, but sprinkled them on top of the loaf before baking.

Perfect Apple Pie

I've been on the hunt for the *perfect* apple pie.  It's one of my husband's favorite desserts, and he loves being the test subject for my experiments.  This time, I turned to my newest cookbook, Baking Illustrated.  They did not disappoint.

I made this in my tart pan (another experiment) which is why it's not as thick.  That aside, it was truly the perfect apple pie!  I think what I've been missing along was the allspice!

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins are quite possibly the most perfect breakfast food.  I've made these muffins a few times, and they always turn out delicious.  These muffins are not overly sweet, but tender and full of juicy blueberries that pop in your mouth.  The secret ingredient, yogurt, also keeps them on the healthier side.

Blueberry Muffins
makes approximately 18 muffins

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups yogurt (I used low fat vanilla)
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted & cooled
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh is best, but frozen are ok)

Preheat oven to 375, and either spray muffin tins or line with wrappers.  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.  In a medium bowl, mix yogurt, eggs and extracts together until combined.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together until almost mixed.  Add the butter and the blueberries and continue folding; batter should be still lumpy.  Portion into muffin tin and bake for 20-23 minutes.

Enjoy while still warm!

Gourmet Caramel Apples

Caramel Apples are totally impressive & not quite as difficult to make as you'd think!  I wanted to share these Caramel Apples I made:

They're kind of like a Samoa (or Caramel Delite) apple - caramel, toasted coconut, mini chocolate chips, candied pecans & a drizzle of chocolate.

The beauty of caramel apples is that you can make them however you want to suit your tastes.  I also made some with mini M&Ms that I didn't get a picture of, but they were super colorful & fun!

Tips to make the process as easy as possible:

• Have all your toppings ready before you start to dip.
• Work quickly, one apple at a time.  Dip, then apply toppings right away.
• Place finished apples on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Beware of wax paper!
• Let the caramel set up for several hours before you move them around.