Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
After the cookie marathon in December, I begged off from making anything sweet for a while. Like many, we just needed a sugar break and I admit I didn’t even want to make my birthday cake. I’d had my fill of sweets and didn’t miss it. Usually I’ll make one sweet dessert a week that we enjoy on the weekend, but that’s it for us, so Michael was quite surprised when he came home from work and found these on the counter. Read more
Spiked Orange Cranberry Fondue
For something seasonal, skip the chocolate fountain and serve a colorful fruit fondue for your New Years Eve party. This spiked fondue lends some beautiful color to a New Years Eve buffet and and is an easy and fun dessert. For dippers, set out apple wedges, dried pineapple slices, panettone or fruit cake chunks, or madeleines.
Other Fondue Recipes for New Years Eve
Poinsettia Cocktail
This was one of our favorites from the champagne cocktail sampling this weekend. It’s light, fresh, easy to sip and rather festive looking with the bright red cranberry juice, and will make a perfect addition to a New Year’s Eve cocktail list.
Update: Submitted to the CLICK photo competition for January 2009. The theme is red for this month and the competition will be fun. Be sure to visit the CLICK image gallery to see all the delicious red food photos.
More Party Beverages
Cranberry Apple French Toast
Inspired by cranberry orange upside down cake, I wanted a good easy hot breakfast for holidays mornings such as Christmas or Thanksgiving when I don’t have much time for a big breakfast. Baking French toast is an easy and delicious way to make it without having to stand over the stove while cooking each slice. The toppings go into the bottom of the pan with the bread and custard on top. To serve, simply scoop out spoonfuls and turn over onto plates. The fruit and juices run down and around the plate, soaking the bread in it’s goodness. It doesn’t look like much on the plate when everything dumps over, but the spices and the flavors of fresh cranberries, apples, and oranges will make up for its unassuming appearance.
Like many baked French toast recipes, this one requires an overnight resting time in the refrigerator so the bread can soak up some of the custard by morning. Pull the pan out of the frig while the oven preheats, then bake covered for about 40 min. You can remove the foil for the last few minutes to help brown and crisp the top layer of bread.
CRANBERRY APPLE FRENCH TOAST
Serves 6.
Equipment
2-1/2 to 3-quart oval casserole with tall sides (like a Pyrex French White casserole)
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (110 g) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup (28 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
zest and juice of 1 orange, divided
1 medium to large apple, chopped (or thinly sliced)
1 cup (100 g) fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 loaf challah or French bread, cut into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) thick slices
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups (480 ml) half & half
Preparation
1. Melt the butter and pour into the casserole. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts (optional), orange zest, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Press along the bottom to form a kind of crust.
2. Arrange the apples and cranberries over the butter and sugar mixture.
3. Arrange the bread slices in a way that covers the fruit. Drizzle half the remaining orange juice over the bread.
4. Whisk together the beaten eggs and half & half, and pour half of it over the bread.
5. Make another layer of bread, drizzle remaining orange juice and then pour on the remaining egg mixture.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C. Remove plastic wrap, cover with foil, and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove the foil for the last few minutes of cooking to brown and crisp the top layer of bread. Scoop out large spoonfuls and turn over onto serving plates.
More Breakfast Recipes
More French Toast Recipes From Around the Blogs
Smitten Kitchen – Boozy Baked French Toast
Simply Recipes – Crunchy French Toast
Pinch My Salt – Spiked Egg Nog French Toast
The Leftover Queen – Mango Stuffed French Toast
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti – 12 Days of Cookies
Day 9 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I was craving biscotti, one of my very favorite cookies. These beauties combine cranberries and pistachios for a red and green festive look and taste. These are like traditional Italian biscotti which don’t use butter and they are not soft and crumbly. They are true dunkers, ready for your coffee, tea, or milk. If you want to feel Italian, try them with some Vin Santo or other dessert wine.
I started baking biscotti several years ago and fell in love with the cookies because of the wonderful crunch, the nutty flavor, and how easy they are. If you don’t have a stand mixer, they do require a strong arm to mix the dough to the proper consistency, and I would avoid a hand mixer unless you just want it for the very beginning of mixing the dry and liquid ingredients together. Once the dough starts forming, hand mixers start rebelling.
Cranberries with Orange Zest and Port
November 24, 2008 by Andrea
Filed under Condiments
Every year we look forward to Thanksgiving day and start planning well in advance. The boys are still only slightly interested in the holiday, though they seem to enjoy turkey more than they used to. One of my favorite parts of the holiday meal, even more than the turkey, is the cranberries, but you would never know if you came to our home for Thanksgiving dinner. Every year I make cranberry chutney or some kind of cranberry side dish, and about half the time I forget to serve it along with dinner. It remains in the refrigerator, forgotten and forlorn while everyone dives into the turkey, potatoes, gravy, beans, salad, and rolls. Read more
