Cranberry Orange Mini Muffins

This is a yummy muffin for breakfast or brunch. They were easy to make and my kids thought they were eating cupcakes because of the sweetness, so I didn't tell them I got them out of the healthy living section of our newspaper.

*1 c. dried sweetened cranberries

*1/2 c. boiling water

*1 c. whole-wheat flour

*1 c. all-purpose flour

*1 tsp. baking powder

*1/2 tsp. baking soda

*1/4 tsp. salt

*2 egg whites

*1/4 c. canola oil

*2/3 c. orange juice

*grated zest of 1 orange

*3/4 c. sugar

Place cranberries in a small deep bowl; pour boiling water over cranberries and stir to coat. Set aside and allow cranberries to plump, about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line mini muffin pans with paper baking cups or spray cups with nonstick cooking spray. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Combine egg whites, oil, juice and zest in a medium mixing bowl. Add sugar and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients and mix just until flour is moistened. Drain cranberries (if you're making this for little kids, I suggest chopping the cranberries a little bit smaller) and add, stirring just until blended. Do not overmix. Fill miniature muffin cups about 3/4 full of batter. Bake 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to stand 10 minutes then remove to a rack. Serve warm. Makes 36 muffins.

Cranberry Velvet Pie

This is a fun and tasty pie. I got it out of a Wondertime magazine a few years back. As the recipe states, this may not be 'simple as pie', but it's more delicious than most.

For the crust:

*1 1/2 c. flour

*1 TBSP. fresh-grated orange rind

*2 TBSP. sugar

*1/4 tsp. salt

*3/4 c. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4" slices

*1 large egg

*1/2 tsp. vanilla

For the filling:

*4 c. fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over

*1/2 c. orange juice

*2 TBSP. lemon juice

*1 1/4 c. sugar

*pinch of salt

*6 large egg yolks

*1/2 c. unsalted butter; sliced into 8 pieces

*1 TBSP. fresh-grated orange rind

*Whipped cream for topping

Process flour and orange rind in a food processor until the rind has been thoroughly ground into the flour, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and salt and pulse on and off for a few seconds. Scatter butter slices over the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal, about 10 times. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and pulse on and off until the dough holds together.

Gather up the dough, knead it manually if necessary to smooth it out, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill it for at leas an hour or up to 2 days.

Divide dough into 8-10 pieces. Scatter the pieces evenly in a well-greased 11-inch tart pan of a 9 1/2 " pie plate.

Gently pat the dough into place to make a 1/4-inch-thick crust, coming as far up the edges of the pan as you can.

Chill pan for 20 minutes while you heat the oven to 375.

Grease a 14-inch square piece of heavy aluminum foil. Gently fit the foil, greased side down, over the crust. Cover foil with pie weights, uncooked rice, or uncooked beans.

Place crust on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully lift out the foil and pie weights and set aside.

Return crust to the oven and bake until golden and baked through, about 15-20 minutes longer. Take the crust out of the oven and reset the oven to 275.

Put cranberries, juices, sugar and salt into a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook, stirring frequently until berries are soft, about 25 minutes. Force berries through a fine sieve or food mill to remove all skins and seeds.

Put the cranberry puree into a clean saucepan. Over low heat, stirring constantly, whisk in egg yolks. Continuing to stir constantly over low heat, cook the mixture until it is very thick, about 15 minutes. Then take it off the heat and whisk in the butter slices one at a time. Whisk in orange rind.

Pour the cranberry mixture into prepared crust.

Bake until set, about 20-30 minutes. Cool completely; then chill for at least 6 hours or up to one day. Serve with whipped cream.

I had a specific plate I wanted to serve this on, so I made it in my rectangular tart pan instead. This required some adjustments as noted below.

For the crust:

*1 c. flour

*2/3 TBSP. fresh-grated orange rind

*1 1/3 TBSP. sugar

*pinch of salt

*1/2 c. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4" slices

*2/3 large egg

*1/3 tsp. vanilla

For the filling:

*2 2/3 c. fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over

*1/3 c. orange juice

*1 1/3 TBSP. lemon juice

*5/6 c. sugar

*pinch of salt

*4 large egg yolks

*1/3 c. unsalted butter; sliced into 8 pieces

*2/3 TBSP. fresh-grated orange rind

Cranberry-Cornmeal Quick Bread

I was sitting in the dentist office catching up on some past issues of Living and found this recipe I took to our neighborhood Christmas party. My four-year-old ate almost a whole loaf and even my hubby, who is not a fan of cornbread, really enjoyed it.

*2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

*1/2 c. plus 3 TBSP. sugar

*1 1/4 c. fresh cranberries

*1 c. all-purpose flour

*1/2 c. finely ground cornmeal

*1 tsp. baking powder

*1/2 tsp. baking soda

*1/2 tsp. salt

*2 large eggs

*1 TBSP. finely chopped candied ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Melt 4 TBSP. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 3 TBSP. sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add cranberries, and stir to coat. Cook until cranberries begin to pop, about 1 minute. Pour into a 5x9 inch loaf pan, distributing cranberries evenly to cover bottom. Let cool.

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter and 1/2 c. sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With machine running, add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture, mixing until combined. Fold in ginger. Pour mixture into pan over cranberries. Gently smooth top using an offset spatula. (Make sure to press the batter down onto the cranberries so they will bond well).

Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. (I pulled mine out at 31 minutes when tester came out clean, but a portion of the middle sank, so next time I'd leave it in a couple more minutes). Invert pan to remove bread.

Let cool completely on wire rack, cranberry side up. Bread can be stored, wrapped, at room temperature overnight or refrigerate up to five days.

Apple Cider, Cranberry & Ginger Punch

This month's issue of Living included several seasonal drinks which looked so tasty. This one called for ginger beer, a new ingredient for me. I asked my hubby about it, was informed that Utah County stocks it everywhere, and the next day was brought a bottle of the stuff as a present, with a warning from him that this will put hair on your chest. He was not kidding and I was not prepared for the burning in my throat - it's no wonder I don't drink the real hard stuff. (Note: authentic recipes use honey or sugar and this brand used high fructose corn syrup, etc.)
Anyway, I mixed these up for our evening nightcap. My hubby loved it, but next time I'll just use ginger ale.

*1/3 c. fresh cranberries
*2 TBSP sugar
*1 1/2 c. fresh apple cider
*2/3 c. chilled ginger beer
*2 TBSP. fresh lemon juice
*3 1/2 oz. gin (if desired)

Muddle cranberries with sugar in a pitcher. Add apple cider, ginger beer and lemon juice (and gin). Divide among 4 glasses. Serve chilled or over ice.

Spicy Cranberry Sauce

I got this recipe from my friend Maggie. She got it out of Sixteen magazine back when she was sixteen and and shared it with our family a few years ago. I don't have a picture, but can assure you this is one of the best cranberry recipes you'll find.

1 cup water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1, 3 inch cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 bag (12 oz) cranberries, washed and sorted

In a medium saucepan, combine water, sugar and cinnamon stick(s). Heat to boiling over high heat. Add pear; cover and cook 3 minutes. Stir in cranberries and return mixture to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 8 -10 minutes more, until cranberries have popped and mixture has thickened slightly. Cool sauce to room temperature. Remove cinnamon stick(s). Refrigerate up to 1 week.

Makes 4 cups