Pumpkin Schmumpkin: What About Cranberries?

Question

I love pumpkin as much as the next girl...or maybe the one after that...since my favorite fall ingredient is cranberries. Especially when it comes to baking. This glazed cranberry-orange bread is one of my favorites:
http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2012/12/cranberry-bread-with-orange-glaze.html

I also used to make this cake around this time every year: http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/ild/2003/1103/cake.html#axzz3JNVggGV7
It is a pumpkin-cranberry upside down cake that totally encapsulates fall. It is wonderful and in fact, I think I will make it for the holidays.

So with all this said, I would love to add some more cranberry dessert recipes to my arsenal. Even better, if you have a recipe for a chocolate-cranberry dessert you love I would be thrilled. Perhaps a tart or cake? I have always imagined that these 2 ingredients would complement each other big time.

Many Thanks in Advance!

Answer

White chocolate cranberry bars. P 153 of Pillsbury Best Cookies recipe book - I will look for a current online link, too.


This looks like the correct recipe
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/white-chocolate-cranberry-bars/23e697a2-9738-4fe9-a565-7fc0deb13beb

Answer

This is to die for, truly
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Chocolate-Tart-240427

Answer

Candied cranberries. They're so much better than you think they'd be.

http://food52.com/recipes/15317-orange-blossom-candied-cranberries

Top a cheesecake with them. Or a dark chocolate cheesecake.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Deep-Dark-Chocolate-Cheesecake-236209

Answer

Quick cranberry jelly. One bag of crans, one cup of apple cider, one whole vanilla bean, one tablespoon light brown sugar, one teaspoon cinnamon. Combine in pot, bring to a simmer. Cool and frig. overnight. Morning jelly for muffins! Equally tasty poured over pound or cheesecake, ice cream or even dessert cheese platters. I really enjoy having the jelly on hand.

Answer

I make this recipe for jam bars, but with cranberries instead. (And usually without the nuts.) The tartness of the cranberries make a nice counterpoint to the richness of the cookie.

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/1876/old-world-raspberry-bars

Answer

What a great thread! Want to try all the recipes. My favorite quick cranberry recipe is this one from Ocean Spray for Cranberry Nut bars: http://www.oceanspray.com/Recipes/Corporate/Desserts-Snacks/Cranberry-Nut-Bars.aspx

I don't know how to link to past discussions but I was planning to make the "Cranberry-Apple Pie with Oatmeal Streusel Topping" in the thread with that title. I was hoping to hear from the OP of that thread if I could make it a day ahead of time.

Answer

Last weekend for a bake sale quickie I added a big half a cup of dried cranberries to a box of Ghiradelli's brownie mix. Delicious.

Answer

The copycat recipe of Starbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bars. There are several on-line, or let me know if you'd like a (paraphrased) recipe.

Answer

Following this thread! Love cranberries! This weekend, I had a roast pork. Was making stuffing, and added apples and craisins as I sautéed the onions and celery. Tasty!

Answer

I have never actually made it but I've always wanted to...cranberry upside down cake.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/CranberryUpsideDownCake.html

Answer

Another favorite use for us is in homemade applesauce, adds a delicious tang and color.

Answer

meh, pumpkin. it's so bland, i swear people just hanker for the brown spices typically mixed with it. however, i do love the tartness of cranberries! have made both of these and subbed fresh cran. most often i will add some orange zest and ginger.

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/07/blueberry-crumb-bars/

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2014/07/blueberry-crumb-cake/

Answer

Nantucket cranberry pie (it's really a cake). Almost all of the google-able recipes are the same one (from Laurie Colwin's More Home Cooking, evidently) or slight variations (which I don't think would improve it). 

The almond extract is key, and it's super-simple. Though obviously you wouldn't want two upside-down cranberry cake type desserts, but try it some other time.

Answer

I discovered this Nantucket Cranberry Pie recipe from Pioneer Woman a while ago and it's now a Christmas tradition in our house. It's so easy to make, too: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/11/nantucket-cranberry-pie/

Sugared cranberries on top of a slice of brie on a cracker is the perfect Christmas appetizer to bring to parties, and also extremely simple.

Answer

Cranberry cream cheese poundcake: truly wonderful... 
I make it every Christmas..
1 and 1/2 cup softened butter
1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups cake flour
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups frozen whole cranberries (don't use fresh as they will stain the cake batter)
 
In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and cream cheese. Gradually add sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add sifted cake flour , mixing well. Add vanilla. Dredge frozen cranberries in 2 Tbs of flour. Mix into batter.
Pour batter into a well greased 10 inch tube pan or bundt pan that has been dusted with granulated sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for at least 1 hr and 30 minutes (I find it usually takes closer to 2 hours). Text with skewer to see if it is done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then take tube section out and let cool completely before removing.

Answer

Sorry, no chocolate, but each Thanksgiving we make a Persimmon-Cranberry Pie. I agree, choc and cranberries sound like a great combination. Add something salty to the mix and I'll swoon.

Answer

I love this Cranberry Orange Cornmeal cake
http://www.latimes.com/style/la-fo-sos29-2008oct29-story.html
Just sweet enough to let the tart cranberries shine. 
I don't make it too often as it's so addictive

Answer

Not sure if you are interested in a composed dessert, but last night I had mascarpone panna cotta with cherry compote and chocolate crumble (like chocolate cookie crumb). It was similar to a decomposed cheesecake I suppose but not as rich. I imagine you could something similar with cranberries. I also love this eggnog cheesecake with pomegranate topping, and have considered doing cranberries instead.
http://www.thenaptimechef.com/2009/11/eggnog-cheesecake-with-gingersnap-crust/

Answer

Take white chocolate, and melt it with some finely grated lemon zest. Mix with walnuts and dried cranberries. Spoon onto wax paper, and let dry. 

I made these as a quick improvisation to fill out a cookie tray, and people absolutely love them.

Answer

Add craisins to oatmeal cookie recipes instead of raisins.

Answer

Here's a cranberry dessert recipe. The sweet sauce sets off the tart cranberries perfectly. It is a fairly small quantity of pudding, so you may wish to double or triple it. You probably will not have to increase the steaming time much, even if you increase the quantity--maybe an extra ten minutes.

Mrs. Davis' Cranberry Pudding

2 cups cranberries
1 and 1/2 cups of white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup of boiling water
1/2 cup molasses

Sauce:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (do not substitute lower fat cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Wash and drain the 2 cups of cranberries. Leave the cranberries whole.

2. Mix together the flour and salt. Then add the cranberries to the flour and salt mixture.

3. In a separate bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water and add the molasses. Stir together. It will foam up. That is okay.

4. Add the boiling water, baking soda, and molassses mixture to the cranberry, flour and salt mixture. Stir together thoroughly. You will now have a batter with cranberries in it.

5. Pour the mixture into a metal mold (or, at least, one that can stand up to some exposure to heat) which has been greased with butter. Cover the mold with two layers of aluminum foil and put a rubber band or string around the aluminum foil so that the foil holds in moisture tightly.

6. Put the mold in a saucepan and fill the saucepan about halfway up the mold's side with boiling water. Then cover the sauce pan with a lid or more aluminum foil. You do not need to use a string or rubber band this, time, however.

7. Place the saucepan over high heat. Then reduce the heat and leave the water surrounding the mold at a simmer. Simmer for about forty minutes. (You may need to add more water, so check the water level from time to time.)

8. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the cranberry mixture sit, still covered.

9. Make the sauce for the cranberry pudding by simmering together the sugar, the butter, and the cream. Try to avoid letting the sauce boil. (It tastes just as good, if it boils, but it sometimes curdles.) Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. The sauce is done when it seems slightly thicker than it started out. Remove from the heat. Let the mixture cool for ten minutes and then add the vanilla.

10. Unmold the cranberry pudding. Cut it into slices and put it in individual bowls. Pour some of the sauce over each piece of cake. Put additional sauce in a separate container and serve it alongside the cranberry pudding for guests who want more.

Comment: I often double or triple this pudding recipe and often double the sauce recipe, even if I do not double the pudding recipe.

Answer

I like to use cranberries in the hot summer because their tartness is refreshing, say, with cold chicken--- I freeze a few bags while they're in season. Fresh cranberry-orange relish is perfect with a summer meal. Also, this fresh cranberry gelatin salad is TART so is goes well in hot weather: Dissolve 1 1/2 boxes orange jello in 1 cup boiling water. Cool. Then put it in the food processor with 1 whole lemon cut up, 3 cups raw cranberries, and 1 cup pineapple juice and grind it all up. Taste it---if it's too tart for you, add a little sugar.

Answer

Cranberry mostarda is wonderful. I love it on leftover ham or a pork tender. I am also thinking I'll toss the last of the Thanksgiving cranberries with orange juice and rind into the Christmas pudding.

Answer

My top cranberries suggestion is not to limit them to the winter holiday season. I hold over from Christmas time as many bags as I have room for in my freezer so that in hot summer I can make cranberry orange relish to serve with cold chicken, so refreshing that I can't imagine why they're not a big summer favorite.

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Pumpkin Schmumpkin: What About Cranberries?

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