Cranberry Orange Wheat Scones

I have been on a baking kick lately. I don't know what it is but I really enjoy the measuring and mixing of all the different ingredients. The science nerd in me even likes doing the calculations and adjustments for altitude. I also like experimenting with different flavors and trying to making our favorite sugary treats into something more healthy.

This past weekend, I decided to take on scones! While the flavor combination is pretty standard, Cranberry and Orange, I did look for ways to tweak an old recipe so that they are a bit healthier. For me, that meant adding in whole wheat flour, using greek yogurt, and switching the sweetener. Usually, I would try to swap the butter out for something else but cold butter is essential in creating the little pockets of air that makes a scone what it is.

Next up is the fruit going in these scones. It isn't exactly cranberry weather in these parts, despite the frigid temperatures and snow on the ground, so instead of fresh cranberries which would be best, I used some I had in the freezer. A lot of people like chopping their cranberries up, I keep mine whole. I find they do not affect even baking and I love the burst of tart cranberry juice. Lastly, do not skip on the orange zest here. It is where most of your orange flavor is going to come from.

All that is left to do is mix it all up, bake it and enjoy. All three of us enjoyed these for breakfast. They aren't as sweet as a typical scone but if that is something you are looking for, you could easily sprinkle the top with sugar or make an orange and confectioners sugar glaze to drizzle over top.

Cranberry Orange Wheat Scones
ingredients

• 1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c all purpose flour
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 Tbs orange zest
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 6 Tbs chilled butter
• 1 c fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 c greek yogurt
• 1 Tbs fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 egg

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F
2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, orange zest, baking powder and baking soda. 
3. Use a pastry blender (or the two knives method) to cut the butter into pea sized pieces. Combine with flour mixture. 
4. Stir in cranberries. Optional: You can roughly chop up the cranberries before adding.
5. In separate small bowl, stir together the yogurt, orange juice, and egg, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. 
6. Turn dough out onto a work surface. "Knead" 3 or 4 times. This may be difficult as the dough will be crumbly. 
7. Form into a circle roughly 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 10-12 wedges. 
8. Transfer onto a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes. 

Nantucket Cranberry Pie

Everyone and I mean everyone has their own recipe for a Nantucket Cranberry Pie or Cake. If you have never had one, these pies/cakes are like a crustless pie with the dough and fruit mixed together. Instead of the standard vanilla/almond flavor cake with cranberries, this recipe is more of a spice cake with cranberries.

I also use whole wheat flour and brown sugar as well as the traditional white flour and sugar. Instead of the two flours and two sugars you could simply use 1 cup of white AP flour and 1 cup of white sugar. This recipe is so easy that it is a quick and tasty alternative to the traditional pumpkin, apple, and mince pies. 


Nantucket Cranberry Pie
ingredients

• 2/3 cup All Purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1/4 tsp. salt 
• 1 tsp. ground ginger 
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 cups cranberries (frozen is fine)  
• 1/2 cup melted butter 
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2 tsp. orange zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• cold water
• cinnamon and coarse sugar

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Grease or spray a 9 inch pie plate.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, zest and salt. Stir in the cranberries, and toss to coat. Stir in the melted butter, the beaten eggs and the juice. If you are using frozen cranberries the mixture will be thick and you may need to add water a teaspoon at a time to incorporate. 
3. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle. Halfway through, sprinkle the coarse sugar on top of the pie. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

CrockPot Cranberry Sauce

This week I am sharing some new holiday recipes that were brought to life Thanksgiving 2013. For me, cranberries are essential to my holiday meals. By cranberries, I do not mean the over sugared junk that comes in a can. I am talking cranberries from scratch!

This recipe is for a slow cooker. I find that it is the best way to get homemade cranberry sauce in throughout the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. I love that I can set it and basically forget it until about 20 minutes before the meat is ready.

Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce
ingredients 

• 12oz bag whole cranberries 
• 1/2 cup white sugar 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 apple chopped 
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar 
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick 
• 6 whole cloves 
• 1 large slice lemon (optional)

directions

1. Place cranberries, apples, sugars, and ginger into the slow cooker. Cover with juice and cider vinegar. 
2. Place cloves into the rind of the lemon (or into the flesh of an apple chunk). Place into the slow cooker with cinnamon stick. Gently stir, cover and cook on low for 8 hours. 
3. Halfway through remove lid, remove the cloves and cinnamon. Stir mixture and mash the apple and cranberries.Add the cinnamon and cloves back into the mixture. 
4. After 8 hours, remove the cinnamon and cloves again (they can be trashed now). Break up any remaining whole pieces of apple and cranberry. Place in a bowl and chill until ready to serve. 

Alternatives to Traditional Holiday Meals

I have a huge family! My mom has numerous cousins on both sides of her family, and my dad has tons of friends that might as well be family. Our holiday season always started the week before Thanksgiving, and ended the week after the First of the New Year.

Depending on how the calendar falls, that can result in 8-10 weeks of festivities and several holiday meals, and lots of turkey and ham. To be frank, sometimes the traditional options are the most boring ones. With Thanksgiving a week away, and thus the start of the "Holiday Season" for many, I thought it would be fun to share some of my recipes that are great alternatives to the typical Turkey/Ham entree with traditional sweet potato/green bean/mashed potato sides. These recipes would be great for mid-season get togethers and for breaking up the monotony of plain ole turkey and ham.

source: Dan @ The Food in my Beard

Clam Pumpkin Soup with an Ancho Floater. This amazing soup would be perfect for a low key get together on a cold evening. It's unique flavors make it just fancy enough for it to be more than just soup for dinner. 

source: Marina @ Yummy Mummy Kitchen

Brussels Sprout Mac n Cheese. I love Brussels Sprouts and I love Mac n Cheese. Naturally this is a dish right up my alley. Not only would it make a great side, it can be made in bulk and served as a main dish. 

source: Oui, Chef @ Food52

Gingered Cranberry Fig Chutney. Cranberries are a staple this time of year. Instead of relying on the canned jelly from the supermarket, try something a little more unique!

source: Cat Cora via The New Potato

Cornish Game Hens with Pomegranate Sun Dried Tomato Glaze. Back away from the frozen turkey and pick up some game hens instead, especially if you are entertaining a small group. The glaze also adds flavors that sets this recipe apart from your traditional holiday fare. 

source: Beth @ Budget Bytes

Cranberry Almond Cake. I don't know about you but Apple and Pumpkin pies can get quite boring. This cake seems like a great way to finish off any meal, especially one during the holidays. 

Wild Black Belgium Waffles - Spiked! and GYCO Challenge Entry

July is here and it is time again for the Spiked! and Get Your Chef On Challenges. This month I combined the secret ingredients and made something Berkeley and I are seriously in love with!

Flagstaff, well Northern Arizona in general, is really big on brewing. One of my favorites is Big Blue Van from CollegeStreet Brewery. For whatever reason, I cannot find it ANYWHERE in Flagstaff! We have found their other beers in town but just not this amazing blueberry hefeweizen.

While on the hunt, we came across this Wild Black Lager in the craft brew section of one of our favorite places to get craft and microbrews. When I saw the blackberry lager a great thought came to mind. Everyone knows about and loves blueberry pancakes, what about blackberry waffles? And that is when I decided to combine the two challenges!

These turned out amazing!! Berkeley has eaten about 4 8-inch waffles this morning. The Wild Black was great for this. It is not bitter and the blackberry flavor is strong but not overwhelming and also has a creaminess to it. All those qualities come together for a great waffle batter that resulted in a great light waffle packed with a great flavor with a mild blackberry flavor. These waffles were topped off with a drizzle of blackberry syrup for me and Berkeley had a few smothered in peanut butter.

Wild Black Belgium Waffles
ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 t salt 
• 4 tsp baking powder 
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda 
• 3 Tbsp sugar 
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter 
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1 1/4 cup Wild Black Lager
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 large eggs
• handful of blackberries

directions

1. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. Set aside. 
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in milk and then the beer. Gently heat until mixture is warmed through. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and eggs. 
3. Once combined, slowly add the beer mixture into the dry ingredients. Whisk until thoroughly combined and there as few lumps as possible. 
4. Roughly breakup a handful of blackberries and add them evenly to the batter. 
5. Add batter to your preheated waffle iron and cook to your liking. Serve with Blackberry Syrup.

Blackberry Syrup

ingredients

• 1 cup blackberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 cup of Wild Black Lager
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp cornstarch

directions

1. Add the ingredients to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a rolling boil and slowly reduce down to desired consistency. 
2. Serve over waffles, ice cream, with peanut butter on toast or anything else you want to add a little blackberry kick to!

Apple Almond Cranberry Charoset

This is another recipe from our makeshift Seder meal this year. Traditional Charoset is a paste like mixture of fruits, nuts, and wine. It's color and texture are meant to represent the mortar used by enslaved Israelites, but there are a lot of other symbolism given to this fruit salad of sorts. As mentioined previously, we are not jewish or kosher but we do celebrate the Passover. This is my modern take on Charoset. 

Apple Almond and Cranberry Charoset
ingredients

• 2 Gala Apples
• 1 cup Almonds
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2-3 Tbsp Orange Juice
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

directions

1. Core and slice two apples and add to a food processor. Add the almonds and cinnamon and pulse. With the food processor running drizzle in orange juice. 
2. Pulse until apples are a small dice. Empty into a large bowl and mix in cranberries. 
3. Serve with matzah and bitter herbs.

Spiked! Sparkling Berry Champagne Cupcakes

As New Years Eve rolled around, my mind was taken over by the idea of a beautifully light, slightly sweet, deliciously moist Champagne Cupcake! I was discouraged by the fact that it was just Berkeley and I this year, and I had really never tackled something this big. I mulled it over for a week and since 24 cupcakes (the average recipe yield) is a lot for only two people, I put the idea on the back burner.

Fast forward a week and the lovely Julie from This Gal Cooks and Carrie the Frugal Foodie Mama made a great announcement. They have started a new challenge where every two months there is a new booze to incorporate into a non-beverage recipe. January is, fittingly, Champagne!

This recipe is the result of quite a few other recipes intersecting and mingling. Usually I use a white cupcake recipe that is the product of Paula Deen's Old Fashioned Cupcake Recipe and How Sweet Treats' Funfetti Cupcake. So I took my low altitude cupcake batter (sans sprinkles) and obliterated it to make it High Altitude friendly, made some adjustments to add the booze, and called it a day!

To me, just a champagne flavored cake wasn't "ME". I typically enjoy my glasses of prosecco, moscato, and champagne with a few frozen berries. It keeps my glass chilled while adding a sweet tang. So I ventured into unknown territory (for me)! A berry champagne filling! The final touch to my Pièce de résistance is the champagne icing!

As a reminder, the following recipe for the cupcakes is adjusted for high altitudes. The above Martha Stewart recipe can easily be adapted for champagne or sparkling wine. Just use half of the milk and the other half is wine. Both the filling and the icing do not need to be altered for altitude considerations and can be made as is. Also, I had the champagne reducing on a bak burner while I filled the pot with berries. A rogue chunk of raspberry fell into the champagne hence the light pink hue of the icing.



Sparkling Berry Champagne Cupcakes (High-Altitude)
ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 egg whites
• 3 cups minus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup sparkling wine (I used Cupcake Moscato d'Asti)

directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350* Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, roughly 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the salt and vanilla. Beat in the egg whites one at a time, blending each into the batter before adding the next.
3. Combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in a bowl.
4. Add the flour mixture and cream and wine alternating between the three, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
5. Stop mixing and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat on high speed for 10 seconds.
6. Portion the batter into lined muffin cups. Fill 2/3 full. 
7. Bake for about 18 minutes or until the centers spring back when lightly touched. Cool completely. While baking cupcakes start making filling and frosting.

Berry Champagne Filling  (not altered for high altitude)
ingredients

• 2 cups mixed berries (I used frozen raspberry, blackberry, blueberry mix)
• 2 Tbsp sparkling wine (Cupcake Moscato d'Asti) 
• sugar to taste
• orange zest

directions

1. Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium to low heat until desired consistency
2. Press through a strainer to remove seeds and set aside to cool. 
3. Once cupcakes and filling are cool, use a small sharp knife to cut a 1 inch circle through the top of the cupcake. 
4. Gently core the cupcake. Spoon in desired amount of filling.
5. Trim the cored out cupcake and to make a top to cover filling, then frost!

Champagne Cream Cheese Icing (not altered for high altitude)
ingredients

• 1  1/2 cup sparkling wine, set 2 Tbsp aside (again Cupcake Moscato d'Asti)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened 
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar (plus more)

directions

1. Place moscato (minus the 2 Tbsp) in a small saucepan. Simmer until moscato is reduced to 2-3 Tbsp. Set aside to cool. 
2.  In a separate bowl, cream softened butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar until combined.  
3. Add in the reduced moscato and the remaining 2 Tbsp of moscato and mix well. 
4. The icing may be runny at this point. Add more confectioner's sugar as needed to get a desired sweetness/consistency you like.
5. Frost cupcake and ENJOY!

Very Berry Summer Pie

My grandma had a big dinner at her house deep in the woods on Saturday afternoon. I went to visit her earlier in the week. She pulled out this recipe and asked me to make it. It includes Jello gelatin and I was a little nervous on the resulting consistency of the pie filling, but it was delicious! I will be making this again for Berkeley to enjoy as well.

Very Berry Summer Pie
ingredients

• 3/4 c sugar 
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1 1/2 c water 
• 1 package jello 
• 1 cup blueberries 
• 1 cup raspberries 
• 1 cup sliced strawberries 
• 2 cups whipped cream or can of whipped topping
• 1 pie crust

directions

1. Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Gradually stir in water until smooth. 
2. While stirring constantly, cook on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. 
3. Stir in gelatin until completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Stir in berries. 
4. Pour mixture into prepared pie crust. 
5.  Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm. Top with whipped cream before serving. Makes 8 servings.