Lemon Cranberry Muffins

With a few left over cranberries in the fridge during the holiday season, I wanted to find a way to incorporate them into a warm winter breakfast. I knew waffles would be a no-go (My blueberry waffles turned out wonderfully this summer, but whole fruits/berries in Belgium waffle makers makes a mess, and the waffles are difficult to get out). My next thought was muffins, and I had everything I needed to make them.

The lemon & cranberry combination works well together in these muffins. The cranberries are quite tart, but the muffin itself is just sweet enough to counteract the tartness. They store well in a tupperware for a couple days, making them a great Sunday breakfast, with leftovers to eat the next few mornings. (And they're easy to bring with on the commute to work when you're running behind... Not that I ever get a late start on these early, dark mornings...)



LEMON CRANBERRY MUFFINS (Adapted from Food Republik)
Makes approximately 14-16 muffins

1 - 6oz container of lemon yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
pinch salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/4 cup oil
2 cups fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix the yogurt, sugar, salt, eggs and lemon extract together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir together until moistened.

Add oil and mix until batter is smooth and homogeneous. Fold in cranberries.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into muffins comes out clean.

ENJOY!

Cranberry Cheesecake

I recently realized that it's been years since I made a cheesecake. Without a lot of family nearby to help eat it (and with a lactose intolerant husband), a cheesecake can be dangerous for me to have around! There is no way I would be able to let any of it go to waste, so I'd have to eat cheesecake at least once or twice a day until it was gone.

Although I had to work on Thanksgiving, my friends hosted a full turkey dinner the next day so that I wouldn't miss out on the celebration. I quickly jumped on the opportunity to make dessert, and wanted to try something different from my typical honey crunch pecan pie (which I promise to share at some point in the future). I wanted to find a cheesecake recipe that would compliment the meal, and knew that cranberry was the way to go.

I substituted some light ingredients, so the texture wasn't quite as heavy, but it still tasted great! I would suggest more cranberries, though, if you want a stronger cranberry flavor - the Oreo crust competed with the cranberries more than I would have liked, but they do blend together well.



CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE (Adapted from Frankly Entertaining)
Makes 1 - 9 inch Cheesecake

Crust:
3 cups Oreo cookies, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted

Glaze:
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups cranberries

Cake:
3 - 8oz packages cream cheese (I used 2 light and 1 regular)
1 cup sugar
1 cup light sour cream
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine cookie crumbs and butter and press into the bottom of a 9″ springform pan (& about 1 inch up the sides). Bake for 8 minutes, let cool.

Increase temperature of the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over med-high heat. Bring to a boil for 1 min. Add cranberries, reduce heat until most of the berries have popped. Press mixture through a sieve or food mill. Reserve liquid. (Discard the solid cranberries)

For the cake, start by mixing cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing between each one. (Be sure to scrape the edges of your bowl regularly).
Add sour cream and vanilla.

Add mixture to cookie crust. Add a few tablespoons of the cranberry liquid and swirl it into the batter with a knife.

Bake for 45 minutes. Be sure to place the pan onto a cookie sheet as small amounts of butter may leak out the bottom.

When the cake is done (very little "jiggle" in the center), leave it in the oven, with the door open, for two hours.

After the cake is completely cool, top it with the rest of the cranberry liquid, and place in the fridge overnight.

ENJOY!

Cranberry Sauce

Although I won't be able to spend Thanksgiving with family, I knew I couldn't let the holiday pass by without plenty of cranberry sauce! I grew up with the canned cranberry sauce - the gelled form, sliced after being slid out of the can. It wasn't until I was in college that I was introduced to the "real thing" and knew that I would never be buying a can of cranberry sauce. It is incredibly easy to make - don't be afraid to give it a try.



Easy Cranberry Sauce

12 oz bag of cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries, and cook until they start to pop. Remove from heat, and transfer to a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

ENJOY!

Cranberry Crumb Bars

My Dad LOVES when I bake for him. Back when I was a poor college student (not much different from being a poor resident!), I gave him "Cookie of the Month" multiple years as a Christmas present. I would bake him cookies & mail them to him monthly. (He rarely shared, often placing them in the freezer & rationing them to make them last a month!)

Now, I don't have the time to mail him goodies monthly. So, whenever he comes to visit, or when I visit him, I try to make a treat for him. These were a perfect fall treat - just slightly tart, but still a sweet treat. They would have been delicious with a little vanilla bean ice cream.

While they are a "crumb" bar - they are solid enough to eat in bar form without a fork & plate if desired.



CRANBERRY CRUMB BARS (Adapted from Allrecipes.com)
Makes 9x13 inch pan

2/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 large egg
1 pinch ground cinnamon

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, 2/3 cup white sugar, flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the shortening and egg. Dough will be crumbly (like damp sand). Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the cranberries. Sprinkle the cranberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.



ENJOY!