Orange Cranberry Bread

For Thanksgiving I made a pumpkin cheesecake, which seems to have been this year's go-to dessert. However, because I was nursing a massive headache, I did not document my undertaking. For those interested, the recipe, which turned out quite well, can be found here. This week's recipe was found while searching for another recipe. It looks like it was part of a party itinerary that I can't quite recall throwing (must have been a great party). I halved it to make a single loaf. Also had to substitute dried cranberries that had been revived in boiling water for fresh cranberries because my grocery was inexplicably out.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted, cooled
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 egg, beaten
• 6 oz fresh cranberries or 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, boiled in water and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a large loaf pan
2. Combine dry ingredients, then stir in the wet ingredients.
3. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts and pour into loaf pan
4. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Cool on a baking rack.

Apple Cinnamon Muffin

This week's recipe was written all wrong. It called for self rising flour and additional baking powder, far too many apples and a whole lot of margarine. I made some corrections, including adjusting the baking time (and switching to butter), and I think they came out alright. I had some incredibly large Gala apples, so I only used one but it yielded about 2 cups of finely chopped apples. Adjust the recipe accordingly based on your apple of choice. The cinnamon sugar bakes up to a delightful crunch.

I'm gearing up for Thanksgiving baking and hope to have a bonus post in the next few days.


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 7 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 3 apples, chopped
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (for the cinnamon sugar)
• 6 tbsp granulated sugar (for the cinnamon sugar)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375, and grease a muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, milk, butter and vanilla.
4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix in the apples.
5. Spoon batter into each muffin cup until it is mostly full, then add a layer of cinnamon sugar.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, let cool.

Raspberry Coconut Zinger Squares

This week's recipe is supposed to be a homemade "Zinger," which, I gather, is a Little Debbie type snack cake. It looked interesting and I'm going to pass it off as coffee cake. Nothing special to report here, I made it according to the recipe for once (with the exception of using a glass baking dish instead of a metal cake tin because I didn't have one in the right size). It uses a surprisingly small amount of ingredient. Also, it is supposedly low fat.

Ingredients

Cake

• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 2 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 egg white
• ¼ cup low-sugar raspberry jam
  
• ¼ cup sweetened coconut

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat oil, sugar and egg whites about 1 minute, until the mixture is thick and starts to form bubbles on top. On low speed, beat in sour cream. Sprinkle the flour, baking powder and baking soda over the wet mixture, then beat on low speed until smooth. Spread batter evenly in baking dish. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the cake begins to brown around the edges.
• Meanwhile, place the cream cheese and powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixture until smooth. Add the egg white and beat until smooth.
• Pour over the partially baked cake and dot with the jam. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until the cream cheese topping is cooked through. Sprinkle with the coconut and bake an additional 5 minutes until the coconut browns.
• Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack, then slice and serve.

Cranberry Sweet Potato Muffins

This week's recipe is something of an unproven frankenstein. It started as a double loaf bread recipe that I cut down to make a single load, then I decided to change it from pumpkin to sweet potato based on last post's stellar results. Then I change it from bread to muffins. Next, I decided to use dried cranberries and cherries instead of cranberries and walnuts. I also soaked the dried fruit in boiling water to soften them prior to baking. I think it came out well despite bearing no resemblance to what the recipe started off as. Be aware this recipe in its current configuration only yields nine standards sized muffins.


Ingredients

• 1 heaping cup of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sweet potato puree
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries and cherries, softened in boiling water and drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a muffin tin (or bread pan)
2. In one bowl combine flour, spices, salt and baking powder.
3. In another bowl cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Add sweet potato and mix until combined. Gently stir in dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Gently fold in cranberries and cherries.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.