Best Cranberry Sauce Ever!

Best Cranberry Sauce Ever

It is this gastronome's favorite time of year!  The weather is cool, November is here and Turkey Day is rapidly approaching!  What could be better than a holiday that centers around sitting down with family and friends to enjoy a labor of love together?  I can't think of anything I would rather do. 

In fact, I love this beautiful holiday so much that I begin looking for recipes and ideas as soon as September begins.  I love to incorporate one or two new dishes into each Thanksgiving, while keeping the favorite stand-bys. This is one of my favorite dishes and I have made it year after year.  I started using this Paula Deen recipe years ago and have changed it a little each year.  I tweaked it even more this year in preparation for my favorite day and was so happy with the results.  

I actually used to hate cranberry sauce.  Or should I say "cranberry sauce."  You know what I am talking about.  The stuff that comes out of a can still looking like a can - ridges and all. Seriously.  You can see the ridges.  The first time I made this dish, I remember wondering why I ever thought cranberry sauce could only come in that hideous form.  I went from a cranberry sauce hater to a cranberry sauce lover.  Give this a try this year.  When you taste the tart berries, mixed with the sweet apple and sugar, the tang and brightness of citrus and the crunch of the walnuts, I know you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup water
1 12 Ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 Apple, peeled and chopped
1 Cup chopped walnuts
1/4 Cup Grand Marnier
2 Tablespoons apple brandy
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1/2 an orange
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon nutmeg

Step 1
Begin by prepping (of course, you know me! Prep then cook!:-)) your ingredients.  Peel and chop the apple, chop your walnuts if you bought them whole or halved, zest the orange and juice the half orange and lemon.

Step 2
The prep for this dish was easy, wasn't it?  The cranberry sauce only gets easier too...unbelievable, right?! 

Combine the water and sugar over medium-high heat and stir them until it begins to boil. 
 

Then add the cranberries and return it to a boil.

Step 3

 

When the cranberries begin to boil, add the rest of the ingredients and reduce the heat to a simmer. 

 

 

Stir the mixture occassionally and allow to to simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.  The cranberries will burst and combine with the apple pectin to create a ruby red, thick sauce. 

Let it cool completely and the store it in the refrigerator. 

Another beautiful thing about this sauce is you can keep it in the fridge for a few days, so it is definitely not one of those last minute, stressful dishes!

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Have you ever stared through the glass case at Starbucks, longing after those luscious cranberry covered beauties, while thinking, “I’m already spending $5.00 (not to mention the calories!) on my coffee...”, so you passed over them while they called your name, beckoning you to return?  I know I have.  I am so proud of myself every time I ignore those crimson jeweled triangles as they whisper, “Chelsea, Chelsea”.  But I could resist no longer.  This year I had to cave.  So instead of giving into the tart and tantalizing triangles behind the Starbucks case, I made some of my very own!  Now I can have them with my coffee every day (perhaps I should have told people a size larger when I mentioned clothing for Christmas…)!  If you love cranberries, please make these.  I promise they will make your mouth sing and your soul feel glad this Christmas season.  I found the blondie recipe from Taste of Home.  I appologize I do not have any process pictures; I was slacking...but here is what I did to construct this delectable Christmas treat:

Ingredients

Blondies
¾ Cup butter

1 ½ Cups light brown sugar, packed

2 Eggs

¾ Teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ Cups flour

1 ½ Teaspoons baking powder

¼ Teaspoon salt

1/8 Teaspoon cinnamon

½ Cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped

6 Ounces white chocolate chips

Frosting
4 Ounces butter, softened

4 Ounces cream cheese, softened

2 Cups powdered sugar

1 Teaspoon vanilla

Topping
½ Cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped

4 – 5 Ounces white chocolate chips

Zest from 1 orange

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 9 x 13 pan by spraying with cooking spray.  I also put parchment paper into the pan, cut large so that it hung off the sides, so I could remove the blondie bar from the pan easily when it had cooled.  Just press it against the spray so it sticks to the pan, and then spray the top of the parchment for good measure. J

Step 2

Melt the butter for the blondies and combine it with the brown sugar.  Allow it to cool enough that it won’t scramble your eggs.  Then add the eggs and vanilla and let them combine with the butter mixture.  Then add the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix until they are just combined.  Then add the cranberries and chocolate.

Step 3

Spread the batter in your pan and bake the blondies for 18 – 22 minutes (mine took closer to 22), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let them cool on a wire rack, OR, if you are like me and are utterly impatient, throw them in the fridge to cool for awhile!  But don’t be like me.  Patience is a virtue, don’tcha know?

Step 4

Prepare the frosting by beating the cream cheese and butter together.  Then add the powdered sugar and mix until it is creamy.  Then add the vanilla.

Step 5

Remove the blondies from the pan if you want to be fancy, or just leave them in the pan.  Either way, go ahead and frost them!  Then sprinkle the ½ cup of chopped cranberries on top.

Step 6

Using a double boiler, and making sure the boiling water does not touch the bottom of your chocolate bowl or pan, melt the white chocolate with the orange zest.  When it has melted, drizzle it on top of your blondies.  When the chocolate has cooled, you can slice the blondies into rectangles, triangles…or heck…just eat the whole pan!  They are THAT GOOD! J

Merry Christmas, my fellow foodies!