Posts Tagged ‘cranberries’

There are a few frequently asked questions that I frequently . . . get asked . . .

Can I share my favorite with you? Can I just get this off my chest? Okay.

Q: Oh LaChelle, how come you’re not 500 lbs, with all these treats and goodies you eat all day long?

A: *facepalm*

I love this question. See, people come to this blog and assume that my family and I subsist on cake and cinnamon rolls. I think that’s pretty hilarious.

Honestly, I eat very little of the goodies I make. They’re usually for an event, or to give away to someone. And when I do make something just for fun, I send 98% of it away with my husband to work. He puts it in the break room for all of his office buddies to consume. And good grief, they do.

Now, take a moment and read over that last paragraph. Got it?

Good. See, that’s actually the answer I would have given you, if you had asked before I made these sweet rolls.

I made a whole bunch of these rolls for that Return of the Jedi party I mentioned earlier. Did I send the leftovers with my husband to work? Good heavens, no. I kept them home and had inhaled at least four of them by 10:00 a.m. Yeah, not one of my finer moments. But ooooohh, they were good.

I’ll be honest, if I were forced to choose only one baked treat for the rest of my life, there would be none of that wishy-washy “oh-I-could-never-choose-just-one” bunk. The winner would easily be fluffy, sticky, chewy, yeasted sweet rolls. Heaven. Just, heaven.

I’m not sure what else I can say to convince you to go make these. Just . . . go make them.

Promise me you will.

Orange Cranberry Sweet Rolls

recipe for dough adapted from Lion House Bakery

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup nonfat dry milk

2 tablespoons Instant yeast* (such as SAF)

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs

5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour

filling:

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/3 cup melted butter

Dried cranberries

glaze:

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons orange juice

Directions:

Prepare the filling first by creaming together the sugar and cinnamon with the orange zest. Set aside.

Next make the dough. In a large bowl, combine the water, dry milk, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, eggs, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix just until smooth. Add two more cups of flour, and mix until incorporated (I do this by hand with a wooden spoon). Then mix in just enough of the remaining flour to make a very soft dough. Don’t go by the exact amount in the recipe — go by the feel of the dough. The dough shouldn’t be so sticky that you can’t knead it, but just barely manageable. The less flour you add, the softer the rolls will be, generally. Knead for about 6-8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll into a rectangular shape, roughly 20″ x 12″. Brush dough with the 1/3 cup of melted butter, and sprinkle evenly with the sugar/orange zest mixture. Sprinkle with dried cranberries. Carefully roll the rectangle up lengthwise and cut into 1-inch slices using thread or floss. Place rolls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size. Halfway through rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until golden brown. While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze by mixing together the butter and powdered sugar, and stirring in enough orange juice to make it “drizzling” consistency. Stir briskly until smooth. As soon as the rolls are removed from the oven, drizzle or brush the glaze over the hot rolls.

*Note: If you want to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, I can’t make any promises, but you should make these adjustments:

• Dissolve 2 tablespoons active dry yeast with the warm water and sugar for about 5 minutes before you add it to the other ingredients to make the dough.
• Once you are done kneading the dough, place it in a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise until doubled. After it’s risen, punch it down and roll it into a rectangle, resuming the recipe as written.

I think it’s good to be reminded now and then that I’m alive. Not only alive, but vulnerable. Remember that one part about life where none of us are invincible?

Last night I visited a dear elderly friend in the hospital. He’s always been the active, outdoorsy type, and he recently broke his neck in a wacky snowmobile accident. He instantly went from strong to weak, mobile to paralyzed, independent to helpless. Wow. I try to wrap my brain around that, and it just doesn’t work.

I’m currently taking an online course for Medical Transcription. In studying all of the organs, tissues, and systems, and all of the many, many things that can go wrong with all of them, it’s mind-blowingly amazing that all of us aren’t in the hospital, all of the time.

Life is short. So make your battle plan: Carpe diem. Show your love. Give hugs. Call your mom. Plant flowers. Learn to sing. Volunteer. Read books. Hold a baby. Go for long walks. Bake cookies and give them to that new family next door. Turn off the TV, and get up from the computer, and start living life instead of looking at it. I’m not talking about hedonism here, I’m talking about taking advantage of your time and energy and youth to accomplish things now.

Now, speaking of celebrating life, I brought you baked goods. The epitome of bliss, right? These scones are delightful. I’m saving a couple for breakfast tomorrow.

Cranberry Gingerbread Scones

adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces

Zest of 1 lemon (optional)

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup buttermilk

2-1/2 tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for egg wash:

1 large egg

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 cup turbinado sugar (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the lemon zest and cranberries. In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, molasses and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and about 1-1/2 inches thick. Cut the circle in half, then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk, and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with some rolled oats, or turbinado sugar.

Place the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Okay everybody, raise your hand if you LOVE January.

. . .

I agree. You know why? Nothing happens in January. The holidays are over. And it’s just cold. Sure, it’s cold in December too, but December cold is purposeful because it’s Christmas time. December cold is fun because you cozy up by the fireplace and sip peppermint cocoa and listen to Bing Crosby sing about the weather. January cold isn’t nearly as picturesque.

No offense to anyone with a January birthday, but January is sort of a boring month. Sort of like August.

Baking in January doesn’t hold quite the same excitement for me, either. It’s the end of seasonal, traditional holiday foods, with pumpkin and cranberries and apples and walnuts and oranges, and those delicious spices that rise from the oven and make your kitchen smell like the North Pole. What do you eat in January? I’m at a loss here.

Well, I’m not entirely at a loss, because I’m being a little rebellious–I’m not ready to let go of my Christmas recipes yet. So I pulled out some fresh cranberries that have been hiding away in my freezer for a day like today, and I put them to good use.

This bread is scrumptious any time of year, providing you’ve got some cranberries on hand. The apple flavor is more of a backdrop than you’d expect–you won’t be hit over the head with apple, but let’s be honest, the cranberries and cinnamon are the real showstoppers here.

Apple Cranberry Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups peeled and grated tart apple
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be very thick.

Mix in the grated apples and the cranberries. The juice from the apples will thin the batter slightly. Stir in nuts if desired.

Pour batter evenly into two prepared 4×8 loaf pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm, or wrap overnight to soften.