The Cranberry COOKBOOK

You could call these breakfast bars or snack bars because they are good any time of day, but they are especially good when you are running out the door on an empty stomach. Take the time to roast the nuts before baking the bars; it makes them extra crunchy. After that, you are on easy street. Warm brown rice syrup with vanilla and salt, stir it into the nuts, and bake. A scant sprinkle of flaky salt on top gives these bars addictive power.

Cut two 9 x 12-inch pieces of parchment. Fit them, perpendicular to each other, into a 9-inch square pan leaving an overhang. Brush or spray with oil.

On a rimmed baking sheet, spread the almonds, cashews, and pumpkin seeds. Bake for 8 minutes, or until fragrant and toasty. Turn oven down to 325°F.

In a bowl, combine the toasted almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, brown rice cereal, and cranberries.

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the syrup, vanilla, and fine salt until warm and fluid. Pour it over the nuts, and mix until well coated. Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly.

Wet one hand with cold water, and press the mixture to firm and flatten it all the way into the corners of the pan. Sprinkle the coarse salt or sea salt evenly over the top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Set the pan on a wire rack, and cool completely.

Using the parchment, lift the bars in one piece and transfer to a cutting board. With a large, sharp knife, make 1 cut in one direction and 3 cuts in the other to form 8 bars. Wrap each bar separately in waxed paper and store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Chocolate Cranberry Zucchini Muffins

These muffins prove that any time of day is a good time for chocolate. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups to achieve beautiful rounded tops. Almond flour gives them a rich flavor and moist texture; it is simply finely ground almonds, which you could make yourself in a food processor. To give these muffins sparkle and color, sprinkle them with coarse sugar and a few pinches of chopped pistachios.

Generously butter the cups and rims of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, or line the tin with paper cupcake liners. Have on hand a 2½-inch ice-cream scoop.

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Make a large well in the center of the bowl and break the eggs into it. Add the honey, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat with a fork to mix thoroughly. With a spatula, stir until the flour is well incorporated. Stir in the zucchini and cranberries.

Using the ice cream scoop, fill each muffin cup, rounded side up, with about ⅓ cup batter.

Sprinkle the muffins with the turbinado sugar and pistachios, and set the tin on a baking sheet. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs.

Set the muffin tin on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool on the rack.

Grated zucchini (a vegetable!) has become a popular addition to cakes and muffins to add moisture since the 1960s, also the prime era of the rise of carrot cake, still popular today.

Cornmeal-Cranberry-Pecan Pancakes with Cranberry-Maple Syrup

If you are looking for a New England recipe for a relaxing Sunday breakfast, leave the pancake mix at the back of the cupboard and take a little extra time to make these. Start by gently poaching the cranberries in maple syrup and then leave them to steep and cool. The syrup tames the sour berries and yields a lovely ruby syrup to serve with the pancakes. You can make the syrup ahead of time and refrigerate it with the berries for up to two weeks.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cranberries, syrup, and apple juice to a boil. Adjust the heat to simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover the pan, and let the cranberries steep for 15 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the syrup into a shallow dish and place in the freezer for 20 minutes, or chill in the refrigerator until cool. (You can make this up to two weeks in advance.)

Set a strainer over a bowl and drain the cranberries, reserving the liquid. Use the berries in the pancakes, and reserve the syrup to pour over them.

In a large bowl, stir the cornmeal, salt, and boiling water together. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, honey, vanilla, and melted butter until combined. Pour over the cornmeal. Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl, and stir with a sturdy whisk until the batter is smooth. Stir in the strained cranberries and the pecans.

Set a pancake griddle or large, seasoned skillet over medium heat. Spread about 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in the pan, and wipe out the excess with a paper towel. When the pan is hot, drop the batter by ⅓ cupfuls into the skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the pancakes bubble on top and the bottoms are browned. Turn them over and cook for 2 minutes more, or until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan as necessary. If batter thickens as it sits, stir in a little more milk to return it to the desired consistency.

Crunchy Vanilla Almond Granola

This granola surpasses any you can buy ready-made, and puts the crunch back into crunchy granola. It takes about 25 minutes to make, and only 5 minutes are hands on, so baking it has become routine in our house. It has just a hint of salt, enough to make it addictive, and is very lightly sweetened. You can start your morning off without sugar shock. Dried cranberries add the perfect counterpoint, and give another health boost to the most important meal of the day.

Heat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper about 1 inch larger all around than the size of the pan.

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the honey, olive oil, vanilla, and salt for 2 minutes, or until warm and fluid, and the salt dissolves. Pour it over the oats, and stir to coat them. Spread on the baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven. Grasp each corner of the parchment and pull it toward the center to mound the granola into a pile. Stir with a large spoon and spread it out again in one layer. Return it to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove, and mound the granola in the center again. If it still looks pale in places, stir, spread, and return the pan to the oven to toast for 3 or 4 minutes more. (Total baking time is 20 to 25 minutes.) Leave on the baking sheet to cool.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cranberries. Leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight jar or tin for up to 2 weeks.

Cranberry-Apricot Cream Scones

One summer, years ago, my four-year old son and I traveled with my husband on business to England where we stayed at a fancy manor hotel. It was early June, and strawberries were at their peak. With time on our hands, my son and I whiled away an afternoon with tea and scones, served with a heaping plate of strawberries and clotted cream. As though he were repeating lines in a script, my son asked in all innocence, “Please sir, may I have some more?” We were promptly supplied with more of everything and after some negotiations with the chef, I obtained this recipe, which I have adapted to family-size servings. Don’t think you’re being cheeky if you ask for more; after all, it was perfectly acceptable at the manor house.

Set an oven rack in the middle position, and heat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Add the butter slices and mix on medium-low speed until the butter is in pea-size pieces. (You can also do this by hand with your fingertips.)

Remove the bowl from the stand and add the apricots. With your hands, toss to separate them and coat them in the flour. Repeat with the cranberries. Add the egg and cream mixture, and stir with a spatula until the flour is incorporated.

Scrape the dough onto a generously floured work surface and knead a few times, just until the dough comes together. Do not overwork it. It should be soft but not too sticky. Roll the dough to a ¾-inch thickness. Dip a 3-inch round cutter in flour and press it straight down into the dough without twisting. Repeat until all the dough is used, dipping the cutter in flour between cuts. Gather the scraps, knead once or twice, and roll and cut out scones again until all the dough is used. Transfer the rounds to the baking sheet.

With a pastry brush, brush scones with the remaining cream. Place them in the oven and immediately decrease the heat to 400°F. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the scones are lightly browned. Cool on the sheet for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Note: To keep scones from rising unevenly, press the cutter straight down into dough without twisting it.

Cranberry-Chocolate Babka

I lived in Indiana for years and I often flew to visit my family in New Jersey. A friend and die-hard New Yorker always insisted I stop in the city to pick up a babka from The Babka Bakery on the Upper West Side to take home to the Midwest. I would do that until somewhere along the way I came up with a recipe to save myself the long trip. A good thing, too, since the bakery has closed. This is my latest version. I love the contrast of the tart cranberries and the chocolate. Yes, it’s a bit of a project, but a fun one. After you try it once, you will want to make it again for special occasions. You can also double the recipe, bake the loaves, and freeze one for another day.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir 1½ cups flour with the yeast and the salt. Add the milk, whole egg, egg yolk, and butter. Beat on medium speed for 4 minutes, or until very sticky and stretchy.

Add the remaining ½ cup flour and mix for 2 minutes more. The dough will be soft. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and form the dough into a ball. (Wet your hands if the dough is very sticky.)

Sprinkle a clean bowl with the oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to coat it all over with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 to 1½ hours, or until doubled in bulk.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the cranberries are soft. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a food processor, pulse the cranberry mixture 3 or 4 times, or until it is coarsely pureed with a few visible chunks of cranberry. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate until cold.

In food processor, pulse the walnuts, sugar, flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and butter until it is crumbly and dark brown. Transfer to a bowl. Set aside ¼ cup of the streusel for the loaf pan.

Generously butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of the reserved streusel, tilting the pan to cover the bottom and sides.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 14-inch square. With a pastry brush dipped in water, brush a 1-inch border on all four sides. Spread the cranberry filling on the dough to the edge of the border. Spread the remaining streusel on the cranberries. With a rolling pin, gently press the streusel into the dough.

* Instant yeast, also packaged as rapid rise yeast, is a slightly different strain of yeast than regular active dried yeast. Instant yeast is dried and milled into smaller particles than its original cousin and its main advantage is that it does not have to be dissolved in water and “proofed” before using.

Starting at a long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With your fingers, pinch the long seam together and turn the roll so the seam side is down.

With a serrated knife, cut across the log in the center to make 2 rolls. Pinch the ends together and roll each one back and forth gently to stretch it to about 12 inches. Set it horizontally on the work surface.

Place the second roll vertically on top of the first to form a cross. Pick up the left arm of the cross and twist it over and to the right of the center roll. Pick up the right arm of the cross and twist it over and to the left of the center roll. You should now have a loaf with three bumps.

Tuck the ends under the loaf and set it in the pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave in warm place to rise for 1 hour, or until the loaf is about 1 inch above the top of the pan.

Set a rack in the middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Place the loaf pan on a baking sheet.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer registers 190°F when inserted into the center of the loaf. (Total baking time is about 1 hour.) Check after 35 minutes and if the loaf is browning too quickly, place a piece of foil loosely over the top.

Set the loaf on a rack and cool for 10 minutes. Turn the loaf out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool. To serve, cut in thick slices.

Cranberry-Maple Butter

Don’t let any extra syrup or cranberries go to waste! Make as little or as much of this flavored butter as you like (recipe can be doubled or tripled). Then spread it on biscuits, toast, or even French toast for a special morning treat.

Scoop out the cranberries from the syrup and coarsely chop them. Return them to the syrup.

In a small bowl, beat the butter, cranberries and syrup, salt, and orange zest until fluffy. Pack the butter into a ramekin, or form into a 4-inch log on a piece of parchment paper. Twist the ends of the parchment paper and roll the mixture back and forth a few times to form a round log. Refrigerate until ready to use.