Cranberry Cheese Braid (gluten-free)

December’s Improv Challenge ingredients are cranberry and orange. There were sooooo many directions I wished to go with them, but finally settled on baked goods. I was wishing to try Pamela’s® Bread Mix, and here was my opportunity…
I’d made the cranberry sauce to go in a cream cheese schmear for Thanksgiving, so it was just sitting in the frig waiting for baking day.
Because I was multi-tasking, I tossed the dough ingredients into the bread machine:

• 1/2 c. warm water
• 1 T. yeast
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 t. Kosher salt
• 1/2 c. yogurt
• 1/2 c. softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 T. fresh orange zest
• 4 c. Pamela’s® Bread Mix

When it was finished with the first rise, I divided the dough in half then rolled it out onto silicone baking sheets.Down the middle third I spread half this cream cheese mixture:

• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c. honey
• 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 1/4 c. Pamela’s® Bread Mix

The two side of dough needs to be slashed about every inch, or so.
On top of the cheese I spooned 1/2 - 2/3 cup of the cranberry sauce. Then the strips of dough were crossed to form the braid.
(Of course, all this is repeated with the other half of the dough…)
The braids were covered with plastic wrap & let raise for an hour. They were baked in a pre-heated 350° oven for about an hour until they were nice & browned.
As they cooled, I prepared the vanilla cream glaze:

• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 6 T. heavy cream (or as needed for desired consistency)

This was a delicious gluten-free addition to my breakfast.(If you think I ate this only at breakfast time, you are mistaken!)(Actually, I’m eating a slice right now…)

Need holiday menu ideas? Then please check out these wonderful recipes from my friends:

An InLinkz Link-up

...and the gift goes on... ♪♫

(90's Sandi Patti, anyone?)

Where were we? Ah, yes -- homemade cranberry sauce. Delicious as it was, not everyone uses it with ham or turkey, so we had a bit left over. I decided to go searching for a quick bread recipe. I found one I really liked here. I did modify it, though, ever so slightly. Of course, mine is a cran/blackberry sauce and I used about two cups of it instead of one, and didn't add the half-cup milk. I also used whole wheat flour & modified the salt.

It smelled so good baking that my guys devoured the first loaf while still warm (barely got the orange glaze on...) It was moist & delicious.
This is the second loaf after resting a day. Still moist & still delicious! (I ate my slice without butter or cream cheese.) It was not too sweet and the bits of berry were not too tart.


Cranberry Sauce Bread
Cream 1/2 cup butter with 1 cup sugar. Add 2 cups cran/blackberry sauce, two beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Sift 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg & 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon into a smaller bowl. Gently add to wet ingredients. Spoon into prepared loaf pan(s) and bake @ 350° for an hour, or until tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Boil 1/4 cup orange juice with 1/8 cup sugar & spoon over the loaf after removal from pan.


mmmmmmmmmm -- so good! I'm going to link up with Sheryl's Cast Party Wednesday.
 

Cranberry sauce: the gift that keeps on giving...

Unfortunately, I grew up with cranberry sauce (from a can) & jelled cranberry (from a can) as a staple on our Thanksgiving & Christmas dinner tables. My grandma also made a relish of ground cranberries, citrus & nuts; while my mom contributed a fresh cranberry semi-jelled salad with huge cream cheesy nut-filled balls throughout.

So, is it any wonder that I totally rebelled and became quite the vocal anti-cranberry-ite throughout my teen & early adult years? Because the hubs was raised with the same cranberry jelly values, the absence of the fruit from our own holiday tables would never be an issue.

...that is, until I discovered the joy of cooking a fresh cranberry sauce on my stove a couple years ago. 

Fast forward to this Christmas, since we were serving both a ham & a turkey breast, I knew the sauce would be required. However, I changed it up a little. I had two bags of cranberries, so I made two sauces:  Honeyed Cran/Blackberry Sauce & Chipotlé Honey Cranberry Sauce. So simple, so tasty, so healthy! (& a little zippy!)

(Chipotlé to the left, with blackberries to the right...)

I know I took pictures of the process -- but cannot find them, anywhere! So alls I got for you are the recipes.

Honeyed Cran/Blackberry Sauce

1 pkg. cranberries

1 cup water

1/2 cup honey

Place in pan and cook over low heat, stirring until the honey dissolves.  Simmer until the cranberries start popping & changing color. After the berries reach your desired degree of doneness, gently stir in 1 cup frozen blackberries. The sauce will thicken as it cools to room temperature.

Chipotlé Honey Cranberry Sauce

1 pkg. cranberries

1 cup water

1/2 cup honey

Place in pan and cook over low heat, stirring until the honey dissolves.  Simmer until the cranberries start popping & changing color. After the berries reach your desired degree of doneness, stir in 1 or 2 Tbsp. chipotlé pepper purée (according to how hot you like it...)

Enjoy!

(Actually, don't enjoy it all -- 'cause tomorrow the gift will give again!)

Eggnog Cranberry Scones

Are you looking to impress your mother-in-law at the family's Christmas breakfast?  Are you searching for the perfect tasty morsel to bring to that Christmas tea party? Breathe a sigh of relief. You've stumbled upon the answer here!

Frugal Antic's Improv Challenge gives me the opportunity to share this scone recipe I've been developing for a couple months. Inspiration came from various cookbooks and scone recipes found at King Arthur Flour.

Start by letting those dry ingredients get all happy together:

Don't forget the beautiful cranberries!

Whisk up the 'nog & egg:

 give them some Christmas "cheer"

Stir just enough to moisten all the dry ingredients: 

Form dough into two rounds & cut in wedges: 

Place pieces onto baking parchment at least 1/2" apart: 

Brush with additional eggnog & sprinkle with cinnamon sugar:

Chill them while you preheat the oven:

Whip some cream while baking those bad boys:

Devour!

So -- if you're drooling for them, here is the recipe card:

I've prepared these for my guys ("Best ever, Mom!") a ladies' luncheon (rave reviews) & many batches for my online bake sale. Yes, this scone is guaranteed to please!

"NOM - NOM - NOM!"