Cranberry Bread

At Thanksgiving I bought lots of cranberries. They store really well in the freezer and are more inexpensive during November than at other times of the year. We eat a lot of cranberries here, mostly because there are so many different ways to prepare them. This recipe is a big hit with guests.

Cranberry Bread

2 cups flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
¼ cup softened butter
1¼ cups sugar
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
1 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour one loaf pan.

Combine all ingredients.
Place batter in prepared pan.

Bake for 50 minutes.

Raspberry Cheesecake

Decadence, thy name is raspberry cheese cake!

Raspberry Cheesecake

Cake:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 t. almond extract

Filling:
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Topping:
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut butter into flour. Mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.

Reserve 1 cup crumbs for topping.

Add baking powder, soda, salt, sour cream, egg and almond extract to bowl and blend well. Spread batter over bottom and 2 inches up the sides of a greased and floured springform pan.

Combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and egg. Pour over batter in the pan. Spoon jam evenly over cheese filling.

Combine reserved flour mixture and almonds and prinkle over top.

Bake at 350° for about 60 minutes or until cream cheese filling is set and crust is golden brown.

Cool 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan.

Cake should be stored in refrigerator.

Ricotta Pancakes

Looking for something different for your weekend breakfast? Why not try an old Italian recipe. These are a little bit of work but they are definitely worth the trouble.

Ricotta Pancakes

4 eggs
2 cups ricotta cheese
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups flour
2 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 ½ cups milk

Separate eggs.

Beat egg yolks, cheese and sour cream until smooth. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add to egg mixture and stir until batter is smooth.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into batter.

Lightly brush a large skillet with butter and heat skillet. Pour batter in small amounts onto skillet, forming small pancakes. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until pancakes are lightly browned.

Serve dusted with confectioner’s sugar, if desired.

Chocolate Bread

Chocolate Bread

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
2 T. cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
½ t. cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup sour cream
½ cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together dry ingredients. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture. Add vanilla. Stir in sour cream, walnuts and chocolate morsels.

Pour batter into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Apple Cake in a Jar

Want to try something interesting? Kids love to help make (and eat!) these little cakes.

Apple Cake in a Jar

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter
2 2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
2 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
1 t. salt
3 cups flour
2/3 cup water
3 cups grated apples
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl beat together butter, sugar and eggs. Add water and mix well.

Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour in a bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in small batches. When all ingredients are thoroughly combined, add the apples, raisins and nuts and stir to mix.

Lightly butter the insides of 8 wide-mouth canning jars. Place batter in each jar, filling each jar half full. Place jars on a baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated 325-degree oven for 45 minutes.

Heat jar bands and lids in a small saucepan filled with water on the top of the stove. When the cakes come out of the oven, immediately wipe the rims of the hot jars with a clean dish towel. Dry the bands and lids. Affix lids and bands to the jars and allow to cool.

The cakes will stay fresh in the well-sealed jars for 2 weeks.

Tortellini Soup

My husband likes this soup. Me? No, I don’t, but I’ve got some Black Bean soup leftover in the fridge.

Tortellini Soup

3 uncooked Italian sausage links
1 quart water
3 cups stewed tomatoes
1 can condensed French onion soup
2 cups broccoli
2 cups green beans
2 cups cheese tortellini
Parmesan cheese

Cut sausage into chunks and brown. Add all ingredients except for tortellini and and Parmesan. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add tortellini and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve with Parmesan sprinkled on surface of soup.

Hot Buttered Apple Cider

Hot Buttered Apple Cider

6 cups apple cider
½ cup brown sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1 ½ t. whole allspice
1 t. whole cloves
1 lemon peel, in strips
2 cups rum
butter
1 apple, thinly sliced

In a large pot, combine apple cider and brown sugar and heat.

Tie the cinnamon sticks, allspice, cloves and lemon peel in a small cheesecloth bag and add it to the cider mixture. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove spice bag from liquid. Pour rum into cider and stir. Serve in large mugs, with a half-pat of butter floating on the surface of the cider in each mug. Top with a slice of apple and serve while cider is hot.

Lemon Berry Tart

All summer long we pick berries here. I wash and freeze a lot of them. Now, when summer is long gone but we’ve got a hankering for something sweet and summery, I bring them out and put them to good use.

Any tart crust will do with this recipe. Sometimes I use a brown sugar tart. Other times, a basic pastry. Every now and again I’ll make this with a nut crust. As I said, the crust is completely up to you.

Enjoy!

Lemon Berry Tart

4 teaspoons strawberry preserves
3 cups berries
8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup lemon curd
½ cup sugar

Whip together cream cheese and lemon curd until mixture is smooth. Spread mixture on cooled tart crust, and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Shortly before serving, mix sugar with berries and set aside, allowing the juices to run.

Just before serving, arrange fruit on cheese and lemon mixture. Glaze with heated strawberry preserves and serve.