i baked with fresh cranberries for the first time last year when i made
meyer lemon and fresh cranberry scones. i was really surprised how much i enjoyed the favor. i always thought i didn't like cranberries - but i do - i really do.
i first saw this recipe in Gourmet and i marked it to make. i cannot believe i let this much time pass before making it but i guess you could say it was worth the wait.
the crust is really amazing - it is a lot like shortbread. a perfect base for the cranberry "jelly". i changed some things with the cranberry layer. first of all i added some raspberry jam, i love the combination on cranberry and raspberry. i also decided to add some lemon zest to help perk up the flavor a bit. the changes worked really well and the bars were a hit. i think my favorite part - the red color. it is so vivid and beautiful.
cranberry bars1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (not thawed if frozen; 3/4 pound)
1/4 cup raspberry jam
1/4 cup water
zest of 1 lemon
Confectioners sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Line a 9-inch square baking pan with 2 crisscrossed sheets of parchment, leaving an overhang on 2 opposite sides, then butter the parchment.
Blend butter, flour, salt, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a food processor until mixture begins to clump together. Press into bottom of pan.
Bake until pale golden and sides begin to pull away from pan, 25 to 30 minutes.
While crust is baking, cook cranberries, remaining 2/3 cup granulated sugar, and water in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until berries burst, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the raspberry jam and the lemon zest and stir to combine.
Pour cranberry mixture through a sieve to remove the skins of cranberries and seeds. Push through sieve.
Pour cranberries over crust and bake until edge is golden, about 25 minutes.
Sift confectioners sugar over top and cool completely in pan on a rack. Lift out of pan using foil overhang and cut into 12 squares, then sift more confectioners sugar over top.
recipe adapted from
gourmet
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and/or
subscribing to the feed
to have future recipes delivered to your feed reader.
these carrot cake cookies almost converted me from a pumpkin lover to a
carrot cake lover. yes, they are that good. the cookie itself is soft
and moist - yet strong enough to hold up as a sandwich cookie. i added
more spice to the mix because that is how i roll. i think it is a major
improvement over the original recipe. i usually could leave the frosting
out of the equation but in this case - the frosting makes these
cookies. the cookie itself is not very sweet and the creamy sweetness of
the cream cheese frosting balances out the cookie with the perfect
amount of sweetness to compliment the spices in the cookie. these carrot
cake cookies would be the perfect picnic or backyard barbecue dessert. 
i love the idea of using rice krispies in a cookie. i have adapted the
recipe a bit by adding toffee and cinnamon but i think the rice krispies
are what make them special. the cookie itself is crisp but the middle
is still chewy. the toffee melts the perfect amount to be chewy but
still hold that toffee texture i love. ever since i made 
these cookies are INCREDIBLE! i am not exaggerating - they are
perfection. the crispy cookie and the white chocolate would be amazing
on their own but the addition of the sea salt - oh my! the salty crunch
on top makes these cookies one of the best i have ever made.Session dataSession data 
these peanut butter and jelly bars fit the bill perfectly. not only are
they simple to make - you can easily double the recipe for a large
crowd. i need my peanut butter to be chunky - the smooth stuff just
doesn't feel like peanut butter to me - so i substituted chunky for
smooth. any kind of berry jam will work great and for those of you
grape jelly fans - that would work as well. i added a bit on honey to
the batter and honey roasted peanuts to the top because i think peanut
butter and honey are naturals together. 
the mixed apple pie was probably one of my favorite pies i have
made because each apple was so different - different flavor and
texture. they combined perfectly. the all butter pastry crust was flaky
and i had a lot of fun making up the top crust. i have done lattice - i
have done full crust - i have done crumble topping. i wanted something
special this time. i took the top crust and cut out circles with a
biscuit cutter and overlapped the circles. it looked like a flower. i
will be using that one again - it makes a traditional pie new again. 
this cake met every expectation i had and then some. i used a different
recipe for the cake because i have one i love and the baked recipe makes
a three layer cake which i thought was overkill. i made everything else
from the baked recipe. this was not an easy cake for me to make as i
seem to be cursed when it comes to caramel but it was worth all the
effort. the balance of the sweet & salty flavors is perfection. the
cake itself is pure decadence but with fleur de sel and caramel it puts
it into a whole other world.
i get why people love these brownies and i am sure they are equally
fabulous on their own but i am telling you they are a little slice of
heaven when marbled with a cream cheese swirl. i upped the amount of
espresso powder and decreased the sugar by a bit because i do that in
most recipes. both adaptations worked really well and i think they
enhanced the deep chocolate flavor in these brownies. 
