Apple Cranberry Streusel Pie / Sweet Rolls and Awards

   

I have the pleasure of hosting Christmas breakfast for my extended family every year. Traditionally we have sweet rolls, hash brown casserole (will post the recipe soon) and fresh squeezed orange juice. Plus divinity, fudge, sugar cookies and all the Christmas goodies that I’ve bake up or my sweet neighbors and friends have brought by.

This year I made four large candy cane sweet rolls, two with a cherry pie filling and two with an apple cranberry filling from my favorite pie.



I made this apple cranberry pie for Thanksgiving the last two years. It is a mouth watering combination of sweet and tart. You pre-cook the cranberries and apples separately, so there is never a concern that the pie will be too runny or that the cranberries will overpower the apples.

I love the added crunch and texture of a streusel topping. So instead of a traditional double crust pie, I add a sweet crumbly streusel topping. You can’t help but say ummmm when you’re eating this pie!



Apple Cranberry Streusel Pie
adapted from Cooks Illustrated, Nov./Dec. 2007

Cranberry Filling:
2 cups frozen or fresh cranberries, washed and picked over
1/4  cup orange juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon table salt

Apple Filling:
6-7 medium sweet apples  peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Streusel Topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter

Unbaked Single Crust Pie Shell

Bring cranberries, orange juice, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until the berries have popped and thickened about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature (30 minutes).

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and  1 tablespoon cornstarch in large microwave-safe bowl. Add apples and toss to coat. Microwave on high, stirring every 3 minutes, for 10-14 minutes or until the edges of the apples are slightly translucent and liquid has thickened. Cool to room temperature (30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 425°.

Roll refrigerated pie dough out to a 12-inch circle. Place dough in pie pan and flute edge as desired. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make Streusel Topping: In a medium bowl combine 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and oats. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

Spread the cranberry mixture evenly in the dough-lined pie pan. Top with apple mixture. Top with streusel topping.

Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° and continue to bake for 25-30 minutes, until apples are tender.

Cool before serving.


Awards
I have recently been honored with two sweet awards!



Sue, Munchkin Munchies, gave me the Snoopy Premio Blog Award. This was Sue’s first award, which amazes me because her blog is filled with delicious recipes and her great sense of humor. She has a great quote on her sidebar - “A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. ----Barbara Johnson, author and comedian.” That’s my kind of diet too Sue! Thanks for passing the award on to me!

I am passing this award on to my new Italian friend, Daniela, Daniela & Diocletian, who has a delicious Italian blog and always leaves me the nicest comments.



Tiffany, Food Finery, was awarded the One Lovely Blog Award. But not only does Tiffany have a lovely blog, she is a lovely person as well! I was fortunate enough to have recently met Tiffany and found out that she lives on the same street as my mom. It’s such a small wonderful world. Thanks for the award Tiff!

I am passing this award on to Sue, Munchkin Munchies, because she definitely has a lovely blog and deserves many awards. She is a very talented baker and her photographs are mouthwatering!

Daring Bakers’ Gingerbread House

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

I was planning on sitting out this challenge because I had so much on my plate. But my 19 year old son said his date wanted to make a gingerbread house. So I asked if I could make the dough using the DB recipe and they could bake it and decorate it. I used Y's recipe and I didn't have the problem many other DB’s had with it being too dry. 

It was my son’s first time making a gingerbread house and using a pastry bag. He and his date had fun creating this cute gingerbread house and they did a great job!

Y's Recipe:
Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.
2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.
3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place.
4. [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.]
5. Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.

Royal Icing:
1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Orange Cranberry Rugelach

Rugelach is a delicious Jewish pastry. The name means creeping vine because of the rolled-up shape of the cookie. I would often see these crescent shaped cookies at the store, but when Chaya, Sweet and Savory Says It All, posted a request for Chanukah recipes I thought it was the perfect time to try these beautiful flaky little Jewish treats.

Megan, Megan’s Cookin’, suggested I use Dorie’s rugelach recipe, Dorie Greenspan's Rugelach Secrets. Trish, The Mad Chemist, posted a Cranberry Raisin Rugelach recipe that sounded fabulous. So I combined the two recipes and made a delicious Orange Cranberry Raisin Rugelach for my 12th cookie of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.



Orange Cranberry Rugelach
4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Filling
2/3 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup chopped pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped golden raisins and dried cranberries

For the Glaze
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cold water
2 tablespoons sugar, preferably coarse sugar

Makes 32 cookies

TO MAKE THE DOUGH: Let the cream cheese and butter rest on the counter for 10 minutes — you want them to be slightly softened but still cool.

Combine flour and salt, cut butter and cream cheese into flour with a pastry blender or two knives until crumbly.

Shape into two disks, wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 1 day. (Wrapped airtight, the dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.)

Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. (Silicone baking mats are great for rugelach.)

TO SHAPE THE COOKIES: Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it is too firm to roll easily, either leave it on the counter for about 10 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11- to 12-inch circle. Stir marmalade until it liquefies.  Spread a thin layer of jam over the dough, and  scatter half of the nuts and fruits on top. Cover the filling with a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch.

Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges, or triangles. (The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough into quarters, then to cut each quarter into 4 triangles.) Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each cookie becomes a little crescent. Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate. Repeat with the second packet of dough, and refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes before baking. (The cookies can be covered and refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don't defrost before baking, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

TO GLAZE: Stir the egg and water together, and brush a bit of this glaze over each rugelach. Sprinkle the cookies with the sugar.

Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until they are puffed and golden. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

STORING: The cookies can be kept covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.

 


My cookie boxes were a big hit this year! It was so fun to have so many new and different flavors to try. If you missed any of the wonderful recipes I’ve linked to them below. Wishing you all happy holidays and a sweet new year!

• Molasses Cinnamon Crisps with Cinnamon Chips
• Alice’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Orange Nutella Pinwheel Cookies
• Lime Meltaways
• Cranberry Crumb Bars
• Pecan Squares
• World Peace Cookies
• Cherie’s Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oatmeal White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies
• Bitterkoekjes  - Almond Macaroons
• Orange Cranberry Rugelach

For more delicious 12 weeks of Christmas cookies visit:
Megan from Megan's Cookin
April from Abbys Sweets
Denise from Keeper Worthy Recipes
Megan's from My Baking Adventures
Kim from Stirring the Pot

Daring Cooks Beef Wellington

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

Since I am allergic to fish and seafood, I made the beef wellington. My beef wellington looked so elegant. The puff pastry was nicely browned and flaky, and the beef was tender and juicy. I wanted to make it with filet mignon, but they wanted $24 a lb at the supermarket, so I used two well trimmed New York steaks instead.

 

With the Beef Wellington I served colorful Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Asparagus. A great recipe I found on a great blog, For the Love of Cooking.



It was a beautiful meal but probably not something I'd make again. If I'm going to splurge on the fat and calories in puff pastry I'd rather have it for dessert! Thanks Simone for a fun challenge!

 

Beef Wellington
(serves 4)
preparation time - 2.5 hrs.

Button mushrooms - 17.6 ounces/500gr (stalks removed and finely chopped)
Olive oil - 2-3 tbsp
thyme - 1 sprig (I used dried marjarm)
Beef fillet, center cut piece - 21.16 ounce/600 gr (I used 2 New York Steaks)
English mustard - 1 tbsp (I omitted)
puff pastry (all butter pastry pack) - 17.6 ounce/500 gr (I used Pepperidge Farm)
parma ham (prosciutto) - 3 slices (I used pancetta)
egg yolk - 1 pcs, beaten

For the herb crepes:
plain (all purpose) flour - 0.3 cup/1.76 ounce/50 gr
milk - 0.5 cup/125 ml
1 egg
mixed herbs - 1 tbsp (chopped, use herbs such as cervil, chives and tarragon) (I used dried marjoram)
butter - 0.5 tbsp

Instructions:
1. To make the crepes, whizz the flour, egg and milk with a pinch of salt in a blender or processor until smooth. Pour into a jug and stir in the herbs and some seasoning. Leave to rest.
2. Fry the mushrooms in a little oil until they give up all their moisture and it has evaporated, leaving you with a thick paste. Add the thyme leaves and some seasoning and keep cooking for a few minutes. Cool.
3. Stir the melted butter into the crepe batter, heat a 15 cm crepe pan and oil it lightly. Pour in enough batter to make a thin layer on the base of the pan, cook until the top surface sets and then turn over and cook briefly. Remove and repeat with the rest of the batter. This will make a couple more than you need so choose the thinnest ones for the recipe.
4. Sear the beef all over in a little oil in a very hot pan. Brush with the mustard, season and allow to cool.
5. Lay a large sheet of cling-film on a kitchen surface and put two crepes down on it, overlapping a little. Lay over the parmaham (prosciutto). Spread the mushroom mixture over the ham and put the beef in the centre. Roll the cling-film up, taking the crepe with it, to wrap the beef completely into a nice neat log. Chill for 1 hour.
6. Heat the oven to 200°C/390F. Roll out the pastry, remove the clingfilm and wrap the beef in the pastry like a parcel, with the ends tucked under. Trim to keep it nice and neat. Brush with egg, score with shallow lines across the top and chill for 20 minutes.
7. Cook for 20 minutes. The best way to test if the meat is done to your liking is to neatly and carefully stick a skewer into the beef, count to three and then test it against your inner wrist. If it is cold, the beef will be raw, if it is warm then the beef will be rare and if it’s hot, it’ll be cooked through. Leave to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Bitterkoekjes – Almond Macaroons

My father-in-law is the youngest of seven children. His family immigrated from Holland to the United States before the last three children were born. My husband grew up loving Dutch treats from a local bakery, especially the bitterkoekjes, an almond macaroon. 

When the bakery went out of business a few years ago, my husband decided he would make the bitterkoekjes for the family Christmas gathering. He started with a basic almond macaroon recipe on the almond paste package and tweaked it until it tasted like the bitterkoekjes he remembered.

So for week 11 of my 12 Weeks of Christmas I am posting my husband’s recipe for bitterkoekjes. He is the only one in his family to make these cookies because they can be a bit temperamental and others in his family have not been successful making them. They usually stick to the parchment paper. The recipe suggested wetting the paper on the bottom, but he prefers to let them cool on the tray and then put the tray in the freezer for a few minutes and then they’re much easier to remove from the paper.

Bitterkoekjes  - Almond Macaroons
makes about 5 dozen cookies

2.3 lb. almond paste
7 egg whites
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups granulated sugar

Combined room temperature almond paste with egg whites in mixing bowl until mixed well. Add granulated sugar, mix well. Slowly add powdered sugar one cup at a time.

Drop the macaroons on to parchment paper using a #40 ice cream scoop and slightly flatten the tops of the cookies with a damp finger. Bake at 340º for 11 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom and the tops have set and stopped bubbling.

Cool on baking tray for five minutes. Slide parchment off of tray on to cooling rack, and then put cookies on the cooling rack in the freezer for five minutes before removing the cookies from the parchment.

For more delicious 12 weeks of Christmas cookies visit:
Megan from Megan's Cookin
April from Abbys Sweets
Denise from Keeper Worthy Recipes
Megan's from My Baking Adventures
Kim from Stirring the Pot




As part of our 12 weeks of Christmas cookies, we also did a Cookie Swap. Yesterday I received a fun package of Christmas gifts from Kim at Stirring the Pot. She sent me her delicious Andes Creme De Menthe Cookies, which I’m eating as I’m writing! She also included a cute wicker hat basket, a cookie plate kit, and bath soap and a Santa bath bomb from Lush. Thanks Kim!



Then today I received another great surprise in the mail. Lorraine, Not Quite Nigella, my adopted blogging daughter from Australia sent her “Mum” some fabulous treats from the Austrian Christmas Markets. Lorraine was in Austria on a media familiarization trip arranged by the Austrian National Tourist Office, which was sponsored by Emirates Airlines. You really should read her post on the Austrian Christmas Markets. They sound fabulous. It was so nice of her to think of me while she was there! Thanks Lorraine!

Cinnamon Roll Macarons – Mac Attack 2, an Award, and a Cookie Swap

In October Memória, Mangio da Sola, posted her Daring Bakers Cinnamon Roll Macarons and I thought it was a fabulous idea. They have a scrumptious brown sugar cinnamon shell with a rich cream cheese filling.

So when Jamie and Deeba announced the creation of Mac Tweets with a monthly mac challenge I knew immediately the mac flavor I wanted to try – Cinnamon Roll Macs. And I’m so glad I did! They were as sinfully delicious as I had imagined.

I made a one egg version of the Mac Tweet recipe, Tartlette’s, using my version of David Lebovitz’s instructions. My macs are still a bit ruffly, but they have that wonderful crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside mac texture. If you haven’t tried making macarons yet, this is a good one to start with!



Cinnamon Roll Macarons
1 egg white
10 grams granulated sugar
66 grams powdered sugar
37 grams almond meal
1 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375º.

Line one baking sheet with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready. (Set the pastry bag in a tall glass while you fill the bag.)

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder, brown sugar and cinnamon so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn't quite fine enough.

Whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. (Your whites are ready if the peak doesn’t bend over when you pull the beater out of the whites.)

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag.

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart. (There is a nice macaron template here.)

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, if necessary. Bake them for 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

Cream Cheese Filling
1 oz. cream cheese
1 T. butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
splash of vanilla
dash of salt

Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt.


In addition to posting this wonderful mac recipe, Memória, Mangio da Sola, received the Neno’s Award recognizing her scrumptious blog and she passed it on to me!

I’m passing the award on to Mags, The Other Side of Fifty. I love Mags blog. She is always whipping up wonderful meals, fabulous breads and delicious treats for co-irkers!

Neno’s Award—-Rules and Regulations
1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

I love blogging because it challenges me to try recipes out of my comfort zone and has helped me become a better baker. But the best thing about blogging is the wonderful friendships I’ve made with other bloggers worldwide. Food bloggers really are the nicest people!



And speaking of fabulous food bloggers, on Saturday a great group of Utah Food Bloggers met at Wild Grape for brunch and a cookie swap.

Maria, TwoPeasandTheirPod brought chewy Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies.
Holly, PheMomenon brought her favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies from The New York Times.
Tiffany, FoodFinery made colorful Shortbread cookies with cranberries and pumpkin seeds. 
Candace, A Little Blog made a fun recipe of her mom’s Sweet & Salty Chocolate Chip cookies. 
Christina, Mele Cotte created elegant Chocolate Mascarpone Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Mini Tarts.
Becky, Vintage Mixer brought a family favorite Ginger Creams. 
Dara, Cookin' Canuck, made festive Cinnamon and Almond Meringue Star Cookies. 
Kalyn, Kalyn's Kitchen, doesn’t eat many sweets but came for the great food and fun conversation.



I brought luscious Pecan Squares that I posted recently in my 12 weeks of Christmas cookies series.

Christie, The Table Runner, baked a yummy recipe of a dear friend, Cherry Chocolate Crisps. Visit The Table Runner, to see great pictures of our group eating and snapping pictures of all the delicious cookies! Thanks everyone for a delightful afternoon!

Oatmeal White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

My week 10 cookie of my 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies is a cookie I’ve blogged about before. My family is in love with this cookie! It is a wonderful blend of sweet and tart and loaded with white chocolate chips.

Maria of Two Peas and Their Pod posted this scrumptious cookie recipe on her blog last year and we’ve made them many times since then.  I often add whole wheat pastry flour to boost the nutrition just a bit. If you haven’t tried this one yet, you really should!



Oatmeal White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies
½ c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1 egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1 1/4 c. flour (or 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour)
1 1/4 c. oats
1 cup Craisins
1 cup white chocolate chips

In a mixer, beat butter and sugars until smooth. Mix in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix in slowly to wet ingredients. Add your oats, Craisins, and white chocolate.

Bake at 375 for 8-12 minutes! Don’t let them get too done…they are better when they are soft! Makes 2 dozen.

For more delicious 12 weeks of Christmas cookies visit:
Megan from Megan's Cookin
April from Abbys Sweets
Denise from Keeper Worthy Recipes
Megan's from My Baking Adventures
Kim from Stirring the Pot