Heart-Healthy Dried Fruit Scones

It’s the start of a new year and time to eat a little lighter, but we do like our scones. I’m a little surprised that this is only the fifth time I’ve posted about scones because Kurt and I both enjoy them in all flavors, shapes, and sizes. They can be decadent though. So, I was happy to try this slimmed down recipe from Flour since I’m becoming convinced this book can do no wrong. Joanne Chang set out to make less indulgent scones that didn’t rely on extra sugar for flavor. Instead, these are packed with dried fruit and frozen cranberries, and the not-too-sweet dough is made with a little canola oil instead of a lot of butter. They’re also topped with a vanilla glaze which gives them instant visual appeal. I even went one step further and used some whole wheat flour in place of some of the all-purpose. The result was a scone that’s good enough to look forward to each morning without a trace of guilt.

These scones were also very easy to make. There was no butter to cut into the flour, and the dough wasn’t even rolled out or cut to form the scones. To start, I mixed whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a big bowl. Then the fruit was added, and that included dark raisins, golden raisins, chopped dried apricots, I used chopped dried pineapple instead of dried apples, dried cranberries, chopped candied ginger, and I used frozen cranberries since fresh ones are no longer available. In a small bowl, eggs, yogurt, and buttermilk were whisked together, and then that was stirred into the flour mixture. The dough was scooped one-half cup at a time onto a baking sheet, and the scones were ready to bake. There was a note in the recipe stating that once the scones are scooped onto a baking sheet, they can be frozen and then baked directly from the freezer. So, I made them in advance and baked them from the freezer so we could have freshly baked scones for breakfast. They just require about five extra minutes in the oven if frozen. After baking and cooling, a confectioners’ sugar and vanilla glaze was spooned over each one.

The mix of fruit was delightful with the cranberries’ tartness and the ginger’s zing. The crumb of the scone was lighter, less dense, and a little like a cross between a scone and a muffin. Obviously, they’re not as rich as an ordinary scone, but when we’re feeling like being less decadent, I now have a trusted alternative to enjoy.

Cranberry-Maple Pecan Breakfast Cake

I had high hopes for this breakfast cake. With tart cranberries, sweet maple syrup, and lots of pecans, I imagined this was going to be a keeper. This is from the new book Flour by Joanne Chang, the pastry chef and owner of the two Flour Bakery and Cafes in Boston, and I received a copy to review. This was one of those books that had me turning pages and walking toward the kitchen at the same time. It's full of irresistible looking treats and informative tips in each recipe. Chang's background includes an education in applied mathematics and economics, but her love of pastries inspired an eventual career change. She worked in other restaurant kitchens, including a stint in New York with Francois Payard, and then opened her own bakery in Boston. Her philosophy is one of "simple things are best" because even complex pastries start with the basics. Hence, the name Flour for her bakery. Those simple things throughout the book range from breakfast treats to cookies, cakes, pies, and tarts, and then there are other sweets and breads. I have a feeling I'll be mentioning this book frequently around here. I've already baked two items from it, and both were very well-received.

For this breakfast cake or pound cake or whatever you'd like to call it, maple pecans were made by warming pure maple syrup and toasted and chopped pecans in a saucepan. The goal was to stir the mixture and allow the pecans to absorb the syrup. Then, the pecans were cooled while the batter was mixed. Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and butter were mixed, and the instructions include the amount of time for mixing with a stand mixer and a hand-held mixer depending on what equipment you are using. I like a thorough recipe like that. Then, in a small bowl, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and more maple syrup were whisked together before being added to the flour mixture. The liquid ingredients were added in two parts, and again mixing times were given. Last, fresh cranberries and the maple pecans were folded into the batter, and the batter was scraped into a parchment-lined loaf pan. It baked for just over an hour and filled the house with maple goodness all the while. Once it cooled, the cake was removed from the pan and topped with a thick maple syrup and confectioners' sugar glaze.

In the notes for this recipe, Chang writes that "the cake tastes remarkably like pancakes," and it really does. The maple flavor permeates the cake, and the pecans and cranberries accompany it well. I was so thrilled with the cake when I first tasted it, I declared it Christmas breakfast-worthy. And, if you have any left for the day after Christmas, it just gets better.

Mini Cranberry Meringue Pies

I thought this recipe was from last year. The image of these cute, little, mini pies had been on my mind since last winter when I vowed to attempt them when fresh, fall cranberries came around again next time. Actually, this first appeared in Living magazine in November 2006, but it did appear again in a special holidays publication last year. I had the 06 article tucked away in my files, and I pulled it out last week to finally try this. The pasty is a citrus version of a pate sucree I've made before with the addition of lemon and blood orange zest. It occurred to me that I should make a big batch of these mini pastry shells and keep them in the freezer to use as needed. They would come in especially handy when I have some leftover pumpkin puree like I probably will later this afternoon. In this case, those handy pastry cups were filled with thickened cranberry sauce that was made in two stages. First, cranberries were cooked, and the juice was strained from the berries. Second, that juice was combined with whole cranberries to make a sweet, tart, filling with pops of flavor. Fluffy, toasted meringue topped it off.

The pate sucree was cut into four-inch circles which were crimped and fitted into twelve standard muffin cups. Each cup was lined with a small square of parchment paper, filled with weights and baked for fifteen minutes. The weights and parchment were removed, and the cups were baked for another five minutes or so. Once cool, they were ready to be filled. For the filling, first, fresh cranberries were brought to a boil with sugar and water. They were simmered until the cranberries burst and then passed through a sieve to extract the juice. The recipe states the solids should be discarded, but I'm getting more and more militant about not wasting food, so I kept the cranberry solids and enjoyed them on plain yogurt for breakfast. Next, the cranberry juice was returned to a saucepan, and sugar, lemon and blood orange zest, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and more whole cranberries were added. This time, the cranberries were cooked over a lower heat to prevent them from bursting. They should just become soft. Cornstarch was whisked into a mixture of blood orange juice and water, and that was added to the cranberries and juice to thicken it. Once cooked and cooled a bit, the filling was divided among the pastry cups, and they were chilled until set for at least an hour. Last but not least, a meringue was whipped to glossy peaks, spooned onto each mini pie, and the tops were browned under the broiler in about a minute.

While trying to get these pies done in less time than I should have planned to spend on them, the extra step of straining cranberries and then adding more whole cranberries seemed a little fussy. In the end though, I see why it mattered. The thickened juice nicely suspended the softened, whole cranberries in a way that a standard cranberry sauce would not have done. That being said, for a quicker version, a thick, sweet cranberry sauce would work fine here. Also, I'm always up for a meringue topping, but Kurt suggested that whipped cream would have been just as good. Either way, these festive, seasonal treats have earned a trip from my temporary, to-try file to my permanent, keeper file.

Cranberry-Cornmeal Quick Bread

I guess I’ve finally gotten around to cooking from November magazines. This quick bread was in the November issue of Living, and the title alone made me want to bake it. Cranberry and cornmeal sounded like a great combination. Then, I read on into the recipe. I admit to having several food issues with ingredients that I usually avoid. One of those many issues is with crystallized ginger. I don’t even know why. I like ginger in both sweet and savory applications, and nibbling on crystallized ginger is perfectly fine. For some reason though, when baked goods include chopped crystallized ginger, I often omit it. Well, I decided to get over it and just go with the original intent of this recipe. At last, my mind might have been changed forever about this ingredient. The little bits of chewy, gingery goodness throughout the loaf were lovely in the cornmeal crumb.

A sauce was made from cranberries, melted butter, and sugar. That mixture was cooked until the cranberries started to pop, and at that point, the sauce had thickened. Fresh cranberries were suggested, but I used frozen, and they worked perfectly fine. I also added a few extra cranberries just because I love their tart flavor. The cranberries and sauce were transferred to a loaf pan and left to cool. The batter was made from butter, sugar, eggs, and a whisked together mixture of flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, the chopped crystallized ginger was folded into the batter. Something that worked well for me was to toss the chopped crystallized ginger with a small amount of flour. That way, the pieces didn’t stick all together in one clump in the middle of the batter. The thick batter with well-distributed chopped crystallized ginger was spooned over the cranberries and carefully smoothed. The loaf baked for about 35 minutes.

My only complaint is that my quick bread didn’t rise to the nice, tall height seen in the magazine photo. I’m not sure why it didn’t since I used the same size pan and same quantities of ingredients in the batter. My baking powder is brand new too. Other than that minor quibble, I was very pleased with this. The cooled loaf was turned out to allow the cranberries to sit on top like jewels. It was sweet and tart and the cornmeal and crystallized ginger flavors worked together very well. And, just like that, I might be over my crystallized ginger thing.

Apple Cranberry Crumble

The fall meal from the ‘What’s for Dinner’ recipe cards concluded with apple cranberry crumble for dessert. While making the crumble, I realized this might be the most forgiving dessert there is. You place fruit in a baking dish and top it with a crumbly, buttery mixture. You can use a combination of fruits as was done here or you can use all of one kind. You can use a little more or a little less, and you can peel or not peel, slice or chop, mix and match as you wish. Then, the topping quantity is really just a suggestion. If you like a lot of crumble topping, you can increase the total amount and mound it over the fruit. If you prefer the dessert to be more fruit-focused, cut back on the crumble quantity for little bits of buttery crunch. It’s really all up to you, and I like that about a crumble.

For this one, I used three gala apples, I left the peels on, and I sliced them. One half cup of fresh cranberries was suggested, but I used a little more than that. The fruit was tossed with sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt and was placed in a buttered baking dish. The crumble topping was made with butter, flour, oats, chopped pecans, and light-brown sugar. I went with the suggest quantities but added just a few extra pecans. The topping was sprinkled over the fruit, and the dish baked until golden for about 30 minutes. Not only is this dessert forgiving, baking this is one of the easiest ways to make your house smell amazing.

I like that the apple slices have a little more texture when the peel is left intact. And, I really like the tartness of the cranberries studded throughout the dessert. Of course, the crumble topping is what makes it what it is, and the mix of oats and chopped pecans with the cinnamon-spiced fruit is always a natural fit. Next time I might use a colorful combination of red apples and granny smiths, and I might increase the amount of cranberries even more. It’s so easy and foolproof, it makes a perfect, quick dessert for a fall meal.

Cranberry Vanilla Coffeecake

A warm oven, vanilla scented sugar, and bright juicy cranberries joined the start of our Christmas morning. This cranberry vanilla coffeecake appeared in the December issue of Gourmet. While the flavors were perfect, I couldn’t resist making a couple of changes to the preparation. I really like cranberries, so I chose to leave them whole instead of chopping them in a food processor. Since I passed on the use of a food processor for that step, I didn’t pulse the vanilla with the sugar either. I just stirred the seeds into the sugar and broke apart clumps with my fingertips. I tossed some vanilla sugar with the whole cranberries, and I used a bit less sugar than recommended.

The next change to the recipe was accidental. Maybe I still had sugar plum fairies dancing in my head because I misread the ingredient list and used a whole vanilla bean rather than half. No worries, though, the extra seeds did no damage. One last adjustment was the use of a tube pan in place of a round cake pan. The coffeecake was more festive baked in the tube pan shape. Batter was layered in the bottom, followed by the cranberries, then more batter was added before the vanilla sugar crumb topping.

The vanilla, of course, smelled fantastic as the cake baked. The cranberries were tart and juicy and made a pretty filling. The crunchy, crumbly top with the tender center made this coffeecake a winner. I have a feeling the leftovers won’t last long enough.

Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies

These festive looking cookies caught my eye on Epicurious the other day. I decided they should be auditioned for a part in my annual holiday baking extravaganza. There a few cookies and candies that I almost always make for the holidays, and then, I have to try a few new things as well. I may be outing myself as a cookie-baking geek by stating this, but I look forward to the 12 days of cookies from Foodnetwork every year. Icebox cookies are great because of their flexibility. The dough can be left in the refrigerator for a few days or even frozen for a few weeks before being baked. And, cutting them into shape is much easier than rolling out sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies.

For these, the dough was shaped into squared-sided blocks, brushed with an egg wash, and rolled in coarse sugar. To cut the cookies, I recommend using a sharp knife because you’ll want to get a clean cut through the pistachios. Several can fit on a baking sheet since they don’t spread, and that means fewer baking sheets to wash. All in all, this is a very convenient cookie to bake.

The red and green flecked cross sections and the sparkling, crispy edges make these little charmers as easy on the eyes as they are on the palate. They’re tasty and tender and full of flavor from the fruit and nuts. They auditioned well and may very possibly have earned a spot on my holiday cookie tray.