Cranberry Orange Scones
I make scones pretty often. There is nothing quite like the taste of fresh-baked scones. Plus, baking them makes the house smell wonderful.
These scones are shaped by pressing the dough in a round cake pan, then cutting into wedges before baking.
They come out looking great and tasting great, too. If you don’t have buttermilk just add a little lemon juice to regular milk. I actually used half and half instead of milk, and added 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the half and half. It worked great.
Perfect breakfast for this week. Serve warm with butter and jam.
Cranberry-Orange Scones
2 c. flour
4 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. grated orange peel
½ t. salt
¼ c. butter
1 c. dried cranberries
2/3 c. buttermilk
1 egg
Extra milk and sugar, for topping
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in cranberries. Beat together milk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Transfer dough to prepared sheet and with floured hands, press dough into an eight-inch circle. I place dough in floured 8-inch cake pan, then invert onto the baking sheet- for a nice, even circle. With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush top of dough with a little extra milk, then sprinkle tops with a bit of sugar. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8.
Dough can also be patted out on work surface and cut into circles or pressed into a square and cut into smaller squares.
Cranberry Orange Relish
I got a great deal on fresh cranberries and decided to make and can my own cranberry sauce. I could also have frozen it- but freezer space is at a premium right now. I didn’t want plain cranberry sauce so I decided to make cranberry- orange relish.
Cranberry Orange Relish
5 (12 oz.) bags cranberries
5 cups sugar
5 cups orange juice
2 T. grated orange zest
Rinse berries and drain. Place berries with the remaining ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Berries will start to pop. Cook until berries are popped and sauce thickens a little. Cranberries have a lot of pectin and will thicken up when they cool. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Makes 7 pints or 14 half- pints.
Cranberry-Rosemary Vinegar
This is a favorite food gift of mine. It is so festive and it tastes good, too.
I happen to love cranberries. I buy a lot of them this time of year. They are in season, so the price is good. I buy extra, and throw a few bags in the freezer to enjoy all year long. I also preserve some by using cranberries to flavor vinegar. By adding rosemary, the end result is a great tasting vinegar that is perfect for winter salads. It is also a lovely gift.
I love to give homemade gifts. Time isn’t always on my side, though. I doubt my niece will be getting that scarf I was going to crochet for her. But I can get several bottles of this vinegar made in no time.
All you need are bottles with corks or screw top lids. If using corks, be sure they are food grade. You’ll also need cranberries, bamboo skewers, fresh rosemary and vinegar- 5% acidity. I use red wine vinegar. Other vinegar will work, too. If you use white vinegar or cider vinegar they will pick up color from the cranberries and turn a pretty reddish shade. Not as red as with the wine vinegar, but still very pretty.
Since I bring my rosemary plants inside for the winter, I have access to fresh rosemary. Your local grocery store probably has some in the produce department. You can use other herbs, if you can’t find rosemary.
Make sure the skewers will fit in the bottles. Cut them down to fit, if needed. Skewer the berries on the skewers leaving a little room on the top of the skewer. If your cranberries are really big, test to make sure they will fit the neck of the bottle. The skewers keep the berries from floating around.
Place a few sprigs of rosemary in each bottle and then add the berry- filled skewers. Pour in the vinegar, leaving a little room for the cork. Sometimes you need to add a little more vinegar the next day as some will absorb into the cranberries and the skewers. I make decorative labels and give them as gifts. Ready to use in a week.
Cranberry Liqueur
You can do more with cranberries than make sauce. Not that I don’t like cranberry sauce, I do. I love cranberry season and find myself using them in all sorts of recipes.
In the next couple of weeks, I will be posting homemade gift ideas. This is one of my favorites!!
I got the recipe from my sister Cindy, many years ago. It is also called Cranberry Bounce. If you start a batch now, it will be ready to drink, and for gifting, in just a couple of weeks.
Cranberries, sugar and vodka. What a great combination. It’s simple to make and it makes a nice gift, too.
The color is absolutely beautiful. The sweet/tart finished product can be enjoyed by just sipping, on the rocks, or mixed with club soda. It can also be a nice addition to all sorts of cocktails.
Often after Thanksgiving, the price of cranberries goes down. I stock up on them, freeze some and make a batch, or two of cranberry liqueur. This year, even before Thanksgiving, I found a few bargains. .
I hope you give it a try. I am sure you will be pleased with the results.
Cranberry Liqueur
1 lb. fresh cranberries (most bags are 12 oz.)
2 c. sugar
4 c. vodka- at least 80 proof
Grind berries fine in food mill or food processor. Place in large jar and combine with the sugar. Let stand, covered until sugar is dissolved completely, several hours or overnight. Add vodka and let steep 1-3 weeks, stirring occasionally. Strain and filter. Makes 5 cups.
Note: Drained cranberries can be saved in fridge and used, sparingly, in desserts, fruit salads and on cake or ice cream. They do pack a punch.
Cranberry Liqueur
You can do more with cranberries than make sauce. Not that I don’t like cranberry sauce, I do. I love cranberry season and find myself using them in all sorts of recipes.
In the next couple of weeks, I will be posting homemade gift ideas. This is one of my favorites!!
I got the recipe from my sister Cindy, many years ago. It is also called Cranberry Bounce. If you start a batch now, it will be ready to drink, and for gifting, in just a couple of weeks.
Cranberries, sugar and vodka. What a great combination. It’s simple to make and it makes a nice gift, too.
The color is absolutely beautiful. The sweet/tart finished product can be enjoyed by just sipping, on the rocks, or mixed with club soda. It can also be a nice addition to all sorts of cocktails.
Often after Thanksgiving, the price of cranberries goes down. I stock up on them, freeze some and make a batch, or two of cranberry liqueur. This year, even before Thanksgiving, prices have been good.
I hope you give it a try. I am sure you will be pleased with the results.
Cranberry Liqueur
1 lb. fresh cranberries (most bags are 12 oz.)
2 c. sugar
4 c. vodka- at least 80 proof
Grind berries fine in food mill or food processor. Place in large jar and combine with the sugar. Let stand, covered until sugar is dissolved completely, several hours or overnight. Add vodka and let steep 1-3 weeks, stirring occasionally. Strain and filter. Makes 5 cups.
Note: Drained cranberries can be saved in fridge and used, sparingly, in desserts, fruit salads and on cake or ice cream. They do pack a punch.
Cranberry- Raspberry Salad
Cranberry- Raspberry Salad
Some of the recipes we make for holidays have a special place in our hearts. There are recipes, in most every family, that just must be made for this or that holiday. For me, this salad in one of those recipes. I make it for Thanksgiving every year and for Christmas, too. When I was a kid we always had it for Thanksgiving dinner. The salad itself is a mixture of raspberries and cranberry orange relish- you can make your own or buy it already made. All by itself it would be just wonderful but to make it even better it is topped with a dressing made from several juices and eggs and whipped cream. If the only cranberry salad you ever have slides out of a can you will be surprised at just how wonderful a cranberry salad can be. Here is the recipe. I hope you’ll have occasion to try it soon.
Cranberry-Raspberry Salad
1 large box raspberry or cranberry gelatin
1 c. hot water
1 1/2 lbs. frozen raspberries, thawed
1 c. cranberry-orange relish – recipe follows
½ c. ginger ale
Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Fold in relish, but mix thoroughly. Gently fold in berries to avoid breaking them up. Stir in ginger ale and place salad in decorative mold and chill several hours or overnight. Make dressing.
To serve- dip mold into warm water for a few seconds and invert salad onto serving platter. If it doesn’t come right out dip it in the warm water a few more seconds. Be careful not to get water in the salad itself- only put the container about 3/4 of the way into the water. I usually just put some warm water in my sink and dip the mold in there. Serve with the dressing on the side.
Dressing
2 eggs
½ c. sugar
½ c orange juice
½ c. pineapple juice
2 T. flour
juice of half a lemon
1 c. whipping cream, whipped
Combine all ingredients, except whipped cream, in a saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Mixture should coat a spoon. Cool and chill. Fold cooled mixture into whipped cream. Serves 6-8
Cranberry-Orange Relish
12 oz. cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 c. orange juice
1 T. grated orange peel
½ c. sugar, or to taste
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook, stirring often over medium heat. Cook until berries burst and mixture thickens, about 25 minutes, stirring more often as mixture thickens. Cool and chill. Makes about 2 cups.
Cranberry Buttermilk Scones
Cranberry Buttermilk Scones
I love scones fresh out of the oven. Don’t get me wrong- I’ll eat them even after a couple of days but there is nothing quite like the taste of fresh baked scones. These scones are actually baked in cake pans so this recipe is easy and tasty. If you don’t have buttermilk just add a little lemon juice to regular milk. Perfect breakfast for this weekend.
Cranberry-Buttermilk Scones
3 c. flour
¼ c. plus 2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
1 ¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) chilled butter, cubed
3/4 c. dried cranberries
½ c. buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 t. water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour with ¼ c. sugar, baking powder, and salt. Rub in butter with finger tips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cranberries. Combine milk with 2 of the eggs and beat together. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture and stir until dough begins to form into a ball. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 10 stokes until dough holds together. Grease 2 nine inch cake pans. divide dough in half and place one piece in each cake pan. Press dough out evenly. Combine remaining egg with 2 teaspoons water and beat until well mixed. Score top of loaves with sharp knife into 8 wedges each. Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle with reserved sugar. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, turn onto plates and cool right side up. Cut along score marks. Serve warm. Makes 16.
Cranberry Roll-ups
Cranberry Roll-ups
After making cranberry juice I was left with a lot of pulp. I didn’t want to toss it so I decided to make cranberry fruit roll ups with it. I ran the pulp through the coarse blade of my food mill. I then sweetened just a little- less than a cup of sugar. I then spread the mixture on plastic wrap placed on the trays of my dehydrator. I ended up with 7 in the end. I dried them at 120 degrees for 6 hours. They should be pliable but not sticky to the touch when done. A couple of friends stopped over today and they got a chance to taste them. Both said they liked that the roll ups were not too sweet- they had a nice tartness to them. Once finished I rolled them up in the plastic wrap and will store them in the fridge.
