Apple-Cranberry Pie

Have you recovered from Christmas yet?  It took me a couple of days to not feel exhausted.....but man, was it worth it!  We had a fantastic time, both on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day!

As usual, I am in charge of desserts on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day......and in the weeks leading up to the holiday I had a list a mile long of all of the things I wanted to make.  A few days before Christmas Eve I started realizing how much time I needed in the kitchen to do what I wanted to do.......so I made a decision then and there that I had to shrink the list down and spend more time playing with the kiddos and enjoying the season.  So I don't have a million new recipes to show you from Christmas.....most of the things that I ended up making are tried and true recipes that our family loves.  This was the best decision I could have made!  I was completely stress-free, and got to thoroughly enjoy the holiday.  What I ended up making was:

• Apple-Cranberry Pie
• Pumpkin Pie
• Christmas Tree Cupcakes
• Joanne Chang's Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Graham Cracker Toffee Bark

All of these were repeats except for the Apple-Cranberry Pie, which was delicious!  I was on a cranberry kick and had seen this recipe in an issue of Gourmet.  Looking online, it had gotten great reviews and looked pretty painless to throw together.

All of the cousins, minus my youngest, who was sleeping.

Again, I used refrigerated pie crust.......one of these days I will get comfortable with making my own.  Both the topping and the filling of this pie are pretty fast to throw together.....the only time consuming part being the peeling, coring, and slicing of apples.  After you place the filling in the pie crust you are actually going to bake it without the crumb topping for a bit, until the apples begin to soften.  Then you'll put the crumb topping on and continue baking till bubbly.  You may want to put a baking sheet or some aluminum foil beneath the pie pan.  I experienced a bit of filling spillage while it was baking....which was not too fun to clean up from the bottom of the oven.  Also, keep an eye on the crumb topping once it's on.....the pecan may darken too quickly and you'll have to top with foil.

The pie had the lovely sweetness from the apples and the crumb topping....contrasted with the yummy tartness of the cranberries.  I heard a couple of people mentioned that it tasted like the holidays.  Perfect!!

Go to Epicurious.com for the recipe.....and Enjoy!

My little monkeys....yep, I dressed them matchy-matchy!

This post is linked to:
Full Plate Thursday - Turning the Table Thursday - Bake with Bizzy - It's a Keeper Thursday - Sweet Tooth Friday - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Show Off Your Stuff - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Food - Sweets for a Saturday - Sweet Indulgences Sunday - Tuesday Talent Show - Link Party - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - Tea Party Tuesday - Tasty Tuesday - T Time - These Chicks Cooked - Link It Up Wednesday - Cast Party Wednesday - This Week's Cravings

Merry Christmas!

So do you have everything done yet?  What?  No?  What are you waiting for?  Kidding!  I will be busting my butt tonight finishing up everything.......last minute wrapping.....baking.....and cleaning.  We'll be heading over to my in-laws house for Christmas Eve (with all 9 of their grandkids, and my parents, who flew in from Texas).  Then we'll have Christmas Day at our house with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and our dearest family friends.  I'm so excited.....just got to get through today! 

I usually end up passing out cookies to all of our neighbors as a little Christmas treat.  But then, everyone else also does that, so you just end up with a pile of cookies.  So, I decided to be a little bit different this year and bake up little breads instead.  I settled on this Cranberry-Walnut Bread from Martha Stewart Everyday Food.  It's bursting with fresh cranberries, walnuts, and an added zing from orange zest and orange juice.  I had found the paper mini bread loaf pans at Sur laTable a while back, and I figured it was the perfect thing for a holiday gift!  Give this a try.....tastes like the holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope that you are able to spend the holidays with your loved ones near.....and may your New Year be filled with many sweet things.

Enjoy!

CRANBERRY-ORANGE WALNUT BREAD

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter and flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan; set aside.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2.  With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until combined.  Add egg, and beat well.  Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until combined (dough will appear very dry).  Reduce speed to low; beat in orange zest and juice.  Fold in cranberries and walnuts.

3.  Spread batter in prepared pan, smoothing top.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour (tent with foil if top is browning too quickly).  Cool in pan 10 minutes; run a knife around edges of loaf, and invert onto a wire rack.  Turn top side up; cool completely before slicing.

This post is linked to:

Friday Favorites - Sweet Tooth Friday - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Food - Sweets for a Saturday - Sweet Indulgences Sunday - Tuesday Talent Show - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - T' Time - These Chicks Cooked - Link It Up Wednesday - Full Plate Thursday - Turning the Table Thursday - Bake with Bizzy - It's a Keeper Thursday - Anything Goes Linky - Show Off Your Stuff