Pomegranate and Orange Sangria

"It's that time of year...when the world falls in love. Every sound you hear seems to say...Merry Christmas! May your New Year dreams come true!" 

 

There's something about this sangria that makes me think of happy Christmas songs. Maybe it's because this sangria is so pretty and festive. Maybe it's because I made it for a Christmas party. Maybe it's because it's tastes wonderful and has alcohol in it. So many possibilities as to why...



Well, I guess it IS that time of year, isn't it? I mean, I'm not falling in love with a person, but I am falling in love with the Christmas spirit!

 

I got my Christmas tree this past weekend.

Tada! I named it Treevor, the Christmas tree. (And no, it's not small. I happen to be very tall.)

 

I also made Christmas cards this past weekend. People liked my handmade Christmas cards from last year, so I made some more this year (with different designs, of course!)

 

I also sang a lot of Christmas music yesterday with orchestra. Oh, and it snowed all day on Saturday.

 

I guess all these things are contributing to my Chritmas-y feeling. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...at least in my neck of the woods it is!

 

Are you getting ready for the 25th? If you're looking for a festive cocktail, this sangria is one of the best sangrias I've had. The addition of orange juice and pomegranate juice creates a subtly sweeter drink but the brandy, wine, and cinnamon stick equalize the sweetness so one is left with a smooth, tasty drink with a kick of spice.

Pomegranate and Orange Sangria (found at Completely Delicious)

1 bottle (750 ml) of red wine, like a Cabernet Sauvignon

1 cup (237 ml) brandy

1 cup (237 ml) pomegranate juice

1 cup (237 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice

1 orange, thinly sliced

1 pomegranate, arils removed

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 cinnamon stick

 

In a large pitcher, stir together the wine, brandy, pomegranate juice, and orange juice. Add orange slices, pomegranate arils, cranberries and cinnamon stick. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Serve with ice cubes. (Erika's Extra: I didn't serve with ice cubes since it was still nice and cold from the fridge.)

Bake well and prosper!

Soft Cranberry Orange Biscotti

 

I made these the same day that I made the Hurricane Sandy Chocolate Cobbler. So I guess this was part of my preparations for the hurricane. I definitely had plenty to eat for breakfast...and to snack on the rest of the day.

It was nice to have time to bake.

I also had time to play jenga with these biscotti.

And arrange them in a martini glass as a toast to myself.

And make them nice and snugly in a couple of shawls.

Yes. Day 2 of no subways/not going in to work resulted in a lot of free time.

And yummy cranberry orange biscotti.

Cranberry Orange Biscotti (adapted from Bake For Happy Kids)

9 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 Tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

finely grated rind of 1/2 an orange
11/2 cup self rising flour, sifted

1/2 cup caster sugar (Erika's Extra: I put white granule sugar into a food processor to make it finer.)

1/2 cup dried cranberries
powdered sugar to dust

1. Preheat the oven to 340°F. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

2. Combine butter, eggs, milk, vanilla and orange rind. Combine flour, sugar and cranberries. Make a well in dry ingredients and stir in butter mixture until a soft dough forms. Cover with a tea towel and rest for 10 mins.

3. Divide and shape dough into 11-12 inch logs. Place on trays. Bake for 25 mins or until golden. Cool on tray for 15 mins. Dust with icing sugar. While still warm, cut into slices. Serve.

Bake well and prosper!

Vegan Breakfast Cookies

Confession (I feel like I confess a lot on my blog...) - I've never used coconut oil before. This recipe calls for it and I was scared that I wouldn't even find it at the grocery store. But there it was in the "European and World" food isle.

When I opened it up at home I was surprised to see it was in a solid form. I guess I was expecting more of a liquid oil. I was concerned I would never get it blended into the cookie dough. But then I researched it online and found out that it usually comes in solid form and softens very quickly in heat. I let out a sigh of relief.

You can make these cookies with normal chocolate chips, but since I had vegan chocolate chips on hand I decided to use those. Therefore it made the recipe vegan.

I really enjoyed these as did the few people I shared them with. One friend said, "I could eat a couple of these each morning." To which I said, "Me too. In fact, I think I ate 5 this morning!"

Vegan Breakfast Cookies (Modified from uTry.it)

Ingredients

2 bananas (preferably ripe or spotty bananas)

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Then, mix the remaining ingredients into the bananas until well combined.

Allow the batter to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. With a mini ice cream scoop (about 1 tablespoon), place the batter onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

Bake well and prosper!

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

 

Even though I'm not a biscotti fan, I've been wanting to make some for a while. Especially a fruity and nutty version since it adds such a zing of color to the plain brown biscotti.

The main reason I don't like biscotti is the fact that they are so crunchy. Like, hurts your gums and the roof of your mouth crunchy.

But while I was making these, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the biscotti is quite soft and lovely before putting it back into the oven for the second bake. The second bake made them the hard version that I am familiar with. However, I must say that the flavor of these was really delightful! As for the crunchiness, I found mine to be slightly soft in the middle. Whew!

(Next time I make biscotti, I'm going to add it in the oven for only 5 minutes for the second baking part. Mark my words!)

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti (modified from Bake for Happy Kids)

2 cups plain flour, sifted

1 1 /2 tsp baking powder, sifted
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp finely grated orange rind
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios

Preheat oven to 320°F.

Place the flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon to combine.

Add the eggs, vanilla, orange rind, cranberries and pistachios and mix until a smooth dough forms. (Erika's Extra: I found that I needed to work the dough in the bowl with my hands to get it into a smooth dough.) Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead a couple of times until equal consistency. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and roll each portion into an 8 inch long log. Flatten slightly and place on a lightly greased baking tray (lined with non stick baking paper if you prefer).

Bake for 30-35 min or until firm. Set aside to cool completely. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to cut the logs into 3mm-6mm thick slices and place the slices on baking trays (lined with non stick baking paper if you prefer). Bake for a further 8-10 min or until golden and crisp. Allow to cool on trays.

Bake well and prosper!

Delightful Drunken Cranberry Lemon Cornmeal Cookies

I swear I don't live on a movie set. At least, I'm pretty sure I don't. However, as I walked home last night from the subway, I noticed that my whole street was blocked off with movie trailers.

I could tell it was a big budget film compared to the last movie filmed on my street: Rolo Pretzel & Pecan Bites (and a Bollywood Movie!) I found out that it was the "next Megan Fox film" which I have deduced from imdb.com to be Friends with Kids. I didn't see Megan Fox, but I did walk by Maya Rudolph. At least I'm pretty sure it was her.

As exciting as all of this is (read: not very), I was glad to wake up this morning and find the trailers gone. Their generators were very noisy!

Good thing I had these delightful cookies to keep me company along with the noise of the generators. The idea of these cookies might seem strange, but don't be scared. The combination of rum soaked cranberries, lemon zest, and cornmeal makes for one yummy cookie. Seriously, everyone agreed that these cookies were very good and very delightful. Bake them and see for yourself. :)

Drunken Cranberry Lemon Cornmeal Cookies (adapted from 6 Bittersweets)

Makes about 32 cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/3 tsp salt
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup dried cranberries soaked in rum and hot water. (About 4:1)
Powdered sugar, to garnish (optional)

Soak the dried cranberries in rum and hot water for at least 2 hours. They should be completely covered in liquid (about 4 parts rum, 1 part hot water.) Feel free to soak for longer if desired. Strain the cranberries before using.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in lemon zest and salt, then egg yolks. Beat in cornmeal, then flour. Stir in cranberries. Knead dough just to combine; divide in half transfer each to a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Form dough into two 1 1/2 x 6-inch logs. Refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice dough log into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Arrange rounds on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart and reshaping into rounds if uneven.

Bake cookies until golden at edges, about 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer to rack. Cool completely, and dust with powdered sugar if desired. Store airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Erika's Extras: This recipe can be made without rum. Just use the dried cranberries as is. If they are a little too dry, soak in hot water until plump.

Bake well and prosper!

UPDATE! I've just done something new for me in the world of blogging. I was invited by Lisa to be apart of her Sweets for a Saturday via Linky. It's the first time I heard of Linky. Check out what else is going on over on her blog for Sweets for a Saturday: Sweet As Sugar Cookie

Missouri Millionaires (Gluten Free)

It's the night before Christmas and all through my house, I am stirring and not being a louse. I've been cleaning and baking and a'picture taking.

For instance, here's a picture of the famous tree found at Rockefeller Center in NYC this year: 

It's a good one this year. However, I can't help but be partial to my own little and humble tree in my apartment:

The color scheme is plum and ivory and it is lovely!

Oh, and I can't forget the beautiful choral angel on top:

I think my little tree is about 300%  smaller than the Rockefeller tree. And I know it's smaller than my parents' tree. We always had 6 foot or taller trees for Christmas. My mom loves decorating the tree and passed her love of the Christmas tree down to me.

She also passed down her sweet tooth to me and today's recipe is her creation. It's a spin on Texas Millionaires and is Day 11 out of my 12 days of Christmas Recipes. It looks like I'll be right on time with my project. :) 

Missouri Millionaires (from my Mom's Best Recipes Book)
1 14-oz pkg caramels
2 T whole milk
1 1/2 C chopped cashews
1/4 chopped dried cranberries
1 giant Hershey milk chocolate bar (7.4 oz)
1/8+ block paraffin
(Chocolate Bark or Chocolate Candy Coating can substitute for the bar and paraffin)

Melt together caramels and milk in a double boiler.
Once melted, turn off stove and add cashews and cranberries.
Drop by tablespoon onto greased platter or wax paper and then chill in freezer.

Melt chocolate and paraffin (or Chocolate Bark/Coating) in double boiler. Remove candy from freezer and dip in chocolate mixture. Put back on wax paper/platter and chill. Once chocolate has solidified and cooled, serve and enjoy.

Bake well and prosper!