Apple Cranberry Cobbler

My daughter and I made this dish for Thanksgiving dessert and it was oh so yummy!

INGREDIENTS:  (Measurements are approximate.  This fills an 11" diameter round 1¾ inch deep dish baker well.)
4 granny smith apples or other tart apples (I like McIntosh when I can get them.), thinly sliced

½ C heaping, fresh whole cranberries
1 orange-- zest and 1/3 C juice
1 lemon-- zest and ¼ C juice

spices--2 t cinnamon, ¼ t freshly grated nutmeg, ¼ t cardamom

¼ C white sugar
¼ C brown sugar

 
½ C pecans, slightly broken
butter
pie crust dough for one pie

sugar crystals (a few tablespoons)


DIRECTIONS: Into a bowl add the following:  
lemon juice
orange juice 
spices

sugars

orange and lemon zest

Cut cranberries in half and add to bowl.  Stir.

Add sliced apples and mix till apples are well coated.

Lightly butter a baking dish and spread the apple mixture into it.  Sprinkle with the nuts.

Dot with just a little bit of butter if you wish.  I used about 1 t.

Roll out the pie dough and cut with cookies cutters.  Dip the top of each into the sugar crystals and place on top of the apples.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or however long it takes to very lightly brown the edges of the pie dough cookies.  

NOTES:  
1.  We made this dish for Thanksgiving by "intuition."  I re-made it today to get some measurements.  However, this is more of an idea than an actual recipe.  You can add ingredients in whatever proportion you like.

2.  I like to make a dessert of this nature less sweet especially if I'm going to eat it with ice cream.  The amount of sugar in this recipe is about right for me.  The dish is still a bit tart which I like.    You may wish to add more sugar.  This was delicious the next day for breakfast.  Yep.  We made a lot and there was some left over.   

3.  We used a clay baking dish on Thanksgiving and I used one today.  I like how the clay keeps the cobbler moist.


4.  I was inspired to make this by Rocky Mountain Woman's amazing Apple Cranberry Tart.  It's different from mine, but it was the inspiration.  She has wonderful photos and great directions, too!  So do go check it out!  One day, I'll make her tart, too! 

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter  is "C."  Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun! 


 
 photos by me  © 2013   all rights reserved

Vanilla-Spiced Caramel and Pear Tart

I made this Very delicious and amazing tart Tuesday night and served it at my book club meeting.  It was consumed Voraciously!

pears poached in carmelized sugar with butter and spices--including real Vanilla beans...heavenly!  The scent wafting through my kitchen was luscious!   

 

NOTES:
Alas!  My springform pan had disappeared!  This was a Vexatious situation.  Even though I made a Valiant attempt to locate it in Various places, I was not Victorious.  I decided to line a 10inch round pan with parchment paper and this worked beautifully.

I did not discard any puff pastry.  I simply used the extra to build up the top of the sides.

Poaching the pears took a bit longer for me than the recipe states.
 
I served this with a good quality Vanilla ice cream and drizzled the poaching sauce over the tart and the ice cream.

LINK to the recipe on Epicurous

(a little bit of fun with the letter V)

 photos by me © 2013 all rights reserved

Key Lime Pie

with chocolate cookie crust and raspberry sauce... 

Chocolate Cookie Crust

5 oz shortbread type chocolate cookies, pulverized (about 1 C when crushed.  I used Newman's Own Alphabet Cookies) 

4 T butter, melted

1/2 C shredded coconut (leave out or add more if you  like)

Crush cookies.  Blend in butter and then coconut.  Press into bottom of 9" pie pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes.  Let cool.

Lime Filling

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free.  Hey, saving calories counts!) 

1 to 1 1/2 C whipping cream,* whipped into stiff peaks  (Reserve a little for serving.)

@ 4 limes, zest and juice.  Juice should equal about 4 oz.  (Chop zest into smaller pieces if desired.)  Reserve some zest.

Mix sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and unreserved zest well.  Fold in whipped cream.  Spoon into cooled pie shell.  Sprinkle with reserved zest.  Place pie in refrigerator or freezer.

Raspberry Sauce

Place fresh or frozen berries in a pan on stove.  Add honey to taste.  Let slightly boil for a few minutes.  Remove from heat and crush berries, mixing well.  

To serve:

Place a tablespoon or 2 of raspberry sauce in bottom of bowl or dish, spreading in a pretty manner.  Place slice of pie on top.  Put a dollop of whipped cream on top of pie.

*For easy whipped cream making, place mixer bowl, mixing attachment, and even the cream itself into freezer for a brief period till all is very cold.

This Fun and Fabulous dessert gets rave reviews every time I serve it.  This recipe is original to me, synthesized from several other recipes and honed over time.

Once again, I'm participating in Jenny Matlock's Fantabulous Alphabe-Thursday.  Come and join in the Fun!  You will be enlightened, charmed, and have some plain ole Fun!  See more entries HERE.  This week our letter is "F."  
photos by me © 2010 and 2011

scones

CRANBERRY, ORANGE, and PECAN

I made this dessert for a dinner meeting last night. The recipe is my own, synthesized from the reading of 3 different recipes. I did not want to make them very sweet, but more sugar can be added for a sweeter scone. I used a food processor, but these can be made by hand.
♥

SCONES

DRY INGREDIENTS
3 C flour ( I used @ 1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour to give a richer flavor.)
1/2 C sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 T buttermilk powder
1/4 t salt (opt)

6 T butter

EXTRAS
1/3 C pecans, chopped
1/3 C fresh cranberries, chopped
1-3 t orange zest

WET INGREDIENTS
@ 1 C water (I added about 2T orange juice to the measuring cup before adding water.)



In bowl of food processor, combine dry ingredients till well blended.



Here are the dry ingredients in the food processor before mixing.
Chop butter and add to dry mixture, pulsing on and off on low till mixture resembles a coarse meal. If doing this by hand, use two knives and cut the butter into the dry mixture.

chopped butter and extra ingredients



While pulsing on low, add the water a little at a time. If mixing by hand, use a fork or two to combine. Check mixture before using all the water to see if it will hold together when pressed with your fingers. ( I used all but a tablespoon or two of my water-orange juice mixture. See note below.) Now remove from processor to another bowl. (see photo on right.) Using two forks, mix in extra ingredients.


Scatter some sugar on a counter. Pat the scone mixture on top of the sugar till it is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into scones. I used a 3 inch diameter biscuit cutter. Brush a little water or orange juice on the tops and sprinkle on a little sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on greased sheet and bake at 375 degrees for @ 14 minutes. (The amount of time baking takes will depend on the size of your scones and the heat of your oven. I suggest checking after some minutes to see the progress.) They should be slightly golden brown on top when they are done.










I served the scones with a goat cheese spread. The ingredients below are a suggestion. Add whatever you like, as much or as little of it as you please.

SWEET CHEVRE SPREAD

4 oz goat cheese
2 t fresh cranberries, chopped
2 t dates, chopped
1T honey
2 t sugar
water or orange juice to get desired spreading consistancy

Mix well. I made this a little sweeter to go with the not-so-sweet scones since this was dessert.

Serve scones with the spread, butter, small slices of cheese, and fruit.

mmmmm













NOTE: How much water to add will depend on the flour and the humidity of the air.