If you are like me, you always have jars (tins) of cranberry sauce in the cupboard, and probably extra, especially this time of year. I always add a layer of cranberry sauce to my chicken and turkey sandwiches, and I have been known to use a dollop or two in gravies and sauces.
It is a store cupboard ingredient which always comes in handy throughout the year and something I always have.
I have a favourite breakfast cake that I like to make with it. It makes a fabulous weekend breakfast, especially this time of the year or for when you have overnight guests.
You can find that recipe here. Cranberry Swirl Breakfast Cake.
Another thing I like to make with it, are these fabulous teatime treats . . . Cranberry Crumble Bars. Oh my, but you are to love these.
They are one of my favourite things to bake and to eat!
Not only are they easy to make, but they are excellent additions to the holiday cookie trays!
They also make great hostess gifts!
I have never had anyone turn a cake tin full of these down. Never, ever.
Everyone always loves them!
With their buttery short bread cookie crust . . . and that buttery crumble topping with that sweet-tart cranberry sauce sandwiched in the middle they are sure to become firm favourites in your holiday baking repertoire!
I can almost guarantee it!
The short bread crust is simply created by rubbing some sugar, flour and butter together until crumbly, and then you press it into the pan.
Very simple to do.
This gets baked until it is just golden around the edges. You then spread the cranberry sauce on top and crumble on that buttery crumble topping, before popping it back into the oven for a further baking . . .
The hardest part of these is waiting until they are sufficiently cooled to remove them from the pan. I like to line the pan with some baking parchment.
I always leave a bit of an overhang so that I can just lift them out.
They really crisp up once cooled, which makes them very easy to cut into squares. You get much neater looking squares if you cut them out of the pan, rather than in the pan.
Hence, the lifting sling of parchment paper. It makes sense.
The only decoration you need is a light dusting of icing sugar drifting across the tops! Just like a sweet snowfall.
Yield: 12
Cranberry Crumble Bars
prep time: 20 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 65 mins
Something delicious to make for your family from the excess cranberry sauce we all find in our cupboards over the holiday season! Triple layer bars with a shortbread base, cranberry filling and crumble topping.
ingredients:
For the base:
280g plain flour (2 cups)
95g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
240g butter, chilled (1 c
For the filling:
2 (250g) jars whole berry cranberry sauce (2 14-oz cans)
For the crumble topping:
95g granulate sugar (1/2 cup)
100g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)
350g plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
180g butter melted (3/4 cup)
instructions:
To make the topping, measure both sugars in a bowl along with the
flour and salt. Whisk together. Pour the butter over and mix it all
together with a spoon, until everything is mixed and you have large
clumps that are holding together.
flour and salt. Whisk together. Pour the butter over and mix it all
together with a spoon, until everything is mixed and you have large
clumps that are holding together.
Preheat
the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan
with baking paper and butter the paper. (Make sure you leave some
overhang on the paper for lifting the bars out of the pan when baked.)
Set aside.
the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan
with baking paper and butter the paper. (Make sure you leave some
overhang on the paper for lifting the bars out of the pan when baked.)
Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, sugar and
salt in a bowl. Grate in the chilled butter. Using your fingers, rub
the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
The mixture should hold together when you squeeze it. Dump into the
prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Bake in the pre-heated
oven until just set, 15 to 20 minutes.
salt in a bowl. Grate in the chilled butter. Using your fingers, rub
the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
The mixture should hold together when you squeeze it. Dump into the
prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Bake in the pre-heated
oven until just set, 15 to 20 minutes.
Run a
fork through the cranberry sauce to loosen it. Spread it evenly over
the partially baked base. Crumble the topping over top. (You may not
need it all.)
fork through the cranberry sauce to loosen it. Spread it evenly over
the partially baked base. Crumble the topping over top. (You may not
need it all.)
Bake in the pre-heated oven
for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Allow to
cool completely in the pan. Lift out, dust with icing sugar and cut
into bars to serve. You can store these in an airtight container for up
to a week.
for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Allow to
cool completely in the pan. Lift out, dust with icing sugar and cut
into bars to serve. You can store these in an airtight container for up
to a week.
Created using The Recipes Generator
The recipe can also be very easily cut in half to make a smaller quantity which is what I have done here today. I baked them in an 8 inch square tin, which worked fine, with all of the baking times remaining the same. I really hope you will give these a go.
I am positive you will fall in love with them, not only for the ease of baking, but also for the deliciousness of them. If short, buttery,crumbly sweet/tart bars are your thing, well . . . you are in for a real treat!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
If you are looking for a simple and yet delicious breakfast to serve for the holidays, look no further! Spiced Pumpkin Waffles fit the bill on all counts!
Quick and simple to make, these are absolutely the tastiest, and the smell when you are cooking them is amazing! I don't know about you, but this is the time of year that I love pumpkin anything!
They are fabulous served for breakfast with some warmed Maple Syrup and homemade applesauce.
You can cook some sausages and bacon curls on the side to go with them as well, especially if you are serving them for a holiday brunch! Yum!
You could also serve tinned fruits, or a fruit compote on the side.
I like to warm the syrup . . . its really nice warmed, and I always buy amber grade. It has more flavour.
These are not only great for breakfast however, they also make a great holiday dessert!!
You can serve the warm waffles topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (Or maple walnut!) . . .
and a drizzle of warm caramel sauce . . . now doesn't that sound delicious!
Another great thing about this recipe is you can make the batter up to one day ahead and store it covered in the refrigerator. Just bring it to room temperature for half an hour prior to using.
If its thickened up a bit upon standing overnight, you can whisk in a bit of milk to loosen it up a bit without any making any difference to the finished result.
Another thing which makes these perfect for the holidays, or indeed any time is that you can bake and freeze them for up to a month, just taking them out when you want to serve them.
Smaller sized ones can be reheated briefly in the toaster, or you can warm larger ones in a moderate oven (180*C/350*F) for about 10 minutes to warm them through! Easy peasy!
Yield: 4 - 6
Spiced Pumpkin Waffles
These waffles are light and airy, crisp on the outsides with a lovely warm spicy flavour. Serve with some warmed maple syrup and a pot of applesauce on the side for a fabulous holiday breakfast!
ingredients:
350g of plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS pumpkin pie spice (see my sidebar for a recipe
on how to make your own)
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
4 large free range eggs
100g soft dark brown sugar (1 cup, packed)
180g pumpkin puree, not pie filling (1 cup)
60g butter, melted (1/4 cup)
480ml buttermilk (2 cups)
1 tsp vanilla
non-stick low fat cooking spray
To serve: (all optional)
icing sugar to sprinkle
apple sauce
warmed maple syrup
whipped cream
vanilla ice cream
warm caramel sauce
instructions:
Preheat your oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas
mark 6. Have a baking tray ready. Heat waffle iron according to
manufacturer's directions.
mark 6. Have a baking tray ready. Heat waffle iron according to
manufacturer's directions.
Whisk together the
flour, baking powder, soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg in a
bowl. Whisk the eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, melted butter,
buttermilk and vanilla together in another bowl. Add the flour mixture
to the wet mixture and stir to combine until smooth.
flour, baking powder, soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg in a
bowl. Whisk the eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, melted butter,
buttermilk and vanilla together in another bowl. Add the flour mixture
to the wet mixture and stir to combine until smooth.
Spray
you waffle iron with a bit of cooking spray. Pour in enough batter to
just fill the waffle iron, spreading it out evenly. Close the iron and
bake until the waffle iron opens easily, stops steaming and the waffles
are golden brown on the outside. Remove to the baking tray and keep
warm in the oven while you cook the rest.
you waffle iron with a bit of cooking spray. Pour in enough batter to
just fill the waffle iron, spreading it out evenly. Close the iron and
bake until the waffle iron opens easily, stops steaming and the waffles
are golden brown on the outside. Remove to the baking tray and keep
warm in the oven while you cook the rest.
Serve warm, sprinkled with some icing sugar and your chosen accompaniments. We like maple syrup and applesauce!
Note
- You can make the batter up to 1 day ahead. Cover and keep in the
refrigerator, removing from the refrigerator half an hour prior to
cooking them. Whisk before using. If the batter has thickened up too
much, whisk in a couple TBS of milk. You can freeze the cooked waffles
for up to a month, reheating in a moderate oven until warmed through to
serve.
- You can make the batter up to 1 day ahead. Cover and keep in the
refrigerator, removing from the refrigerator half an hour prior to
cooking them. Whisk before using. If the batter has thickened up too
much, whisk in a couple TBS of milk. You can freeze the cooked waffles
for up to a month, reheating in a moderate oven until warmed through to
serve.
Created using The Recipes Generator
So that's my holiday breakfast sorted . . . I love this time of year, don't you? Bon Appetit!
I had been eyeballing a recipe on Delish for a while now for Crack Chicken Tacos. They looked fabulously tasty, but they also looked a bit faffy, with having to bread pieces of chicken breast etc. The idea of that really kind of put me off. I want my tacos to be quick and easy.
Then I discovered these in the frozen food section at our local grocery shop. Reasonably prices and 100% chicken, and with only green and amber lights, they are fairly healthy. And so I picked up a couple packs to see if I could do something with them.
The original recipe called for breading chicken breast chunks with egg, flour, panko, seasoning, etc. You can certainly do all that faffing about if you want to, but I can tell you right now, it's not necessary. You can have something just as tasty on the table in a fraction of the time and with a great deal less effort.
The sauce is amazingly simple. You just warm together some of your favourite BBQ sauce, brown sugar, lime juice and some garlic powder.
I cut all the quantities of the original recipe in half and found that it was more than plenty!
The original recipe called for simply rolling the finished chicken in the sauce before putting it into the tortillas.
That could be why they needed more sauce. I coated the chicken chunks in it 5 minutes prior to the finished bake time and returned them to the oven to actually cook in the sauce for a few minutes, which really enhanced the flavours of the sauce, so you needed a lot less of it for a larger flavour impact.
The original recipe also called for a simple bed of shredded cabbage to sit the chicken on in the tacos. I felt I could do much better than that.
I added a shredded carrot and some sliced spring onions and a couple TBS of Ranch dressing to make it into a coleslaw.
This worked beautifully as a wonderfully tasty bed for those delicious chunks of chicken.
All that needed to be done after that was to drizzle them lightly with some more ranch dressing and sprinkle some chopped coriander leaf on top!
Oh boy but these were fabby do!
Really FABBY DO!!
The flavours were fantastic!
They were quick and easy to make!
And they provided us with at least one of our five a day! You can't go wrong!
Yield: 4
Easy Crack Chicken Tacos
prep time: 10 minscook time: 15 minstotal time: 25 mins
Probably some of the tastiest tacos you would ever want to eat. Quick, easy and delicious!
ingredients:
350g pack of frozen battered chicken breast chunks (12 1/2 ounces)
4 soft flour tortillas, or tortilla boats
For the sauce:
125g BBQ Sauce (1/2 cup)
50g soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup)
2 TBS lime juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
For the salad:
1/2 small head of cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 carrot, peeled and shredded
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely shredded
2 TBS ranch dressing
You will also need:
freshly chopped coriander leaf for sprinkling (Cilantro)
ranch dressing to drizzleinstructions:
Preheat your oven to the temperature designated on the package of
chicken. Line a baking tray with foil and pour out the chicken pieces
onto the foil. Bake in the oven according to package directions.
chicken. Line a baking tray with foil and pour out the chicken pieces
onto the foil. Bake in the oven according to package directions.
To make the sauce, gently heat together the BBQ sauce, sugar, lime juice and garlic powder. Keep warm.
To make the salad, mix the vegetables together in a bowl along with the ranch dressing.
About
5 minutes before the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and toss
it with the sauce. Return to the oven for the remaining cook time.
Heat your tortillas according to package directions.
5 minutes before the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and toss
it with the sauce. Return to the oven for the remaining cook time.
Heat your tortillas according to package directions.
serve, divide the coleslaw salad between the warmed tortillas, top each
with 1/4 of the coated chicken pieces. Drizzle the chicken with some
ranch dressing and sprinkle with coriander leaf. Fold over and serve
immediately.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I used this Essential 5-in-1 vegetable shredder to do my carrots for the salad. It is so easy to use and comes with a handy bowl that you can shredd your vegetables into. I just mixed up my coleslaw in that same bowl. Its a really handy kitchen tool. Easy to use, clean, store and maintain. I love it and use it a lot. You can find out more here.
We both really enjoyed these tacos. They fit the bill on all counts and fulfilled my kitchen motto, which is for most of what I cook to be quick, easy and delicious! Love, Love, Love! Happy Weekend!
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