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Apple Cranberry Baked French Toast | alidaskitchen.com

Apple Cranberry Baked French Toast

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of DairyPure Milk. All opinions are 100% mine.

Apple Cranberry Baked French Toast is an easy overnight breakfast casserole made with caramelized brown sugar apples, dried cranberries and cinnamon bread baked in an applesauce custard. Quick to make ahead, perfect for a holiday breakfast!

Apple Cranberry Baked French Toast | alidaskitchen.com On the night before Christmas and all through my kitchen, I will be sauteing and stirring a quick and easy breakfast casserole to bake for eager mouths the next morning. Even with how busy this time of year can be, an easy recipe like this Apple Cranberry Baked French Toast is perfect. It is effortless, made in about 15 minutes and then chills overnight,…all ready to bake into deliciousness the next morning! …

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Oatmeal Cranberry Snack Bars | alidaskitchen.com

Oatmeal Cranberry Snack Bars

Oatmeal Cranberry Snack Bars are packed with wholesome oats, tangy cranberries and very easy to make!  They are perfect for a quick snack, a healthier dessert, or even as a breakfast treat.Oatmeal Cranberry Snack Bars | alidaskitchen.com

Cranberries are a wonderful flavor of the holidays.  From cranberry sauce to cranberry white chocolate desserts, the taste of cranberries conjures up memories of Thanksgiving, winter holidays and everything in between. To celebrate the season, I wanted to come up with something using cranberries that is easy to make, on the healthier side and would be as suitable as an after school snack with my best buddy to a quick breakfast on the go for Mike.  These Oatmeal Cranberry Snack Bars, made with wholesome oats and studded with tart dried cranberries throughout, fit that bill perfectly!…

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Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins

Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins

Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins

Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins combine two of the best flavors of the holiday season – cranberry and gingerbread – into a delicious breakfast treat.  The tart cranberries complement the sweet and spicy gingerbread beautifully.  These muffins would be a wonderful treat for Christmas morning, or any time you’re craving something festive for winter that is easy to make….

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Cranberry Cornbread

cranberry cornbread
Cranberry Cornbread puts a fun, fall/wintery twist on traditional cornbread.  We have been making chili almost weekly these days, and of course what goes better with chili than cornbread.  I used a cornbread muffin recipe from Cooking Light for the base, making a few adjustments to accommodate the cranberries.  Fresh cranberries add just the right amount of tartness which is balanced nicely with brown sugar.  Buttermilk lends a moist crumb, and the result is a delicious tart-sweet cornbread.  Cranberry Cornbread would make a nice side dish for Thanksgiving, or any holiday, and of course pairs very well with a spicy chili!

Speaking of chili, I am working on a fabulous new chili recipe to share with you soon.  In the meantime, this Three Bean Vegetarian Chili can be made in less than 30 minutes and is our current chili of choice.

Cranberry Cornbread
 
Yields: 16 servings
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups buttermilk
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup yellow cornmeal
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8" square baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl (or in a liquid measuring cup) combine buttermilk, oil and egg.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  4. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, folding until just combined. Gently fold in cranberries.
  5. Pour mixture in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Adapted from Cooking Light, September, 2012

cranberry cornbread

Coconut Cranberry Muffins

I had been craving something with coconut for some time, and it occurred to me that coconut paired with cranberries would be a lovely combination.  Cranberries are so wonderful in the wintertime. They add beautiful, seasonal color, as well as a delightful zing to any dish.  Of course, my next thought was…let’s make muffins! 

The sweetness of the coconut was the perfect counterbalance to the tangy cranberries.  The whole family loved these, especially Adam (though at first, the cranberries were a bit too surprising).  Adam asked for coconut cranberry muffins every day for weeks.  Quite frankly, an almost 2 year old saying ‘coconut cranberry’ anything is quite possibly the cutest thing ever.  As if you didn’t need another reason to make these…they are just plain good!


Coconut Cranberry Muffins
Yields 18 muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut, for topping

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare 18 muffin cups with liners or cooking spray.  Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, stir flours, sugar, coconut, baking powder, baking soda and salt, until combined.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.
  4. Add buttermilk mixture to flour, gently folding until combined.  Fold in cranberries.
  5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan.  Sprinkle with remaining coconut.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Adapted from Food.com

Linked to Sweet as Sugar Cookies: Sweets for Saturday #50

White Chocolate Coconut Cranberry Cookies

Well hello there. Look up, and please update your bookmarks!  That’s right.  Alida’s Kitchen has a new web address. I dropped the ‘blogspot’ from the URL, so it is now www.alidaskitchen.com. I purchased this domain many months ago and was waiting for the right time to pull the trigger. Since my physical kitchen has a new address (we moved!), it seems like a fitting time to make the switch.   I will do whatever I can to make sure this transition is seamless, and as always I welcome your comments and feedback.    

So enough about that, let’s get on with today’s recipe – White Chocolate Coconut Cranberry Cookies.

Who doesn’t love the classic pairing of white chocolate and cranberry.  The sweetness of the white chocolate against the tartness of the cranberries is just delicious.  The coconut adds a little something extra special, and the oats give the cookies a chewy texture.  All together, we have a tasty combination that is a fun and festive addition to your cookie plates this holiday season!

White Chocolate Coconut Cranberry Cookies
Yields approximately 36 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons skim milk
2 large eggs
1/2 pound (2 sticks) light butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup sweetned flaked coconut
1 cup white chocolate chips

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vanilla, milk and eggs.  Set aside.
  3. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, in a separate bowl, on medium speed, beat butter and both sugar until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and add in milk mixture – beat well.  Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
  4. Stir in the oats, cranberries, coconut and white chocolate chips. 
  5. Place dough in refrigerator until firm (at least 2 hours to overnight).
  6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
  7. Shape 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough, placing 3 inches apart.  Press with the bottom of a glass (covered with parchment or waxed paper) to flatten dough. 
  8. Bake until golden but still soft in the middle, 15-18 minutes.  Remove from oven and move to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Adapted from Martha Stewart