Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal

  

I know a recipe is a keeper when my 80-year-old mom asks, “Are you going to make it again anytime soon?”

The one she requested this week was for Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal. 

Do you horde fresh cranberries during the holidays? I do. Bags of those little red flavor bombs are primarily stored in the freezer to make my favorite Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread well beyond Christmas.

One cold morning in January, I wondered if I could take those same flavors and put them in baked oatmeal, which is one of our favorite breakfast dishes. After a couple of tries, I came up with this version. I enjoy it with a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt on the side.

Don’t have a stash of fresh cranberries? No worries. This dish tastes lovely using either fresh or dried cranberries. 

Don’t like cranberries? No problem. Earlier this week, I made the recipe by swapping out the cranberries for blueberries and the orange zest and juice for lemon. The result was equally tasty! 

Blissful Cranberry Cookies

Lately my appetite has been stuck on cookies. For some reason, when a sweet craving strikes, I want homemade cookies dunked in ice cold milk.

Perhaps it's the time of year. While cookies take center stage at Christmas, I think summer is cookie season. These sweet morsels are easier to make than pies and handier to transport than ice cream. Need dessert for a picnic? Want a treat to munch on at the lake or beach? Cookies are the answer!

Once you know a basic cookie dough recipe, what kind it becomes is completely up to your imagination…or what’s in the pantry at the time. For example, these Blissful Cranberry Cookies were inspired by the Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. To my basic cookie dough, I added dried cranberries, white and semi-sweet chocolate chips, and walnuts. However, you could add any dried fruit, chips, nuts and flavorings to make your own signature cookie.

Blissful Cranberry Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen

Basic cookie dough:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Additions:

1 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli.)

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

To make the basic dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Add the eggs and beat until well combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.

Add the dried cranberries, chips and nuts, and mix for just a moment to combine.

Drop rounded teaspoons of the cookie dough onto the baking sheets. Place in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, turning the cookie sheets and swapping shelves halfway through baking. Take the cookies out of the oven and allow them to sit on the baking sheets for two minutes. Then place them on racks to cool. Store in an air-tight container.

Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread

This year, it's hard to say goodbye to Christmas. Yes, the decorations are all packed away. I’m no longer listening to seasonal music or watching those heart-warming movies that often bring a tear and a smile. But in my heart, I just can’t let go.

So I made Cranberry Orange Walnut bread. I’ve made it every Christmas for—well, so many years I can’t remember how many. I got the recipe from a Woman’s Day magazine I saw in a doctor’s waiting room and quickly copied it since I don’t like to rip things out of other people’s magazines. The recipe is actually called Cranberry Cake Wreath, and the photo showed this yummy treat made in a bundt pan and decorated with an icing glaze to look like a snowy Christmas wreath.

However, the texture and taste of this “cake” are more like a quick bread or muffin. Instead of icing the top, I just cover it in a snowy shower of confectioner’s sugar. It is my favorite breakfast treat—toasted with a smear of butter. Yum.

Maybe Christmas doesn’t have to end yet after all. Now, where are my Mannheim Steamroller CDs…?