Bready or Not Original: Cranberry-Date Bars
These Cranberry-Date Bars are thick, hearty and delicious, perfect for dessert, a snack, or as a breakfast bar.
I used fresh cranberries for this recipe, as I had them in-season. I washed and thoroughly dried the cranberries. For the dates, I didn’t use precut, crusty date bits, but freshly chopped up dates that I had purchased at Costco. I much prefer eating those–they are soft, pliable, and especially sweet.
The dates provide a beautiful counterbalance to the tart cranberries. They also act as glue to hold everything together.
The bright red filling makes these especially pretty for the holiday time, too.
Bready or Not Original: Cranberry-Date Bars
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- 9×13 pan
- foil
- nonstick spray
Ingredients
- 16 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- 8 ounces chopped dates
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) melted
Instructions
- Place cranberries and dates in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring often, until the berries pop. Remove pan from heat to stir in vanilla. Set aside.
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a mixing bowl, place flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour in butter and stir until it forms a crumbly mixture. Press about half into the prepared pan, compressing to form an even layer.
- Bake for 8 minutes. Pull pan from oven. Dollop cranberry-date mixture over top, gently spreading out to create a layer. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top. Put back in oven to bake for 20 to 25 minutes; the top should be golden brown with the crumbs set in the middle.
- Cool to room temperature, speeding the process in the fridge, if desired. Use foil to lift contents from pan onto a cutting board to slice into bars. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Cranberry Swirled Blondies
My original recipe for Cranberry Swirled Blondies is the perfect way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from the holidays. Try out this recipe with a homemade sauce (like my recipe featured just last week) or a canned version.
If you use a jellied version in a can, you should mush it first so that it’s easy to spread. Also note that the varying moisture content of difference sauces could make for a shorter or longer baking time.
For this recipe, 10 ounces of sauce is the minimum because you need enough to spread into an even layer. I’d say you can go up to as much as 15 ounces.
These bars are the perfect breakfast or snack bar in the holiday season. Heck, use them for a cookie tray! They keep fantastically frozen, too.
Bready or Not Original: Cranberry Swirled Blondies
Equipment
- 13×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- uneven spatula
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 10 ounces cranberry sauce this is the minimum, use up to 15 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line 13×9 pan with wide aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, both sugars, and vanilla to create a smooth batter. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the flour mixture. Place about 2/3 of the batter in the pan and carefully spread into a base later using an uneven spatula. Spread cranberry sauce on top. Dollop remaining dough on top. Use a knife to swirl layers together.
- Bake until evenly golden brown and set in the middle, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature or chill before cutting. Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board for easy slicing.
- Blondies keep for up to 3 days in a room temperature sealed container and can also be frozen.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Easy Cranberry Sauce
It’s the first week of October, but we’re anticipating the holiday season with this Easy Cranberry Sauce recipe.
Last Thanksgiving was my first in almost 20 years when I didn’t get to go home to California. My mom is all about using the canned jellied cranberry sauce. I’ve hinted for years now that I could try making a fresh sauce, but tradition is tradition.
I was sad I couldn’t be with my folks at Thanksgiving, but hey, at least I could try a homemade sauce at long last. Being that I’m in Minnesota now, that also meant using local cranberries.
I used a 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, but frozen is fine, too. Since there were only two of us partaking in the feast, we had a lot of leftover sauce, but that was fine–I used most of the remainder in a Cranberry Swirled Blondies recipe that I’ll share next week!
Bready or Not: Easy Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cranberries fresh or frozen
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier
- zest of one orange
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir frequently as the contents warm through so that nothing sticks and burns. After 10-15 minutes, the cranberries will start to burst and the mixture will turn jammy. Cook another couple minutes as more berries break down. Remove from heat and cool before serving.
- Sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Serve with meats such as turkey and ham, or with ice cream or within a baked dessert.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Classic Pot Roast
Classic Pot Roast. Why haven’t I featured this on Bready or Not before? Because Arizona is not conducive to prolonged use of the oven outside of the two months of ‘winter.’
But I’m in the Midwest now. That means I can whip up a proper pot roast (quite likely on a Sunday), and might just use local ingredients, too.
Fun fact: I hate celery, but I like celery flakes. That’s why you see me use celery flakes in recipes like this. You can absolutely use a couple stalks of celery instead.
If you have a large can of tomato paste, portion out standard amounts that are used in recipes (like tablespoon dollops), freeze them on wax paper, then store them in a quart freezer bag to toss into recipes. If you forget to thaw them before cooking, no biggie, just add it in frozen and give it a touch extra time to break down.
Bready or Not: Classic Pot Roast
Equipment
- large oven-safe Dutch oven or pot with lid
Ingredients
- 3-4 pound chuck roast tied
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt plus another 1/2 teaspoon
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil
- 2 medium onions cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Tablespoons celery flakes
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup dry red wine or reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 can reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 1/2 pound small red potatoes cleaned and quartered
- 1 1/2 cups baby carrots
- 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Dry roast and sprinkle with the pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt on both sides.
- In a large pot on the stove, heat the oil. Add the roast and brown on all sides. Set meat aside.
- Add onions, garlic, and remaining salt to the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, 8-10 minutes, until browned. Add celery flakes, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves, stirring in for about a minute.
- Add wine (or extra broth) and stir to loosen browned bits from pan. Add the can of broth. Return roast to the pan. Arrange vegetables around the roast while bringing the pot to a boil. Once that mark is reached, turn off burner and carefully transfer pot to oven. Cover and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until meat is fork-tender.
- Pull pot from oven. Carefully remove meat and vegetables to a platter. Discard bay leaves and skim any fat from the top of the liquids. Bring pot to a boil again, cooking for 10-12 minutes, until liquid is reduced by half. (While this is going on, prepare meat by removing string and slicing or cutting into chunks.) Add vinegar and parsley to the pot. Add more salt and vinegar to taste.
- Serve meat, potatoes, and veggies with sauce. Any leftovers are great reheated on the stove over the next day or so.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Maple Bundt Cake with Maple Icing
Yes, it’s time for yet another maple cake on Bready or Not! This time, a straightforward Maple Bundt Cake with Maple Icing. Delicious cake, plain and simple.
This recipe uses both maple syrup and maple flavor. I feel that both are really necessary here. Really, if you love maple, maple flavor is great to have around. It stays good forever. If you need recipes that use it, well, I think I have dozens of them here on my site.
This is the kind of cake that works well for a breakfast, brunch, or dessert. It’s deliciously versatile like that.
Bready or Not: Maple Bundt Cake with Maple Icing
Equipment
- large bundt pan (12 cups/10 inches)
- nonstick spray
- baking sheet
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup half & half or milk
- 1/2 teaspoon maple flavor
Icing
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons half & half or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Place a baking sheet inside to warm up. Apply nonstick spray to coat the interior of a large bundt pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, scraping down the bowl a few times to make sure everything is mixed. Continue to beat until it becomes light and fluffy. Add the maple syrup followed by the eggs, one at a time.
- In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the main bowl, interspersing it with the addition of the half & half. Add the maple flavor. Once everything is added, scrape the bottom of the bowl.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
- Place the bundt pan atop the hot baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until a toothpick plunged into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cake rest in pan for 20 minutes, then invert it onto a rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze by combining the three ingredients to form a thick texture. Drizzle over the top of the cooled cake.
- Store cake under a cake dome or other cover. Individual slices can be wrapped in plastic for transport or frozen for later.
