Cranberry Coffee Cake

This is the yummiest cake!  If you are familiar with coffeecakes, you know that they are scrumptious fresh out of the oven but once they are cooled down they can taste bready and dry. Not so with this amazing cake. It melts in your mouth regardless of whether it's fresh out of the oven or you're eating the last piece the next day. It is so moist that it almost shouldn't be considered a coffeecake. The hint of almond flavoring is fabulous paired with the cranberries. Whenever I bring this to parties it gets rave reviews. Hope you enjoy!

Cranberry Coffee Cake
Submitted by Erin  ~  The Sisters Cafe

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter (one cube)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp almond flavoring
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1/2 c. sliced almonds

Glaze:
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 T. water

Cream together sugar and butter.  Add eggs, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add flour, sour cream, and almond flavoring and mix well.  Grease and flour a bundt pan and spoon 1/3 batter into the bottom.  Spoon half of the cranberry sauce on top.  As well as you can, evenly distribute 1/3 of the batter on top of the cranberries, then layer the remainder of the cranberry sauce, followed by the remaining 1/3 batter.  Sprinkle with chopped nuts.  Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes.  Cool.  Gently loosen edges of cake from the pan with a skinny knife or spatula, then invert cake onto serving platter.  Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle over top of cake.

Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

These lemon cupcakes are so yummy! I love the sweet&tart cranberry filling and the rich lemony cream cheese frosting.... mmm!  These are a fun Valentines treat with the bright cranberry center.  Hope you enjoy!

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Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

Submitted by Erin  ~  The Sisters Cafe
Recipe from cupcakeblog.com

Makes ~28 regular cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
zest of one meyer lemon

Preheat oven to 375°. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, beat to combine. Scoop into cupcake papers about half full. Place cupcakes in the oven and turn the oven down to 350°. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

To assemble cupcakes: Fill cupcakes by cutting out a cone from each cupcake. Flip the cone and cut off the excess.  Set the top aside. Fill each cavity with the tart cranberry filling. Replace each top.   Frost with the meyer lemon cream cheese frosting. (I put the frosting in a piping bag with a star tip.)

Tart Cranberry Filling

Half of a 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries
½ cup water
¼ cup sugar

Rinse and pick through cranberries. Add to a medium pan with water and sugar. Bring to a boil stirring to dissolve sugar. Let the mixture boil for ten minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

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Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 sticks (½ cup) butter, room temperature
¾ of a 8-oz package of Philly cream cheese
1 ½ - 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
½ tablespoon meyer lemon juice
zest of one fourth of a meyer lemon

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Beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Add cream cheese and beat until combined.  Sift 1 ½ cups of the powdered sugar into the butter and cream cheese. Add the lemon juice and zest. Beat until combined. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. I used 2 cups.

Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread

This bread is so festive!  Cranberries are so bright and pretty to cook with, and I love the tart contrast they provide to the sweetness of the bread.  Our mom used to read us a book called Cranberry Thanksgiving every year around Thanksgiving (and probably much more often than that).  I read it to my little boy this year, and I was thoroughly delighted that he loved Mr Whiskers as much as I did (you'll have to get this book!) .  Anyway, the grandmother in the book has a wonderful and secret cranberry bread recipe... which of course they disclose at the end of the book.  My mom would always make it for us, and we loved it!  So I thought I would pass along the oh-so-secret recipe so you could enjoy it, too!

Doesn't this look like a well loved book with the marker and the tape on the binding? :)

Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

Printable recipe here

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
3/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups light raisins (I never include these - not a fan of raisins in my bread)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a large bowl.  Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  Add egg, orange peel, and orange juice all at once; stir until mixture is evenly moist.  Fold in raisins and cranberries.  Spoon into a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove from pan; cool on wire  rack.

Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Bowties

I recently saw this recipe on martawrites blog and it reminded me of a recipe I used to make but somehow lost the recipe. I had cut it out of the newspaper and the clipping ended up lost before I had a chance to type it up. I was happy to find it again and made it for dinner that night. My husband loves anything with teriyaki and I remembered that he had loved it! It is simple and easy and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand. Except this time I was out of sesame seeds, and I used a yelow bell pepper instead of the called for red. I think red would look better and stand out more, but the yellow one tasted great. We don't like the craisins with teriyaki combo, so I leave those out. Other than that, we think this salad is great! I think you will love it too! Thanks Marta for the reminder!


Spinach Salad With Teriyaki Bowties
submitted by Melanie www.thesisterscafe.com
printable recipe here

16 oz. Bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled
1 - 2 bags of fresh baby Spinach
2 small cans Mandarin Oranges
1 cup Craisins (I left this out)
1 Red Pepper, chopped (I used yellow)
1 can Water Chestnuts
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 cup Honey Roasted Peanuts or Cashews
1/2 cup fresh Parsley (optional)
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds, toasted (optional)
2 cups torn cooked Chicken (optional)

Dressing:
1 cup Vegetable Oil
2/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
2/3 C. Teriyaki Sauce
5 Tbs. Sugar

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions, drain and cool while whisking the dressing together in a large bowl. Marinate cooked bowtie pasta in the dressing for 1 hour or longer in the fridge. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce and pasta over the salad, toss together and serve. If it's just a few of you, make individual salad servings; keeping the salad and bowtie sauce separate for the rest of the week (no one likes a soggy salad).

SUPERBOWL SNACKS--Fruit and Nut Toffee Crunch

My friend Gloria, bless her heart, always has a little bag of this delicious snack to share with me at choir practice each sunday. Choir practice is after our 3 hours of Sunday services, and I am famished! So when she whips out this little treat, it is very appreciated!! I made it this week to share with our Super Bowl guests. It is soo good! I think you will love it! Thanks for the great idea Gloria!

Fruit and Nut Toffee Crunch
submitted by MelaniePrintable recipe here

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups salted cashews
1 1/2 cups roasted almonds
1/2 cup craisins

Prepare a cookie sheet by laying down a silpat or covering it with tinfoil sprayed with cooking spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and water and stir constantly until butter is melted and sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy (about 10 minutes). If sugar granules stick to the side, wipe them down with a wet pastry brush. When sugar is completely dissolved, turn the heat up to medium and stir constantly until toffee becomes a medium caramel color. (I don't use a candy thermometer, but just go by the look and smell. If you do use one it should be at 300 degrees when you take it off the heat) I have heard people waiting till the toffee gives a puff of smoke. I did that with this recipe and it worked great.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, nuts and craisins. Pour toffee into prepared pan. When cool break into chunks and store in air tight container.

ENJOY!!

To order a silpat go here

Other Super Bowl food recipe ideas:

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

One Bowl Perfect Brownies

Black and White Bean Dip

Cranberry Pork Roast

I saw this recipe on two blogs (A Year of Slow Cooking, then Recipe Corner) in December, and decided that if it got two sets of great reviews... it was definitely worth trying. I am always looking for easy dinners, and this one sounded like a fun change from the regular old roast we usually have. I have made it twice now and thought it was wonderful both times. The first time, I used a combination of white tail deer and mule deer meat I had in my freezer. It was really good. The second time I made it, I used pork... and I have to say it was way better. There is just something about a sweet sauce that calls for pork! This tender, juicy roast was a big hit at my house. My one year old, who usually isn't much of a meat eater, was scarfing it down and yelling for more. :) We ate the leftovers on salad and wrapped up in tortillas with burrito toppings. Super good!

Cranberry Roast
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1, 2-4 lb roast (I used pork in the picture above)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
salt and pepper

Place the rings of onion in the crock pot. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper to taste (I really didn't put much salt on). Place the roast on top of the onions. Next add the 2 Tbsp. of soy sauce, just pouring over the top of the roast. Dispense the cranberry sauce on top of the roast. Cook on low for 6 hours. About one hour before serving, shred the pork with two forks. That way it will soak up all the juices and be tender, delicious when you serve it.

Recipe Source: Recipe Corner and A Year of Slow Cooking

White Cranberry Macadamia Cookies

These are the prettiest cookies!  And it's a bonus that they are so easy.  The bright red of the Craisin presents a beautiful contrast with the white cookie.  And the macadamia... well, there is a reason my husband calls these white cranberry "crack-adamias!"  They are so addictive.  Thanks to my friend, Mindy Black, for introducing me to these!

White Cranberry Macadamia Cookies
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1 white cake mix
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 cup cranberries*
1/2 cup macadamia nuts

Mix ingredients together.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

*To mix things up, substitute cranberries or macadamias with white chocolate chips

Saucy Meatball Appetizer

This is such an easy, tasty appetizer! My friend Rachel gave me this recipe and I love it. It's nice to have meatballs that aren't BBQ for once! This sauce is different and so yummy...hope you enjoy! (The meatballs are pre-prepared frozen ones from Costco (they are delicious) but I'm sure you could make your own instead if you feel very ambitious!)Saucy Meatballs

submitted by Brittany

1/2 bag Italian Style Meatballs from Costco (or 3 lbs~approx. 70 meatballs)

12 oz of cocktail sauce

1 can whole cranberry sauce

1 c brown sugar

1 c water

Combine ingredients (minus meatballs) in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour sauce over meatballs in a crockpot or large pot. Heat to boiling and simmer for 1-2 hours. Simmer longer if meatballs are frozen. Serve with toothpicks and enjoy!

Cranberry Salsa

I love this unique spin on salsa! It's tangy and sweet with a yummy Mexican twist. Now you have a fresh idea of what to serve your football-watching-crowd this season... that is if you're like me with a husband and a pack of friends descending on your house to watch the big games!Cranberry Salsa

submitted by Brittany

12 oz package fresh cranberries (thawed cranberries work great too)

3/4 c sugar

1 jalapeno, chopped (no seeds)

2 green onions

3 Tb chopped fresh cilantro (approx 1/2 c loosely packed leaves)

1/4 tsp cumin

Coarsely chop in food processor. Serve over cream cheese with chips or crackers. (I like it with wheat thins) *makes enough to cover about 1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese.

Cranberry Spice Tea

This is a wonderfully delicious hot drink for the holidays... a fun alternative to hot chocolate. It's tart and sweet at the same time - I love it! I got this recipe from my mother-in-law who is a fabulous cook! (The red hots are those little cinnamon candies popular at Valentines...you can usually buy them in the bulk candy section.)

Cranberry Spice Tea

submitted by Brittany

1 quart water

3/4 cup sugar

1 stick cinnamon

12 whole cloves

1/4 cup red hot candies

1 quart cranberry juice

1 (12 oz) can frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 (12 oz) can frozen lemonade concentrate

more water if needed

Boil first 5 ingredients for 7 minutes then add cranberry juice, OJ and lemonade concentrate. Heat through and serve hot. Add 1 more quart of water if too strong.

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

I have been making this bread for years, and I can't remember where I got the recipe. I think it was on the Food Network. Anyway, the combination of tart cranberries and sweet pumpkin bread is really REALLY good! Oh, and it makes your home smell divine! No need for those scented candles the day you bake this. This time I made the recipe into 2 loaves (smaller ones) and 9 mini loaves in my new Demarle flexipan (So I could share with my neighbors). I keep fresh cranberries in my freezer--so I always have them on hand when I feel the need to bake this! This bread freezes great. Enjoy!

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread
submitted by Melanie Christensen

4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
4 cups sugar
4 ½ cups flour
2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 cups cranberries, fresh ( I chop in food processor)

Preheat oven to 350
In a bowl combine eggs, pumpkin puree and oil. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add cranberries and mix well. Divide dough into 2 big loaf pans, and 1 small one . Bake for 50 minutes.