Festive Cranberry Pinwheels, and how the dog ate my homework

December and baking go hand-in-hand in my kitchen. Speaking of hands, protect yours with my heavy-duty Helen Oven Mitt, available today on my secure Etsy site, CloverSueStore. This oven mitt is serious business, with gorgeous quilted detailing on front and back. Inside, reflective metalized polyester protects from burns, and cotton batting provides comfort. Just short of rocket science. How many times have you reached into the oven and burned your wrist? This oven mitt measures a generous 13-1/4 inches long, so it will defend against burns to your wrist and lower arms.

Front and Back, regardless of  whether you are a Rightie or a Southpaw.

This year, I am crushing on cranberries, and if you love them as much as I do, Festive Cranberry Pinwheels delivers. This recipe is from my “baking bible,” also known as Better Homes and Gardens Old-Fashioned Home Baking cookbook, circa 1990. The pages of my baking bible, like most well-used cookbooks, became crusty with smatterings of pie fillings, batters and frostings over the years. The delectable tastes and aromas contained therein were too much for Clover Sue Dogg (yes, she has a first, middle and last name) to resist when she was a puppy; I came home one day to find my prized possession chewed into bits from the spine in. I was beside myself with grief. But wait — enter Dear Hubs to save the day! My Underdog. He located a  spanking-new replacement cookbook, which was delivered that very week. Lesson learned: baking bible and other taste-tempting edibles (and non-edibles) are to be stored higher than a puppy’s reach.

Fill-in the blank: It’s not Christmas until _____. For me, it’s not Christmas until I bake a batch of Festive Cranberry Pinwheels (among many other Christmas-time activities, recipes, decorating, etc.) That said, this recipe is as time-consuming as rolled and decorated sugar cookies, but with a more grown-up flavor profile. Delicate and delightful, these cookies are dripping with Christmas. I recommend toasting your walnuts before finely chopping them.

Orange-y, cranberry, nutty good!

Ingredients

1 cup cranberries                                                       1 Tbs. milk

1/4 cup orange marmalade                                     1 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbs. honey                                                                1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 cup butter                                                             1/2 tsp. finely shredded orange zest

2 cups all-purpose flour                                         1 egg plus 1 tsp. water, beaten (for glue/wash)

1/2 cup sugar                                                              Powdered Sugar Icing (see recipe below)

1 egg                                                                             1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Stoneware Measuring Spoons from Magnolia Market with my thanks to sweet Sister in-law Lisa and Niece Paige

For filling, in a covered saucepan cook cranberries, marmalade and honey over low heat until mixture boils and berries pop. Uncover, then cook about 8 minutes more until mixture is the consistency of thick jam. Set filling aside to cool. (For the honey, try SimplyNature Wildflower Honey from Aldi US for an extra charming flavor.)

In a bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or until softened. Add about half of the flour. Add sugar, egg, milk, baking powder and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Stir in the remaining flour and orange zest. Divide in half. Wrap tightly and chill about 3 hours or until easy to handle.

A fluted or straight edge pastry wheel can be used. I used straight edge to make the squares, and fluted to cut the points.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a 10-inch square. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut each half into sixteen 2-1/2 inch squares. Place squares 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Cut 1-inch slits from each corner to the center of each square (don’t go all the way through). Spoon 3/4 teaspoon of the filling on the center of each square. Fold every other point to the center to form a pinwheel, brushing each point with a little egg wash to glue the tips together. Pinch lightly to seal.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until tips are pale golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks. Drizzle with Powdered Sugar Icing. Sprinkle nuts in the center of cookies. Makes about 32 cookies.

Powdered Sugar Icing

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp. vanilla. Stir in 1 tablespoon orange juice. Stir in additional juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until smooth and of drizzling consistency.

Pinwheel cookies can be frozen, tightly covered, if you prefer to do some holiday baking in advance. I shall share more cranberry goodness, in the form of Christmas Sangria (which does not suck to quote Dear Hubs) in my next post. Until then, Happy Holidays and Happy Birthday, Paige!

Ode to Dad and Easy Bake Ovens

Like many young home cooks, I cut my chops on my beloved Easy Bake Oven. If Dad was in town, I could always count on him to taste with much enthusiasm the little cakes cooked by the heat of a light bulb. “Wow, delicious” he would say, as I swelled with pride. But the Easy Bake went by the wayside when my palate graduated to a better quality of baking.

The warm fragrance of cinnamon takes me back to one particular snowy Minnesota morning, baking and hanging out with my friend Carla and her mom, Mrs. Halvorson. It might have been Halstrom or Gunderson. Which ever ‘-son’ it was (mine was Hanson), we grated zucchini by hand and played Mystery Date while we patiently waited for our breads to bake, the house filling with heavenly aromas. I was captivated with the transformation of the lowly vegetable into something decidedly un-vegetable like: Zucchini Bread. This was real food, not Easy Bake offerings. Mom let me serve the Zucchini Bread for Thanksgiving that year, and it graced our Thanksgiving table many years thereafter.

Here I present Zucchini Bread, Two Ways. The chocolate version is terrific with extra chocolate chips tossed in. I prefer to omit the nuts in the chocolate version. But my favorite is the regular Zucchini Bread (see the Note below directions) with walnuts. Cinnamon is the only spice needed; nutmeg or cloves would only muddy it up. Try Penzey’s Spices for their excellent cinnamon varieties and vanilla extracts. Keep your electric mixer in the cabinet for this recipe. Stirring with a spoon feels good, fosters baking with care and love, and makes for a good kid-friendly recipe. I somehow still manage to make a huge mess in the kitchen, nonetheless. Protect your hands and countertops with my beautiful, heavy duty Thanksgiving-themed and Christmas-themed hot pads, sewn also with care and love.

Because Thanksgiving is upon us once again, I am sending up my thanks to Hasbro, for its Easy Bake Oven and memories kept, and to Dad, for being a good sport and memories plentiful.

 

Zucchini Bread, Two Ways

Ingredients

2 C. all-purpose flour                        1 C. vegetable oil

1 tsp. baking powder                         1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking soda                               2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 tsp. salt                                               ¾ C. semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. ground cinnamon                    2 C. grated zucchini

3 eggs                                                       1 C. chopped walnuts (optional)

1 C. white sugar

1 C. packed brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9×5-inch loaf pans; set aside.

Finely chop the unsweetened chocolate and place in a double boiler (or use two saucepans), and melt over simmering hot water, stirring until smooth; remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl combine eggs, white and brown sugars, oil and vanilla; beat well. Stir in the melted chocolate until well combined. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, combining until incorporated. Stir in the zucchini, chocolate chips and chopped nuts; stir until combined. Batter will be thick.

Divide batter evenly among the prepared loaf pans; bake for 50 to 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out nearly clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

NOTE: For Zucchini Bread, omit unsweetened chocolate and chocolate chips, and increase cinnamon by ½ teaspoon.