Cranberry-Almond Granola

This recipe for Cranberry-Almond Granola is the same basic recipe I always use, often substituting raisins, dried apricots, or dates for the cranberries, and swapping pecans or walnuts for the almonds, sometimes throwing in pumpkin seeds, chia, or coconut. This recipe will work for whatever you want to add to your granola — but always remember to add fruits AFTER cooking, otherwise their (and the granola’s) consistency is ruined. Granola is fantastic on top of yogurt, with milk, or just by itself.

Ingredients:

Yields approximately 9 cups

– 1/2 c. oil

– 2 Tbsp. honey

– 2 Tbsp. high-quality maple syrup

– 1/2 tsp. vanilla

– 1/4 c. brown sugar

– 3 c. oats

– 1/2 c. millet

– 1/2 c. sunflower seeds

– 1/4 c. flax seeds

– 3/4 c. shaved almonds

– 3/4 c. unsweetened dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, combine oil, honey, syrup, vanilla, and sugar. Heat until sugar is dissolved and liquid is uniform consistency.

3. Combine all dry ingredients, EXCEPT cranberries in a large bowl

4. Pour liquid over dry ingredients, stirring gently

5. Spread granola evenly over an aluminum or parchment lined baking sheet

6. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring occasionally with a spatula. (Keep an eye on it though — it can burn quickly!)

7. Allow to cool, mix in cranberries and enjoy! Store in an airtight container.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce – 3 Ingredients, 3 Steps

Making your own cranberry sauce REALLY could not be any easier. And let’s be honest — who really wants that weird gelatinous stuff that comes in a can? Homemade is a-bajillion times more delicious and so much better for you. And when it’s this easy to make, why not do it? Happy Thanksgiving!

Ingredients:

– 1 c. sugar

– 12 oz. fresh whole cranberries

– 1 Tbsp. grated orange zest (or I use tangerine!)

 

Directions:

1. Pour sugar into 1 c. of water and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan

2. Add cranberries and orange zest, reduce heat to a gentle boil

3. Cook for about 10 minutes

That’s it! Allow to cool before serving or cool and refrigerate for later use. SO much better than the gunk in a can!

 

Dark Chocolate-Cranberry Cookies

These are only slightly modified from my all-time favorite cookie recipe for White Chocolate-Cranberry Cookies. Obviously, the adaptation was not a difficult one…These cookies are chewy, rich, and delicious, and can easily be made via traditional recipe or adapted to a vegan cookie. Dark chocolate in a vegan cookie? Indeed! Any high quality dark chocolate should be vegan in fact. As a rule milk fat is only added to poor-quality dark chocolate, so if you are vegan, just be sure to read the ingredient list before selecting your chocolate, or, of course, you can always use carob instead…

I’m trying to make the switch over to thinking in terms of fall ingredients, and now that the weather has (finally!) cooled down a little that shift seems a bit more natural….Not that dried cranberries are particularly a “fall” ingredient, but fresh cranberries do begin to come into their peak in October, and we generally associate cranberries with Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it’s not that much of a stretch to count this as an autumn recipe….is it? I am trying to start assembling my Thanksgiving recipes now so that I can get some of them up on the site in plenty of time for the holiday, and requests and suggestions are always very much appreciated…What are your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts? I’d love to hear about what dish you most look forward to at your holiday meal….

Anyway, the cookies:

Ingredients:

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

– 1 c. flour

– 1 tsp. salt

– 1 tsp. baking soda

– 1 c. butter or butter substitute, softened

– 3/4 c. brown sugar

– 3/4 c. white sugar

– 1 tsp. vanilla extract

– 2 eggs (or 1/2 c. applesauce, plus 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil for vegan cookies)

– 1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips or pieces

– 1 c. dried sweetened cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl

3. In a large bowl  combine butter (substitute) and both types of sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy

4. Add vanilla to creamed sugars

5. Add eggs one at a time, or if making vegan cookies, mix together applesauce and oil and add slowly to your sugar mix

6. Slowly begin to mix in your flour, adding a bit at a time and mixing well after each addition

7. Add dark chocolate to your cookie dough. Mix well.

8. Add dried cranberries

9. Use a spoon (or your hands!) to scoop out cookies. Place on greased baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes.

10. Remove from oven. Allow to cool on baking sheets 2-3 minutes.

11. Transfer to a cooling rack or paper towels to finish cooling.

12. Enjoy!

Someone really wants that cookie…