Cranberry Orange granola

 

This Granola is perfect to take with you on hikes or camping trips.  It has the same base recipe as my Mango Ginger granola and is just as easy to make.

4 cups rolled oats

pinch of salt

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup chopped pecans

1 tbsp zested orange peel (about 1 orange)

1/2 tsp orange extract

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

First put the oats, salt, cranberries, pecans, and orange zest in a large glass bowl.

In a large sauce pan add the brown sugar, vegetable oil, and honey.  cook on medium until the mixture is boiling and the oil is mixed with the brown sugar.  Remove from the heat and add the orange extract.  Be careful when you do this because the mixture can splash a little bit.  Hot syrup does not feel good on your hands....trust me.  Quickly stir the extract in and then add to your oat mixture.  Try to do this fast because the syrup will start to harden and make it hard to mix.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Spread the granola evenly onto a cookie sheet  and cook for about 15 minutes.  Make sure you are stirring the granola every 5 minutes to make sure it is evenly cooked.  When the granola is done the oats will be browned and the mixture will still be soft.  Place it on the counter and let it cool.  When the granola cools it hardens, store it in an air tight container or zip lock bag.

This granola has a nice citrus after taste which goes well with plain yogurt and honey, or just something to snack on this summer while your working on the garden.

Cranberry Crumble

I made this dessert with fresh cranberries, for my sister Laura who came into town this morning.  It was cold outside and the warm dessert paired with a hot cup of coffee was perfect.  I like this recipe because it has the perfect amount of sweet and tart.  It is also incredibly easy to make.

for the crust and topping:
2 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup slivered almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup cold butter
1 egg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

For the filling:
3 cups fresh cranberries (1 bag)
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 13x9 inch glass pan.

Grind up the slivered almonds in either a food processor, or cleaned out coffee grinder.  In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, almonds, baking powder, and salt.  Using a pastry blender, or two knives, cut in the cold butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs (same as pie dough).  Stir in the egg.  Press in 2 1/2 cups of the mixture in the bottom of your glass pan.  Sitr the cinnamon into the remaining crumb mixture.

In a second bowl, add all of the filling ingredients.  Stir until all of the sugar is evenly distributed throughout the cranberries.  Spoon the cranberry mixture into the glass pan and even it out.

using your hands crumble the rest of the topping mixture evenly over the cranberries.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  Take it out of the oven and allow to cool.  You can eat this dessert hot and it will be a bit messy, or you can put it into the refrigerator until it is cold and you can cut it into bars.  I ate it warm and although it was a bit messy, it really hit the spot!

Taken by Laura Ramsey