Apple Spice Cookies

 

Given all the exciting fruit there is to love, from tropicals like kiwi, mango, papaya and pineapple to summer's juicy stone fruits and gorgeous berries, I'm a little boring when it comes to my very favorites. Ordinary bananas and grapes make me happy- and most of all, apples. I like Honeycrisp and Granny Smith best, but any crisp one will do. I think I ate an apple nearly every day of both my pregnancies.

Most of the time, I like them just for snacking, but this time of year I find myself drawn to baking and cooking with them. In the past week and half alone, I've made almond studded whole wheat apple scones, soft granola bars with apple and carrot, cheddar-apple paninis and these cookies. Soft, cake-like and pleasantly spiced, I'm fairly certain these cookies won't ever take the place of your favorite chewy peanut butter or chocolate chip ones, but with apples, cranberries, walnuts and cinnamon, they are a fun treat for fall.

My modifications included the use of butter over shortening, and honey and maple syrup in the place of significantly more brown sugar, as well as the adjustments necessary when baking with natural sweeteners. Smaller changes included swapping out raisins for cranberries and eliminating a glaze that would've made these unbearably sweet. They are delicious warm out of the oven, and even better the next day. Aside a cup of coffee or tea, they could even pass for breakfast.

Apple Spice Cookies
adapted from Glazed Apple Cookies from allrecipes
yields around 2 dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey (I used a Sourwood mixed honey)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
2 cups sifted (prior to measuring) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup peeled, cored apple in fine dice (1 1/2 small apples)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat butter, honey and maple syrup over medium speed until light and thickened, 3 minutes. Beat in egg and blend thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Add half of the flour mixture to honey mixture and combine with mixer on low. Stir in apples, walnuts and cranberries. Add remaining flour and mix well.

Drop by heaping tablespoons (1 1/2 to 2 tbsps worth) on prepared baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Transfer to rack to cool.

Maple-Dijon Salmon with Warm Israeli Couscous Salad (and some belated baby news)

As I'm sure you've figured out by my lack of posting for the last few weeks, we've had a new addition to our family. Entering the world a week past her due date, our new daughter, Maisy, was every bit worth the wait. She is the sweetest little baby, and we are completely in love. As well as a little tired. Adjusting to a newborn in the house has been the easy part- it's also having a three year that makes things a little trickier.

Like cooking dinner...especially when Sage isn't home. I haven't really figured out how to manage that one yet. You'll have to bear with my scarce posting for a while. Clearly I am not dedicated enough to have stockpiled recipes to post, nor do I have much time to be blogging anyhow.

This was a meal we cooked together that we really enjoyed. Originally the salad contained wheat berries, but I chose to use whole wheat Israeli couscous instead. I also added zucchini, eliminated the toasted pecans and played around a good bit with the ingredient quantities. I loved the maple-dijon glaze on the fish and how it paired with the couscous and veggies. I wasn't sure about the cranberries, but they definitely added something and I glad I included the zucchini. I've never had wheat berries before, so I would like to try this with them, but I thought the couscous version was great, not to mention way quicker. If you don't have to stop to feed a baby, while also showering attention on a big brother, this entire meal would be an absolute breeze to prepare.

Beckett meeting his baby sister for the first time

Maple-Dijon Salmon with Warm Israeli Couscous Saladadapted from Health, as seen on MyRecipes (via Erin's Food Files)
serves 3
for the salad:
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil, divided
1 cup whole wheat Israeli couscous
2 cups boiling water
2 medium carrots, in small dice
1 stalk celery, in small dice
1 medium zucchini, in small dice
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper2 tbsp red wine vinegar
for the salmon:
3 (4 oz.) pieces of wild-caught salmon, skin on
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
Preheat oven to 450.In a medium saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. Add couscous and toast for 1 minute. Add boiling water, cover pan and reduce to a low heat. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, drain excess water if needed and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium. Add carrots and celery and cook for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cranberries, season with a couple pinches salt and a good bit of pepper and continue to cook for another minute or two, or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat, stir in prepared couscous, vinegar and remaining tsp of oil. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Cover to keep warm.
While vegetables are cooking, stir together dijon and maple syrup. Mist a baking sheet with olive oil or brush with additional olive oil. Arrange salmon, skin side down on baking sheet and spread dijon-maple glaze over top. Bake for 4-5 minutes or until almost cooked through, then turn broiler on and broil until golden on top, about 2 minutes.
Serve salmon atop couscous salad.

Cranberry Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you've read me carry on about how I'm not really a big fan of sweets, blah, blah, blah. But I guess it's not up to me right now. Apparently this baby has a sweet tooth, because I have been craving them lately. Sometimes, a cup of tea with honey or a bowl of lightly sweetened cereal will do the trick. Other times, not so much. To keep myself from eating junk, I've baked up a few batches of muffins lately in order to have something sweet, but fairly healthy to snack on.

None of them have really been impressive enough to share, and I'll be honest, when I tried this batter before baking, I was certain these wouldn't be either. In fact, I almost tossed it out. It tasted like nothing but baking soda and had no sweetness whatsoever. Thank goodness I didn't, because these muffins are great. And even better the next day. They have a slightly dense, healthy taste that I actually enjoy in a muffin, while still staying moist and lightly sweet. And without the use sugar, butter, oil or eggs.

According to the site I found these, you can use any fruit juice or type of milk for the liquid, and and any type of fruit pulp (applesauce, pumpkin puree, smashed bananas, etc.) Obviously, I can't support that claim without trying out different combinations, but I can tell you using apple juice and pumpkin made for a tasty muffin for me. I also added vanilla, cinnamon and a little agave, along with some dried cranberries and some white chocolate chips that I had laying around. While I loved the cranberries, I think I'd prefer to leave out the chips next time to embrace this muffin's healthiness. I'd rather go with extra dried fruit and add some chopped nuts. In any case, the beauty of these are how adaptable they are.

Cranberry Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from Diana's Awesome Oatmeal Muffins, Food.com

yields 12

2 cups rolled oats (I used 1 cup old fashioned and 1 cup quick-cooking)
2 cups no sugar added (100%) apple juice
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp agave or honey
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
optional stir-ins: additional dried fruit, chopped nuts, white chocolate chips, shredded coconut, etc.

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, soak oats in juice until softened about 15 minutes. Add pumpkin, vanilla and agave. Next stir in salt, baking soda and powder and cinnamon. Mix in flour until just combined, taking care not to over mix. Fold in cranberries and desired stir-ins, if using.

Spoon batter into an ungreased nonstick muffin pan (they will be filled to the top). Bake for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted center of one of the muffins comes out clean.

Let muffins cool in muffin pan on a wire rack completely before removing.

Merry Christmas!

Hello, all! Just wanted to take a quick second to wish all of you who celebrate Christmas a very merry one, and to those of you who don't, I hope you are having a lovely holiday season as well!

I have had absolutely no time to blog lately. Christmas is a very busy time in a flower shop, so I've been working a lot, and then coming home and staying up late baking and preparing for Christmas.

Speaking of baking, I made these cookie tray for our neighbors and coworkers. Despite this not so pretty photo, they came out quite nice I thought. I pretty much stuck to the original recipes, so I am going to just include the links instead of reposting them.

I made:

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies (aka Peanut Butter Blossoms) from Savory Sweet Life - I had to add an extra few tbsp of peanut butter to help bind the dough

Swirly Chocolate-Peppermint Bark from Confections from a Foodie Bride

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Ocean Spray- I used 2 cups Craisins and used white chips instead of chunks, increasing it to 3/4 cup

And at the request of my two year old...

Gingerbread Men from McCormick- Even after chilling overnight, the dough was very soft and sticky. It took a little playing around with but we found that if we rolled it in between parchment paper and then placed it in the freezer before cutting the men out (while we had another batch in the oven) that it was fine as long as you worked quickly. It was worth the extra effort, I thought, because the cookies had great flavor and a perfect consistency that was neither too soft or too crisp. I decorated them with not-so-perfect little faces and mini M&M buttons.

I am off today and pretty much done with everything I need to do, besides running out for a quick errand- can you believe I work in a flower shop and I forgot to get flowers for my own dining room table???- and then finish cleaning and prepping for tomorrow. We are hosting Christmas brunch for half of our family tomorrow and then spending the rest of the day at my mom's, who does Christmas like no one else and makes it an absolute blast! I'm so excited to spend time with family and most especially to get to re-experience it all through the eyes of my young child.

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Holiday weekend spent your loved ones!

Vegan Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Today was one of those rare, wonderful days, where I was kid-free (the little guy was spending the day with his nana), and I had no reason to leave the house, no errands to run and nothing I had to get done. I found myself in a rather domestic mood, and all I felt like doing was cooking, baking, cleaning...and staying in my pjs all day. I can happily say I accomplished all of these things today.

For the baking, I was just about to make a sandwich bread I've been wanting to try when I decided to completely change gears. Not wanting to wait for yeast to rise and craving something a little on the sweet side, I began looking for a pumpkin quick bread. I found one that had great reviews, but while vegan, wasn't exactly healthy.

I played around, cleaning it up a little, and making changes like swapping out the shredded coconut for dried cranberries (majorly reducing the sugar, since the cranberries are plenty sweet). I also used extra pumpkin in place of some of the oil. The end result was a yummy, fall-flavored bread that you'd never guess was vegan. It was really moist and for our tastes, perfectly sweetened. Definitely a perfect treat for a perfect kind of day.

Vegan Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

adapted from allrecipes.com

makes 1 loaf

1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of cloves

1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup coconut milk (or almond)

1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices. In a smaller bowl, combine pumpkin, oil and milk. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, and stir until incorporated. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for an hour, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven, cover tightly with foil and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove foil and turn onto rack to cool completely.

Cranberry Apple Chutney

If you are looking for an easy-to-make appetizer for Thanksgiving, this chutney is perfect. It comes together in no time, can be made a day or two ahead and is delightful paired with cream cheese atop wheat crackers. It would also make a lovely hostess gift and could be served as a condiment with pork, ham or chicken.

I didn't notice the amount of sugar this originally called for until I'd already began making it. I wasn't thrilled with using all that sugar, but then I had a light bulb moment. I only buy jams and preserves that are sweetened with fruit juice, and I figured I could do the same, subbing the sugar and water with 100% apple juice, although I did add some honey and a touch of brown sugar. I also scaled this back (it makes a good bit) and used a Granny Smith Apple. You could use a sweeter apple if you prefer, however, I personally loved it for its tartness.

For serving, you could fill a small serving bowl with cream cheese, and nestle the chutney in the center, but for an even easier presentation, you could just pour it right over a block of cream cheese, (you know, like that red-pepper-jelly-over-a-block-of-cream-cheese appetizer that is always surprisingly popular on an appetizer table). As for the crackers, I tried a few different types, and I can tell you to skip the fancier ones. This goes best with a simple cracker, such as the whole wheat Ritz ones I used.

Cranberry Apple Chutney

adapted from allrecipes.com

I used an 1/8 of a tsp of cloves in this. Next time, I will use a pinch or two, because it was just a little too much for my taste. Adjust it to your liking.

2 cups fresh cranberries
1 medium apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
a pinch-1/8 tsp cloves (depending on your preference)
1/3 cup apple juice
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp dark brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until apple is tender and mixture has thickened. Cool completely.

Store in the refrigerator. Serve with cracker and cream cheese or as a condiment with pork, ham or chicken.

Quinoa and Chickpea Stuffed Acorn Squash

I always think it's funny how you can look so forward to trying a new recipe, specifically buying the ingredients and anticipating it's wonderfulness, only to have it turn out so-so, or you can last minute throw something together and it wind up being a huge hit. I'm sure you can guess this was the latter.

Sage plays softball once a week. His game times vary and on the nights he has an early game, there isn't time for a family dinner. He just grabs something light and runs out the door. On those nights, I make something very simple for Beckett and I, usually pasta with peas and parmesan (our favorite quick and easy dinner) or salad and leftovers. When it's a later game, I have to put a little thought into what to make. A few too many times, Sage has found himself on the pitcher's mound with an upset stomach. We've discovered racing around the bases and say, a heavy marinara just doesn't go well together.

When he waited until just before getting off work to inform me he had a later game this week, I pondered out loud what I would make for dinner. When he requested something with chickpeas, my mind immediately went to the Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash I've made in the past, as I had a pretty Carnival acorn squash just waiting for a purpose.

The only problem was in that recipe, the stuffing used couscous, which we'd just recently had, and a couple other ingredients I didn't have such as bell peppers and raisins. I decided instead to make a similar version, which included quinoa, apples and dried cranberries. We loved it as much (maybe even more) than the original. In fact, this might've been the first time ever that our ridiculously slow-eating child finished his dinner before I did!

Quinoa and Chickpea Stuffed Acorn Squash

yields 2 stuffed squash halves, with extra filling

1 medium acorn squash (about 1.5 lbs), halved and seeds removed
1/2 cup quinoa, well rinsed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1/2 large apple, suitable for cooking, peeled and chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 (15 oz) can reduced sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon, or more to taste
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup apple juice (or vegetable stock)

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange squash halves, cut side down in a baking dish and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender. Keep warm.

In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 12 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and vent lid.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large straight sided skillet over medium. Add carrots, celery, apple and onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in chickpeas, garlic, spices, cranberries and apple juice, and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

Mix in quinoa, taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary (I added another pinch or two of cinnamon and some additional salt and pepper). Spoon into squash halves to serve.

Cranberry Almond Bread

I've had a bit of a bad attitude lately. I'm not sure if it's due to crazy hormones, the lack of wine in my life or the fact some days spent in the company of a two year old can be rough. Maybe it's a combination of all three. I try to be the sunshiney, "puppies and rainbows" variety of person, and I don't like being a grump (which by the way, is a much nicer word for how I've felt some days). To snap myself out of it, I decided to bake something wonderful that was a little indulgent and undeniably fall.

Inspired by the first fresh cranberries I've come across this year, I found just the recipe I was looking for at Good Things Catered- a cranberry nut bread flavored with orange and cinnamon. I tend to healthify my baked goods, cutting the sugar way back, using mostly wheat flour, subbing applesauce for oil, etc. but this time I stuck to the recipe. I didn't want to risk it being too dense or not sweet enough. The only real changes I made were slightly increasing the orange zest and using almonds instead of walnuts, because that was what I had.

Very easy to put together, this recipe results in a bread that is lightly sweet yet gloriously tart, perfect for breakfast, dessert or with your afternoon tea. (Tea that might not be quite as satisfying as a post kid-bedtime glass of red wine, but still nonetheless, very good.) Was this bread attitude adjusting? Definitely.

Cranberry Almond Bread, yields one loaf

adapted slightly from Good Things Catered's Simply Delicious Cranberry Nut Bread

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)

2 1/2 tbsp orange zest (from a medium sized navel orange)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups plus 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 cup sliced almond pieces (or chopped walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease loaf pan

In a large bowl, add sugars and oil, and mix until well combined. Mixing while incorporating, add milk, eggs, zest and vanilla. Mix to combine well.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet, until halfway combined. Fold in cranberries and nuts, until batter is just combined. Spoon into loaf pan, and tap to release air pockets.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes. (Mine took much longer, an hour and five minutes.) Remove from oven, and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn loaf onto wire rack, and let cool completely before slicing. (Truthfully, I found this impossible, and cut and sampled mine while it was still slightly warm.)

Quinoa, Butternut and Cranberry Salad

A few weeks ago, I was asked- begged, really- to get a butternut squash by my two and a half year old while shopping. I always encourage his love of vegetables, so of course I did. After going all spring and summer without having any butternut, we were reminded how much our family just loves it. Ever since then, we've been back to enjoying it regularly, never minding the fact it isn't quite fall yet.

I wanted to make some kind of warm salad, and kept picturing the squash with quinoa. I set out to find such a recipe, and found one I could make with the somewhat limited ingredients I had on hand. I did make some substitutions (shallots for red onion and dried thyme for fresh rosemary,) omitted the butter and added in some honey, but for the most part I stuck to the recipe. I chose to let this cool to just warmer than room temperature before serving, which I much preferred to hot from the oven.

This makes a lot, so unless you are feeding a crowd or don't mind leftovers, I'd suggest cutting this in half. I think next time, I may leave out the vinegar. To me, it gave a noticeable flavor that seemed slightly out of place, but it didn't bother Sage at all. And because I love thyme, I'd probably add more, but that's just me.

Quinoa, Butternut and Cranberry Salad
adapted from Rice of Life

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced (about 6 cups)
2 small shallots, chopped (not quite 1/4 cup) or 1/2 medium red onion
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsbp dried thyme (or more, if desired)
kosher salt
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
1/2 tsbp of honey

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange squash, shallots and cranberries on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and season with thyme and several pinches of salt. Make sure the cranberries are not on the outer edges of the pan, as those ones will overcook. Roast for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Meanwhile, bring vegetable stock and quinoa to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Uncover and remove from heat.

Add squash mixture to quinoa, drizzle with vinegar (if using) and honey, and toss gently to combine. Serve warm or room temperature.

Apple-Walnut Salad with Cranberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Sometimes I will have dinner all figured out, and then right before I start making it, change my mind completely. This was one from one of those nights. I wasn't feeling too good and didn't really feel like cooking- or eating- a big dinner, and suddenly a salad just sounded wonderful.

A half bag of cranberries in the crisper drawer inspired me make a dressing, and then walnuts and apples just seemed like a logical addition. The outcome was a very tasty salad. It reminded me somewhat of a Martha's Vineyard salad, which from our favorite New York style pizza place has the most amazing homemade whipped raspberry dressing. I tend to think of that salad as summery, but using apples instead of pears and cranberry dressing for the raspberry gave a decidedly Fall feeling.

I loved the earthiness of the greens and walnuts, paired with the sweet apples and the very tart dressing. I do think this would've been better with goat cheese instead of the reduced-fat feta. Not that flavor was wrong, I just think the creaminess of the goat cheese would've added so much.

Cranberry Balsamic Vinaigrette (yeilds 1 cup)
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp basalmic dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp apple juice
pinch or two of kosher salt

Bring cranberries and water to boil in small saucepan. Boil 5 minutes, reduce heat and simmer another 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. (Or cool, and blend in a mini processor.) Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the salad assembly: I used several handfuls of spring mix, about a 1/4 of a apple (sliced thin,) a handful of toasted, chopped walnuts, and a sprinkle of crumbled feta (but suggest goat cheese) per individual dinner sized serving. Drizzle with Cranberry Balsamic Dressing.

Apple-Cranberry Oatmeal Bars

Wooed by my grocery store's clever Fall display, I made it home from my last shopping trip with a half peck of Gala apples. In our house, apples get eaten frequently by our toddler. However, even with him eating one or two a day, I knew I needed to start baking or cooking with them to use them up.

When I was making these, Sage said "Aren't we gonna, like, get fat from all this baking you've been doing?" I reminded him that we only eat a little and give the rest to someone else. Well, after tasting these, I'd better come up with some really healthy dinners the next few nights, because these won't be making it into the possession of any of our loved ones! Sage even declared these as possibly the best thing I've ever baked.

These were so tempting, we couldn't even wait last night for them to properly cool before sampling. Then we had to wrap them up and force ourselves to go to bed. Warm, they don't hold their shape well, but would be perfect for topping with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and eating with a spoon. For me, these are definitely a dessert and not a grab-and-go breakfast. They are quite sweet (although the sweet taste is much stronger cooled than warm) so when I make these again, I will reduce the sugar, add another apple or two, and I am pretty sure I could use whole wheat flour and they'd still taste amazing. A great thing about these bars is you could switch out the filling, using different types of fresh and/or dried fruit, or even jarred chunky applesauce, as the recipe originally suggests. I will definitely be experimenting with this one.

adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

2 apples suitable for baking, peeled, cored and diced

1 cinnamon stick

2 tbsp water

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup quick cooing oats

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

dash of ground cloves

Combine apples, cinnamon stick and water in a saucepan. Cover and simmer until apples are very tender, about 20 minutes. If there is excess water, drain most off. Remove stick, and mash apples with fork. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, oats, sugar and baking soda in a meduim bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I don't have a pastry cutter, so I just pulsed it in the food processor and other than the oats gettting slightly chopped up, it worked just fine.) Reserve a half of cup of crumb mixture. Press remaining into an ungreased 11x7 baking pan.

Add cranberries and cloves to apples and stir to mix well. Spread over top of crumb layer. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

Happy First Day of Fall! My favorite of all seasons, even if the Florida version of it isn't quite what the rest of the country experiences. To celebrate, I decided to make mini pumpkin bread loaves to deliver to a few friends.

Last Christmas, one of the girls from my message board, Shawna, shared a chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe. I hadn't baked in forever, but she promised it was easy, so I made them as gifts for our neighbors and family members, in little Holiday ceramic loaf pans, tied with Christmas greens and red berries.

This time, I experimented and used white chocolate chips and dried sweetened cranberries. I tinkered with other aspects, such as the addition of wheat flour, reducing the sugar and subbing a good part of the oil for applesauce.They came out wonderful! I especially love the cranberry in it! The white chocolate seems a little lost, though. Since you can't really taste it, I'm not sure if it should just be omitted or more used.

I've heard about a pumpkin shortage, but assumed it was more of myth, however the first two stores (Publix and Sweetbay) didn't have it, so I went to my favorite little natural food market and they did. I probably paid twice as much for a tiny can of organic pumpkin than one double the size at a grocery store, but I found it! I was lazy about driving across town to Michaels for the ceramic loaf pans and just made them in throw-aways, so I tried to dress them up with dried leaves and berries and chocolate ribbon and cardstock.

adapted from Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, Berger's Bites

Makes 5 mini loaves

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup lite brown sugar

1 (15 oz) can or 2 cups canned pumpkin puree

3/4 cup natural applesauce

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup Craisins

Preheat oven to 350° Grease mini loaf pans.

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs, sugars, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Then add chocolate chips and dried cranberry.

Pour into pans. Bake for about 45 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean.

The finished product, all ready to be delivered.