The Passionate Pursuit of Delight

Course: Sweets

Cranberry Nut Bread

Cranberry Nut Bread overhead shot

Why do we only eat cranberries between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Why? They are delicious and nutritious! Dried cranberries broke through years ago to enjoy year-round glory but fresh cranberries still haven’t been able to escape the holiday niche. Enter Cranberry Nut Bread which is delightful in the morning with a cup of coffee or equally delicious in the afternoon with a cup of tea.

In recent years I have gotten a little bit better about stocking up at the grocery store on fresh cranberries in November and December but I have to admit that last weekend while doing a freezer inventory I found one unused bag of cranberries from last year. Sigh. Why? I love them. How did I let them linger in the freezer for nearly a year?

Cranberry Nut Bread sliced

I don’t know. I have no excuse, only the promise to myself to do better and to ask you to join me. Let’s liberate the cranberry to a year-round fruit. We love cranberries, right? Tangent: I want to make this Cranberry Lime Ginger Sauce for Thanksgiving this year! Doesn’t it sound amazing?

Did you know that cranberries are only harvested for 6-8 weeks per year? I learned that watching the video below. It’s fascinating to watch.

Okay, let me tell you about this cranberry nut bread. I have lightened it up using apple sauce instead of oil in the recipe. The result is a light, moist loaf. There is also a swirl of cinnamon, sugar, and pecans in the middle of the loaf which adds a nice crunch and sweet balance to the tart cranberries.

I would love to hear if you serve cranberries at Thanksgiving and how you serve them. Does your family like cranberries? Do they prefer homemade cranberry sauce or the canned stuff? Do you have a favorite recipe? If you do, drop it in the comments section below.

How to Make Cranberry Nut Bread

Cranberry Nut Bread Pin

Dark Chocolate Dipped Figs with Sea Salt

Dark Chocolate Dipped Figs with Sea Salt

I wouldn’t call this a recipe. An assembly job is a more accurate description. And let’s face it, in the summer time, who can be bothered with cooking and recipes and such? I know that many nights I cannot be bothered to heat up the kitchen by turning on a burner or the oven.
Plus, summer means fig season. For those of you who live in a climate where fig trees grow outside, I envy you. For the rest of us, we carefully scour farmers markets, specialty markets, or Trader Joe’s for the first sign of fresh figs.

Fresh figs bear little resemblance to the filling of a Fig Newton cookie. Fresh figs are a succulent and delicately sweet.

If you are a child of the 80s, you may recall an INXS video for the song ‘The One Thing’ which features an opulent dinner party and big haired models seductively eating fresh figs. I can’t lie, every time I eat a fig that song and video play in my mind. Fortunately for everyone, I eat most meals on my own, so they are spared my interpretation of that video. Ha!

If you haven’t ever tried fresh figs, I encourage you to track them down. They are in season during summer and I have recently seen them at both Trader Joe’s and Costco. I usually eat figs just like an apple or pear. They are also delicious sliced and on top of yogurt or oatmeal. But, sometimes I will want something a little sweet and decadent in the evening.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Figs with Sea Salt 6 fresh figs 8 ounces dark chocolate, melted Sea salt Place parchment paper on a plate or small baking sheet. Chop or break up chocolate and place in small glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until the chocolate is melted. Dip the bottom third of each fig into the melted chocolate. Place on parchment paper and sprinkle chocolate with sea salt.

Dipping fresh figs in dark chocolate and sprinkling them with sea salt is the perfect way to end a meal. If dark chocolate isn’t your jam, you can substitute milk chocolate. But, I really enjoy the slight bitterness of dark chocolate with the sweetness of the figs.

To start, I break up the chocolate and microwave it in a glass bowl for 30 second increments. Stir the chocolate after each 30 second interval until melted. Meanwhile, line a plate or small baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip the bottom third of the fig into the melted chocolate and place on parchment. Sprinkle sea salt on warm chocolate. Chill in refrigerator for 20 minutes to set up.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Figs with Sea Salt

Elegant (but Easy) Dark Chocolate Bites

Festive Dark Chocolate Bites

I am in love with these homemade dark chocolate bites. Don’t they look practically gourmet? Many of my friends and families received a bag of these beauties as part of their holiday gifts last year.

Best of all, you can make a batch of these in less time than it takes to watch an episode of Gilmore Girls. I know this because I did and you can too. They are that easy!

Festive Dark Chocolate BitesAnother great thing about these elegant dark chocolate bites is that you can customize them to match your tastes. The ingredients that you add to the chocolate can be intentional and match a theme for the season or use whatever ingredients you happen to have in your pantry.

I made these last year for the holidays and used pepitas which are roasted pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries for their green and red colors. I added candied ginger because of its warm spiciness, coconut chips and hemp seeds for crunch and visual interest. They turned out pretty, right?

Festive Dark Chocolate BitesBut you could swap out pepitas for pistachios or almonds. Or, you can use dried blueberries or apricots instead of cranberries, or any other flavor or color combinations that you fancy.

The process for making these candies couldn’t be easier. This is a perfect project for beginning candy-makers. You melt the chocolate in the microwave, spoon the melted chocolate onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and then add the topics. Chill in fridge until the chocolate hardens. Seriously, that is all it takes to make these elegant and easy chocolate candies.

Festive Dark Chocolate BitesI like to package these chocolates in small cellophane bags and tie them up with pretty ribbon or string. Add a festive tag and you have beautiful and tasty holiday treats ready to give (or eat)!

Festive Dark Chocolate Bites

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