Cranberry Sherbet

 

This Thanksgiving I had a much smaller crowd, only four of us so I decided to make some changes to my regular Thanksgiving menu.  One was the dessert, Cranberry Sherbet along with Shortbread Bars.  And it was a big hit.   Easy and so refreshing.

CRANBERRY SHERBET

3 cups unsweetened cranberry juice

 1 cup sugar

3 T fresh lemon juice

dash of salt

1/4 cup cold water

1 (.25 oz) envelope unflavored gelatin

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl, stir the cranberry juice, sugar, lemon juice and salt together.  Chill for an hour.  Put the cold water in a small sauce pan and add the gelatin.  Over low heat, stir the gelatin until dissolved.  Stir into the cranberry mixture.  Add the cream and beat until the mixture is foamy, about 2 minutes.

Put in a container with a lid and place in the freezer. About every 30 minutes, stir with a spatula, scraping the sides.  Do this until the mixture starts to set up.  Freeze overnight before serving.

A variation on the recipe would be to substitute cranberry juice for pomegranate juice and garnish the sherbet with pomegranate seeds. 

 

Cranberry Orange Bread with Walnuts and Candied Ginger

Tired of making banana bread, zucchini bread, pumpkin fig bread...  I know I was.  So I played around with a few ingredients and came up with this Cranberry Orange Bread.  I like using the combination of white and brown sugar, gives the bread more depth of a flavor.  It's a very moist and tasty bread and makes for a perfect holiday gift. 

 

Cranberry, Orange, Walnut and Candied Ginger Bread 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2  tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp freshly grated orange zest

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

 1 1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries (cut either in half or quartered)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/8 cup chopped candied ginger (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and orange zest. 

Using a mixer, cream together the sugars, egg and butter until smooth.  Slowly add the orange juice.

Add the flour mixture until well mixed and then fold in the cranberries, walnuts and ginger.

Pour into a greased and floured 9" x 5" bread pan.  Bake at 350 for about 60 minutes.

 

NOTE:  For holiday gifts, I doubled the recipe and make seven loafs using the tin mini loaf pans that measure 5 23/32" x 3 5/16" x 1 7/8".  Available in the cooking section of the grocery store.  Thank goodness I had stocked up, for they were non existent at the store, all sold out.

Bon Appetit!