Cranberry Crunch Cake-Secret Recipe Club

My last Secret Recipe Club assignment for 2013 was Flavors by Four.  This is a mother/daughter blog with the mom and three of her four daughters sharing posting duties. I think this is a great idea.  Wish my daughters were interested in blogging.  The blog was started blog in 2010, and they are co-hosts of Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.

When visiting Flavors by Four, I thought I had “died and gone to heaven.”  Now they do have some main dish and savory recipes, but the sweets, oh the sweets.  If you are a  “sweetsaholic”  like me you must visit this block.  Just go and check out all the goodies listed on their right side bar. They include great process photos in their posts.

Partly because of the season, I chose to make Cranberry Crunch Cake.  I had a package of fresh cranberries that I had purchased on sale recently.  This was a very easy recipe to make because I could let my electric mixer do most of the work.  You do make candied nuts for the topping which needs to cook for 15 minutes and watched carefully to make sure they don't burn.  I used a generous cup of roughly chopped unblanched  almonds, filberts, pecans and walnuts.  The recipe called for 2 12 cups of fresh cranberries, but I just used the whole 12 oz. bag since I did not want to have cranberries left over.

This was an unusual cake, and we liked it very much.  I will be making it again.

Cranberry Crunch Cake
Flavors by Four
3 eggs
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter or margarine (I used 1/2 c. butter and 1/4 c. margarine)
1 t vanilla
1 t. almond extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 (12 oz.) bag fresh cranberries
1/4 c butter or margarine
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. coarsely chopped assorted nuts

Combine eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium speed for 7 to 8 minutes.  The egg and sugar mixture should double in size, leaving ribbons on top of the batter.  While the batter is beating, melt 1/4 c. butter in a small saucepan.  Add brown sugar and heat till it is melted.  Add nuts and cook over low heat until they are shiny and smell toasted, about 15 minutes.  Watch closely and stir frequently.  Meanwhile, add butter and flavorings, beating for another 2 minutes or until batter is smooth.  Add flour, a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gently fold in cranberries.  Mixture will be somewhat stiff.  Spread batter in a well-greased 9x13-inch baking pan.  Using a spatula, gently add nuts to the top of the cake, covering the entire surface.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Place pan on wire rack to cool  Allow to cool completely.  Cut into squares and serve with a dollop of whipped cream or topping if desired.  Makes 15 servings.

Group B will be "On Vacation" in January so my next Secret Recipe Club posting will be in February.  If you would like to join in the fun, you can go here to fill out an applications form.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats-Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars

We are at week six of this year’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats.  Hope your Christmas recipe arsenal is getting loaded with many great recipes.

I am continuing to make cookies using the Holiday Cookie Mix.  Although this is the sixth week of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats, this is recipe number 7 made from the Holiday Cookie Mix.  The recipes that I have posted this far are:

Glazed Cinnamon Toffee Bars (Holiday Cookie Mix is here)
Buttermilk Rum Bars
Krispie Nut Bars
Chocolate Cottage Bars
Tropical Dreams
Tart and Tasty Lemon Bars

I made an error in the amount the Holiday Cookie Mix makes in my original post.  I said 12 cups, but it is actually about 16 cups.  I have made the correction in the original  post. One batch of the mix made all the listed recipes.  I have now started with a second batch of mix.

If you have ever purchased too many cans of cranberry sauce at holiday time, here is a way to use some of it up.  I developed this recipe to do just that.  These have a shortbread-like crust, a tart and creamy filling, and a crispy topping.  The can be cut into small bars to serve as cookies or into larger squares to serve as a dessert.

Either jellied or whole berry cranberry can be used.  A nice variation to this is to add a couple of finely chopped apples to the cranberry/cream cheese mixture.  The cream cheese can also be mixed with different flavor preserves to make other variations of these cookies.  Although I did not do it for the bars in the photos, next time I think that I will add a bit of red food coloring for added color to the filling.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
2 1/2 c. Holiday Cookie Mix
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, very soft (may be low fat)
1 can (16 oz.) cranberry sauce
2 T. flour
a few drops of red food coloring (opt.)
2 c. Holiday Cookie Mix
1/2 c. quick oats
1/2 c. chopped toasted walnuts

Pat the 2 1/2 cups cookie mix evenly into a foil-lined 9x13-inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.  Remove and let cook 5 to 10 minutes.  Beat cream cheese,   cranberry sauce and flour together until well blended.  The mixture will not be smooth if using whole berry sauce.  Spread mixture over the baked crust.  In a medium bowl combine 2 cups cookie mix, quick oats and walnuts and mix until well blended.  Sprinkle evenly over cranberry/cream cheese mixture.  Pat topping down gently.  Bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes until topping is golden brown.  Makes about 36 bar cookies or 12 to 15 dessert squares.  Store in refrigerator.

12 Weeks of Christmas Sweets is hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  There is still time to join us, and you can find all the necessary information in her post here.

Check out the links below for all the delicious recipes shared this week.