Cranberry Sauce with Ginger

This is a "go to" Thanksgiving recipe. I usually triple the ingredients...

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

12 ounces fresh cranberries
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 cup sugar

Preparation

1. In a large saucepan, warm oil over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ginger and sauté for 1 minute. Add cranberries, orange zest and juice, sugar and 3/4 cup water, stirring until sugar dissolves.

2. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has thickened slightly and berries have popped, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before serving.

Pumpkin Granola

So this recipe is a riff on America's Test Kitchen's Granola...

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. (I just lay a large piece of parchment paper on top of the baking sheet - don't worry about trimming it to size.

5 c old fashioned oats
1/3 c. flax seed (ground) meal - because my eye doctor wants me to sneak in flax meal whenever possible
3/4 c. chopped raw almonds (I found the easiest way to chop almonds is to put them in a zip lock freezer back and whack them with something. A small hammer would work - I just the side of my meat mallet.)

Combine in a large bowl.

In as small bowl combine spices.
1 T cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 t. allspice

Add to the oat mixture and combine.

In the same small bowl, combine..
1/3 c. pumpkin puree (not Pumpkin Pie Mix)
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. real maple syrup
1/3 c. oil
1 T vanilla

Mix into the oat mix and combine thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the baking sheet (lined with parchment paper - see above) and spread to the edges of the pan. Take a large flat metal spatula and press the mixture down to compact. Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 20 minutes. Take out of the over and cool completely in the pan before breaking into chunks. Add 1/2 - 1 cup of dried cranberries, raisins or butterscotch chips.

Angel Biscuits

Another recipe from Mary Miller...

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Sprinkle the yeast over warm water and sugar, and allow to stand 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients thoroughly. Cut in shortening.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly pour in the yeast and water. Add the buttermilk adding enough buttermilk to make the dough very sticky.

Heat well buttered ramikins in preheated oven - Drop dough by spoonfulls – fill about 2/3 full.

Bake at 400°F for 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly to well browned. Biscuits stay in ramilins for serving. Serve in ramikins on a butter plate.

Mary's notes: My family likes to put an X in them and put butter and honey in them, and eat with a fork. The next day- split with fork and heat in broiler and enjoy.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

This is Mary Miller's recipe...

1 (9 inch) frozen unbaked pie shells (or your own recipe)
Pie filling
1 cup sour cream
2⁄3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3 cups tart apples, peeled and sliced
Crumb topping
1⁄2 cup brown sugar, packed
1⁄3 cup flour
1⁄4 cup butter, room temperature
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Beat together sour cream, sugar, flour, salt, vanilla and egg. Add apples, mixing carefully to coat well.
Pour filling into a pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minute.
While pie is cooking mix together all ingredients for crumb topping until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Don’t overmix.
Remove pie from oven and sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.
Let cool for an hour before serving.

Judi’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2.5 cups oatmeal
1 teas. baking powder
1 teas. baking soda
1 teas. salt
2 teas. pure vanilla extract
1 cup raisins

Combine ingredients in order given.
Drop on lightly greased baking sheet
Bake at 350 degrees for 11- 12 minutes. DO NOT overbake (if smaller cookie size bake 10 minutes)
The key is undercooking. Remove cookies from the baking sheet right away so they don’t keep cooking.

These cookies get hard within 1 – 2 days so you have to eat all the day they are baked !!

Optional: use cranberry-raisins instead of raisins and add almonds