Cranberry Crumble Bars

This was originally a recipe for blueberry bars, and while I would much prefer them that way, luck would have it that I decided to begin self-imposed culinary school in the winter rather than the summer. I guess my distaste for summer school trumps my distaste for cranberries. Well, distaste is too strong a word - more like indifference. I was hugely disappointed in my fresh Cranberry-Pear Relish for Thanksgiving dinner (It's such an unpleasantly sour berry. My teeth hurt just thinking about it), so I decided to give them another go. I refuse to be beaten by this pygmy of an opponent.

The crumble bars turned out far better than the relish (read: I was actually able to eat them). Still a bit tart for me, but I prefer sweet fruits and berries, which of course, means that using cranberries not once but twice was a painfully stupid idea. My family appeared to really enjoy them though, but I think that's just because they like to eat. For those who are not fond of pucker, I would probably up the amount of brown sugar, maybe add some maple syrup. The ice cream also helps enormously. I ate a lot of it that way. A lot.


(adapted from Smitten Kitchen's recipe for Blueberry Crumb Bars)

Ingredients:

Crust and crumble:
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
zest of 1 small navel orange
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
juice of one small navel orange
3 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch pan.

Using a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients for the crust, and add in orange zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the 1/2 cups of white and brown sugar, cornstarch and orange juice. Gently mix in the cranberries. Sprinkle the cranberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Makes 24 small squares. Serve hot with vanilla bean ice cream, or at room temperature.

Honey Apple and Clementine Tart with Whipped Mascarpone

Ingredients:
2 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
2 small Golden Delicious apple, halved, cored, thinly sliced
3 small clementines, halved and thinly sliced
1 cup of orange juice
2 tbsp and 1 tsp orange liqueur
2 tbsp sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 teaspoons sugar
8 teaspoons honey
1 cup mascarpone cheese
Flour, for dusting


Thaw the puff pastry according to directions (approximately 40 minutes). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 9 even squares. Separate the squares and leave some room between them on a lightly floured baking sheet. Create a border around the inside of each square by scoring about 1/2-inch around the inside the square, and folding over the edges. Prick the dough inside the small square. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

In the meantime, place the clementine slices in a small saucepan with the orange juice, 2 tbsp liqueur, and 2 tbsp of sugar over medium heat until the liquid evaporates or the rind is soft and sweet (15 minutes). Remove the clementine slices from the pan and place to the side.

On each pastry square, fill with slices of apple and a slice of the candied clementine within the border.

Brush fruit on each tart with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake tarts until pastry is golden and apples are tender, about 20 minutes. Drizzle each tart with 1 teaspoon honey. While tarts are cooling, whisk the mascarpone with orange liqueur. Top each cooled tart with a dollop of flavored mascarpone.


If you're short on time or want to go for a simpler route, you can opt out of the clementines entirely and make an apple tart. Alternately, you could make it an apple and nectarine tart, which is what the recipe originally called for. No candying. I, however, got confused while at the market, and ended up with a different fruit that also had lots of consonants and vowels.