This Christmas apple cranberry slab pie reminded me of the flavor profiles on the show.  The cranberries add a necessary tang to all the sweet and combine beautifully with the apples.

I’m not new to slab pies, as I made a summer version with blueberries and peaches here.

The key to this Christmas pie is flavors and cooking down the apples with butter, cinnamon, orange zest, vanilla, cardamom, and nutmeg. You can choose to mix it up anyway you like, but keep the cinnamon!

Pushing the flavors of old time Christmas, the cranberries do their job.  I used two kinds of apples. The granny smith which cooked down, yielding a lot of juice. To those I added 3 gala apples which don’t cook down in the same way.

This is the first time I’ve mixed my apples, and I rather like it. Gala apples are usually my apple of choice because they keep some of their crispness. You can mix up your apples (see notes in recipe).

The filling for the apple cranberry slab pie is absolutely delicious.

It tastes like an old fashioned pie you might eat in Europe, so rich in flavors.

I trimmed the dough around the sheet pan, but you could do something more decorative if you choose. I felt I had enough dough and the corner pieces would have too much.

Blind bake Apple Cranberry Slab Pie for 15 minutes. 

Since my apple filling was pre-cooked, I blind-baked the bottom crust for 15 minutes to ensure it remain crisp when cut. It worked perfectly, and there was no soggy bottom.

Use any cookie cutters you like. I like these Christmas cookie cutters.

This is the perfect crowd pleaser. Pre-cut into squares in the pan before serving. This pie also freezes well.

I’ll be adding this to my Apple Desserts with Decorative Crusts

Summer Slab Pie Here

More Apple Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pan Dowdy (Gluten Free)
• Bourbon Caramelized Apple Hand Pie
• Low Carb Apple Upside Down Cake
• Caramelized Apple Tart with Stove Top Brown Sugar Apple Filling
• Keto Apple Muffins

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Apple Cranberry Slab Pie

Winter Apple pie with cranberries baked in a sheet pan.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings 15

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Apple Cranberry Pie Filling

• 8 apples
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries can sub with raspberries
• 1/3 cup brown sugar may need a few tablespoons more
• 1/2 orange for juice and zest
• 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 3/4 cup sugar (See Notes)
• 1/2 orange
• 2 tablespoons sifted corn starch
• Pie Dough
• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour 448 grams plus more for dusting
• 12 ounces Unsalted Butter 24 tablespoons or 3 sticks
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup iced cold water 2 more tablespoons, (if needed

Instructions

• Make Pie Dough below first and refrigerate for one hour while making apple filling.

MAKE APPLE FILLING

• Peel and core apples. Y≈
• Slice apples about 1/4 inch thick.
• Zest orange and juice orange.
• Put 4 tablespoons butter in frying pan with 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
• Toss apples with sugar, juice of half orange, orange zest. Add 1 tablespoon corn starch.
• Cook apples and cranberries on top of stove on low in large frying pan, until somewhat softened. The granny smith apples will cook down more than the gala apples. There will a lot of liquid, after about 15 minutes.
• Drain liquid and use in another recipe.
• MAKE PIE DOUGH
• Cut butter into small pieces. Freeze for 10 minutes.
• Mix flour, sugar, salt in food processor or kitchen aid mixer. You can whisk and do this with your hands.
• Cut butter into flour mixture. I prefer my kitchen aid mixer but a food processor works well too
• You can, however use a pastry cutter and mix butter into flour, making sure to keep the pieces pea sized.
• Add in ice cold water. Mix just enough to be able to squeeze dough together.
• If the dough stays together when you press, it’s processed enough.
• Put in plastic bag, separating it into 1/3 and 2/3. Bring it together in bag. Refrigerate for one hour. You can do this a day in advance of recipe.
• Bring out twenty minutes before rolling.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange rack in oven on bottom third.
• Once you are ready to assemble, first roll out 1/3 dough to make stars. You can make 15 large stars or 18 smaller stars. You can use more dough from the other section if need be. The recipe will make the stars and the remaining dough is just enough for the sheet pan.
• Make the cut outs and place in refrigerator, while rolling out the dough for the bottom.
• Roll into rectangle and place in sheet pan.
• Fork holes all over the bottom. Place in freezer for a few minutes.
• Arrange apples cranberry mixture.
• Before placing stars over fruit, using your finger, rub milk over each star, and sprinkle raw sugar
• Bake for 35 minutes. Check halfway through and turn pan around.
• Check at 30 minutes and loosely cover with foil if it’s already golden brown.
• Allow to cool before cutting.
• Keep at room temperature, covered with foil.
• Can be frozen for 60 days. Take out and allow to defrost at room temperature. Can be reheated in oven.

Notes

Apples: I mixed my apples, but you can use all gala which stay a little crisper and require less sugar. If you use all granny smith apples, you will need all the sugar. Taste filling as you go, since it’s cooked stovetop. 

The post Christmas Apple Cranberry Slab Pie appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

These keto white chocolate cranberry muffins are very similar to these low carb raspberry white chocolate muffins I made here. The good news is that it’s a lot more affordable right now to use cranberries and they don’t have those annoying raspberry seeds.

My Favorite Keto White Chocolate Chips (Choc Zero)

I purchase all my chocolate from Choc Zero for the Bakery. I am also an affiliate and earn a small commission.

Use Promo Code SpinachTiger10 to save 10% on your orders for Choc Zero.

Best Tools for This Recipe (Amazon Affiliate)

• Confectioner’s Wand
• Wilton Drizzle Spoon (better than any of the fancy ones)
• Jumbo Cupcake/Tart Liners (These come in 600 pack for under $20. If you intend to do a lot of baking, these are great and affordable. You can also bake these muffins in regular cupcake holders.

Grab a few bags of cranberries while they’re at the store and freeze them. You can make this all year.

Ingredients

• Almond Flour
• Coconut Flour
• Eggs
• Xanthan Gum
• Baking Powder
• Swerve Granulated
• Avocado Oil
• Baking Powder
• Sour Cream
• Choc Zero White Chocolate Chips

I used my left over sugar free cranberry sauce, but I put a modified version in recipe for you.

More Keto Recipes You Might Like

• Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
• Orange Cranberry Bread
• Orange Cranberry Muffins
• White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
• Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
• Raspberry White Chocolate Blondies
• White Chocolate Macadamia Raspberry Cookies
• Cranberry Orange Holiday Cocktail

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Low Carb Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins

Low carb, gluten free, sugar free, keto friendly vanilla cake with vanilla glaze.

Course Keto Muffins

Cuisine American

Keyword keto muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12 Muffins

Calories 204kcal

Ingredients

Muffin Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour 260 grams
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
• 4 tablespoons sour cream 60 grams
• 1/3 cup almond milk unsweetened
• 1/3 cup sugar free white chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 cup Swerve Granulated
• 1/2 cup Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce

• 1 cup cranberries
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup confectioner's Swerve
• orange zest optional
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 dash salt
• 1 cup Swerve Confectioner's Sweetener

Instructions

• Make Cranberry Sauce Below. Allow it to cool, while assembling ingredients for muffins.

Muffin Instructions

• Mix all dry ingredients including sweetener. Set aside.
• Mix eggs well, about five minutes.
• Stream in oil.
• Mix sour cream and almond milk together in jar. Then add to mixture.
• Gently mix in the dry mixture.
• Add in the white chocolate chips.
• Use ice cream scoop to scoop evenly into 12 muffin liners.
• Add blended cranberry sauce AFTER the batter is in the cupcake pan. This will ensure the batter doesn't turn pink. Add a tablespoon and swirl.

Cranberry Sauce

• Mix all ingredients except the Swerve in saucepan. Cook on medium heat until cranberries pop.
• Cool to 108 degrees C. and then add in the Swerve. This prevents crystalilzation.
• Once cooled, pour off excess liquid. Taste for sweetness. Add more if necessary.
• Place sauce in blender and blend for about 10 to 20 seconds until you have a thick puree. Add in some of the cooled liquid if it's too thick. You want the consistency of a thick maple syrup.

Baking

• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden at 350 F (180 C.)
• Glaze AFTER Muffins Completely Cool.

Glaze

• Mix Confectioner's Sweetener with water, until you have consistency that will allow for a drizzle.
• Prepare glaze and drizzle over the top.
• You might also want to sprinkle extra confectioner's sweetener over top before serving. (optional)

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 12 | Calories: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 25g | Fiber: 3g

The post Low Carb Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

When I took a cooking class in Italy, we made an Italian apple cake. It’s very simple, made with melted butter and slices of apples. This is the Pear version using mostly almond flour with a little bit of added cardamom for that Christmas flavor profile. 

2020 has been one of our most stressful times in many decades. 2021 isn’t looking very bright either. Thanks heavens for cake!

Now it’s 2021 and it’s not much better, as the news about Afghanistan is quite distressing.

One of the hardest things for me has been a diminishing social life. I live in a county that is more free than most. Our gyms and restaurants are open. Yet, it still feels odd when everything is at low capacity or everyone is wearing a mask, making conversation, connection stilted. 

It was sad at Christmas, as many people were unable to carry on their yearly traditions, the fun, the travel, the parties, the things that make short days and the dark cold of December palatable. 

I’m happy we can still bake. It’s not just therapy, it turns the kitchen into amazing heartwarming smells.

I don’t usually bake with too many pears because pears have a lot of sugar. But with one big pear in the cake, it’s still only 5 net carbs.  

I rely on my wonderful recipe that makes 12 muffins. You can bake muffins or a 10 inch cake. If you only have a 9 inch pan, just make a few extra muffins. 

What are the ingredients for a low carb Italian pear Cake?

Almond flour, coconut flour, sour cream, eggs, almond milk,  baking powder, pears, fresh cranberries, cardamom, salt and xanthan gum.  You can switch out the cardamom for more vanilla extract. 

Is this cake gluten free?

Yes, the only flours used are almond and coconut flour. 

Is this cake sugar free?

Pears have a high sugar count at 27 carbs each. However,  one slice of cake is one slice of pear. The sweetener used is Swerve, a powdered erythritol, which does not spike blood sugar. Read more about why I use Swerve here.  

What fat is best for this cake?

I used melted unsalted butter and it was incredible. The cake is moist, tasty and flavorful However, I have formerly used avocado oil in a similar recipe and that works so well too. 

How to know when an almond flour cake is done?

Baking with almond flour and coconut flour is different than baking with wheat flour. It’s not as easy to tell when a cake is done. Your tester can come out clean and the cake is not done. To remedy this I always take the cake’s temperature. It should measure 210 degrees F. in the middle of the cake. I’ll take it out once it reaches 207. 

Tips for Baking

• Use Parchment Paper.
• Don’t over-mix, once you put dry ingredients in.
• Use spices you love. I used cardamom, but you could flavor this cake with cinnamon or maple extract.
• Cut pears with skins on. Use fresh cranberries.
• Cake is done when inside is 210 degrees F. 98 C.

Play Around with this Recipe: Use Apples instead of pears. Use cinnamon instead of cardamom. Use berries instead of cranberries or skip the berries altogether. 

If you like this recipe, you’ll love these from Spinach Tiger:

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Low Carb Pear Cake

Low Carb Pear Cake, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Keto Friendly

Course Low Carb Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword low carb cake, pear cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 202kcal

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Dry Cake Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup granulated swerve

Wet Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup avocado oil
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pear
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (180 C., Gas 4)
• Line 9 or 10 inch cake pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray.

Dry Ingredients

• Mix all dry ingredients together including Swerve. Set aside.
• Slice pear thinly. I didn't bother to peel.

Wet Ingredients

• Mix eggs on high for about 3 minutes until very well blended.
• While mixer is still running. stream in oil slowly.
• Mix sour cream, vanilla and almond milk together in separate bowl. Stream into mix.
• Add dry mix on low just until mixed. Over-mixing makes cake tough.

Assemble

• Add cake batter to cake pan. Smooth out top with offset spatula.
• Arrange pears on top. Add cranberries in between the pears.
• Bake in lower rack of the oven for about 35 minutes. Cake will be able to bounce when touched. Inside middle should be at 210 degrees F. It will depend if you use a 9 inch pan or ten inch pan.
• Allow to cool completely before removing cake. Use a knife to go around the sides.
• Cake can be kept in refrigerator up to one week, can be frozen.

Notes

You can use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries. Put them in the cake frozen.

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 12 | Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g

The post Low Carb Italian Pear Cake appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

You might recall the muffin version for this, and now I want to show you how to turn this same recipe into two little loaves. 

Use a Whole Orange in this Recipe

Cut an orange in quarters and boil until softened 20-30 minutes. Once cooled this will go into your batter. Trust me on this. Your orange cranberry bread will be just right, moist and sweet with tart from the cranberries.

This screams holiday season for me and it’s quite pretty too.

Ingredients for Keto Orange Cranberry Bread

Why do I Make 2 Small Loaves instead of One Large Loaf?

I use these small loaf pans because almond flour tends to burn and get a little crusty if baked too long. Baking one large loaf may brown too much while cooking the necessary 45-50 minutes for a large loaf. Baking in smaller loaf pans only takes 25-30 minutes and each will yield 10 slices. The other loaf is perfect for the freezer or a friend.

Tips for Making Keto Orange Cranberry Bread

• Beat eggs first until frothy
• Add olive oil in slow stream
• Add a cup of the orange mixture.
• Mix all dry ingredients well before adding in.
• Do a taste test. Microwave 20 seconds one teaspoon of batter.
• Use parchment paper.
• Bake small loaves.
• Cool completely before glazing.

What Sweetener do I use for Keto Baking?

I use Swerve, a powdered erythritol. Read my article here on why I chose Swerve.

Macros for Orange Cranberry Bread

I already know people will write me and tell me this is not keto friendly because I’m using an orange and cranberries. Twenty servings from one orange and one cup of cranberries results in 2 net carbs a slice.

Total Carbs 5 g Fiber 3 g Net Carbs 2 g Calories 131 Fat 11 g Protein 5 g

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More Orange Cake Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Take a look at my Amazon recommendations for what I really use in my kitchen! As an affiliate I earn a small commission.

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Keto Orange Cranberry Bread

Grain Free, Sugar Free, Low Carb Orange Cranberry Bread

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cranberry orange bread, keto cake, orange cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 20 slices

Calories 131kcal

Equipment

• Bread Pans
• Vitamix Blender (Or super blender)
• Baking Sheet

Ingredients

Preparation for Orange Cranberry Bread

• 1 large navel orange

Dry Ingredients

• 260 grams blanched almond flour 2 1/2 cups
• 28 grams coconut flour 2 tablespoons
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Wet Ingredient Group

• 1 cups Granulated Swerve
• 1/2 cup avocado oil
• 6 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

Glaze Icing Option

• 1 cup Swerve Confectioner's Sweetener see notes
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

• Spray liners with baking spray. This batter may make more than 12 depending on the liners you are using.
• Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Keep on bake, not convection bake if oven has that mode to keep from browning, but it's fine to use a convection oven too.

Orange Mixture

• Wash Navel orange and trim off the bottom, if necessary.
• Cut into quarters. Put in cold water. Bring to boil for 30 minutes. Drain. Reserve 1/4 cup water.
• Add to Vitamix or super blender. Pulse until you have a texture of course puree, with a little bit of zest showing. You may need to add a little of the reserved water in bottom of blender. Set aside to cool. This can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. It can also be made ahead and frozen.
• Reserve a tablespoon of orange mixture for the glaze.

Dry Ingredients

• Whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, Swerve granulated. Set aside.

Make Batter

• Beat eggs for five minutes. I use my whipping wand.
• Slowly stream in oil.
• Add vanilla extract.
• Add orange mixture to batter.
• Add dry mixture beating on low.
• Use an Ice cream scoop to scoop batter onto each liner.
• Bake for 15 to 22 minutes depending on what liner you use.

Glaze

• Mix orange juice, water with Swerve Confectioner's for sugar free (or confectioner's of your choice, until you get a consistency you can drizzle. Drizzle over each muffin or on cranberry orange bread.

Notes

Swerve Confection: You can put Swerve (or Lakanto) into a Vitamix and pulse to make a confectioner’s sweetener.

You can skip the glaze and sprinkle with confectioner’s sweetener as an option.

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 20 | Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g

The post Keto Orange Cranberry Bread, Gluten Free appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

The sweet orange batter against the tart of the cranberries is a great bite and makes you think of Christmas.

What combination of flours are low carb?

The batter is made with a combination of almond flour and coconut flour. The xanthan gum prevents the gluten free cranberry orange muffins from crumbling.

What Sweetener will Make this Recipe Sugar Free?

I use Swerve Granulated and Confectioner sweetener. You can use the sweetener of your choice. Always do a taste test by microwaving a tablespoon of butter before baking so you can make adjustments.

Ingredients for Low Carb Gluten Free Orange Cranberry Muffins

Orange Glaze for Keto Cranberry Orange Muffins

• Swerve Confectioner’s Sweetener
• Tablespoon of Juice of Orange
• Water

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You can also make cranberry orange bread, but I will bring you the recipe in a separate post.

More Related Recipes from Spinach TIger

• Keto Orange Bundt Cake
• Keto Raspberry Muffins
• Keto Blueberry Crumb Muffins
• Lemon Blueberry Muffins
• Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
• Keto Orange Dutch Baby

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Low Carb Cranberry Orange Muffins

Grain Free, Sugar Free, Low Carb Orange Cranberry Muffins

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cranberry orange bread, keto cake, orange cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Calories 285kcal

Equipment

• Muffin Liners
• Vitamix Blender (Or super blender)
• Baking Sheet

Ingredients

Preparation for Bundt Pan

Bundt Cake

• 1 large navel orange

Dry Ingredients

• 260 grams blanched almond flour 2 1/2 cups
• 28 grams coconut flour 2 tablespoons
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Wet Ingredient Group

• 1 cups Granulated Swerve
• 1/2 cup avocado oil
• 6 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries more If needed

Glaze Icing Option

• 1 cup Swerve Confectioner's Sweetener see notes
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2/3 cup Swerve Confectioner's Sweetener see notes

Instructions

• Spray liners with baking spray. This batter may make more than 12 depending on the liners you are using.
• Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Keep on bake, not convection bake if oven has that mode to keep from browning, but it's fine to use a convection oven too.

Orange Mixture

• Wash Navel orange and trim off the bottom, if necessary.
• Cut into quarters. Put in cold water. Bring to boil for 30 minutes. Drain. Reserve 1/4 cup water.
• Add to Vitamix or super blender. Pulse until you have a texture of course puree, with a little bit of zest showing. You may need to add a little of the reserved water in bottom of blender. Set aside to cool. This can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. It can also be made ahead and frozen.
• Reserve a tablespoon of orange mixture for the glaze.

Dry Ingredients

• Whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, Swerve granulated. Set aside.

Make Batter

• Beat eggs for five minutes. I use my whipping wand.
• Slowly stream in oil.
• Add vanilla extract.
• Add orange mixture to batter.
• Add dry mixture beating on low.
• Use an Ice cream scoop to scoop batter onto each liner.
• Bake for 15 to 22 minutes depending on what liner you use.

Glaze

• Mix orange juice, water with Swerve Confectioner's for sugar free (or confectioner's of your choice, until you get a consistency you can drizzle. Drizzle over each muffin or on cranberry orange bread.

Notes

Swerve Confection: You can put Swerve (or Lakanto) into a Vitamix and pulse to make a confectioner’s sweetener.

You can skip the glaze and sprinkle with confectioner’s sweetener as an option.

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 18 | Calories: 285kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 29g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g

The post Keto Cranberry Orange Muffins appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This is the first time I’ve made a sugar free cranberry sauce. I used powdered erythritol (Swerve confectioner’s Sweetener) and then my go to recipe adding in orange and cinnamon. You can make this same recipe with sugar if you choose to, but if I can cut the sugar at this big fat meal, I’m going to.

Important – How to Avoid Crystallization

I learned the hard way one year when my sugar free (erythritol) cranberry sauce crystalized. On Thanksgiving day I opened my container of what was perfect cranberry sauce to find it icy and crystalized. I immediately googled erythritol crystallization.

How to Fix Erythritol Crystallization

I put it all in a saucepan and added 1 1/2 cups of water and heated it on low. The water balanced out against the cup of erythrtol. After it completely cooled, I poured off the excess cranberry liquid and saved it for another use. The crystallization was gone.

I have two other cranberry sauce recipes, blackberry cranberry sauce and pear cranberry sauce.  You can cut the sugar there too by using erythritol.

The only thing you really need to know about cranberry sauce is that you should make your own because it’s super easy.  It’s going to be tart no matter what, which is wonderful for cutting through all that fat in a heavy meal, but it will be a little more tart using a substitute. I actually like that.

You can also play with this recipe by adding in some frozen blueberries if you want a little bit of natural sweetener.

You should also make this your own. I used orange zest only to keep the sugar low, but a little bit of orange liquor never hurt anyone

Also, you can make a marvelous simple syrup with any extra, which is very useful for festive cocktails.

Make any of these Keto Friendly Thanksgiving Recipes

I loved this cranberry sauce left over for my stir fry stuffing!

My Holiday Recipes You HAVE to Try!

My Best Turkey Recipe

My Favorite Holiday Salad

Grain Free Maple Pecan Cheesecake Bars

Grain Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

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Big Fat Healthy Orange Cranberry Sauce with a lower carb, Sugar Free Option

The perfect low-carb sugar free cranberry sauce that you should make all year to go with turkey, pork, and chicken.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 18kcal

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 cup Swerve Granulated erythritol
• zest of one orange
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or a cinnamon stick
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur optional
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• Put everything into a saucepan over medium heat except the Swerve.
• Cook stirring frequently until the cranberries pop. There will be more liquid than you will want initially, and will pour some off for another use later.
• Remove from stove. In order to not crystalized, wait until the cranberries come down to 108 degrees F. before adding the erythritol. This will prevent that icing effect. Once you stir that in, allow to cool further, and then pour any excess liquid into a jar and use for drinks, etc.
• Stir in black pepper. Cool. Then chill.

Notes

8 servings per recipe
3 net carbs per serving

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 18kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Fiber: 2g

The post Low Carb Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I often get asked to review cookbooks. Sometimes I decline because it’s not my thing, but when I was asked to review Making Dough by Russell Van Kraayenburg, I said yes on two counts.

I love to make pie crust.

I love to make biscuits as demonstrated by my 25 different recipes.

I already know in hearing from you that “dough” is intimidating and often misunderstood in why “the biscuits get tough” or the “pie crust doesn’t roll out and is chewy.”

The book, Making Dough, will help you understand the balance of the flour, fat and liquid, because it’s all about ratios. The first 24 pages are an illustrated tutorial which will help you  understand how these simple ingredients create different pastry depending on the ratios.

Each chapter will guide you through a different type of dough…biscuit dough, tart dough, phyllo dough, scones dough, puff pastry and more. Once you grasp ratios, you can play around on your own. I’m going to use this book to teach me about the doughs I haven’t yet mastered.

The ratio for pie dough is 8 flour: 7 fat: 2 liquid. 

If you want to make biscuits, the ration is 8 flour: 3 fat: 5 liquid. This is so cool to know, and gives you some freedom to make up your own recipes.

I promised to make pie crust from the book and create a recipe. I already am very successful with pie crust, but I had to try Russell’s recipe. He has two variations. He makes his pie dough with a combination of bread flour and cake flour, but you could also substitute all purpose flour, or you could use all bread flour. (I didn’t try that, but I will).

The ratio for bread flour to cake flour is 3:1.

Doesn’t this sound intriguing. These ratios have my attention, because I like to play around and I always make more pie dough than what a recipe needs.

BAKING TIP:  Make a little extra, and freeze the scraps. The scraps can be used for a future cobbler or mini-hand pies.

I made both, and both were successful. The all purpose flour pie dough is very similar to what I do, although I add sugar and one more tablespoon of butter. After making his recipe, I realize I could cut out that tablespoon. There was no difference.

He weighs his flour, which is truly the right way to bake.

The book provides several techniques, and I stuck with my food processor technique.

Now here’s the comical part. I prepared these gorgeous pear cranberry pie cookies, and then  as I went to put them into the oven, most of them slid off of the baking sheet. They were too messy to put back together, but I never throw food out if I can help it. I was able to salvage three little hand pies. You can find out how to make them here. 

Then I took the mess and made cobbler!

A kitchen mistake became a glorious Southern Pear Cranberry Cobbler.

This is truly a delicious cobbler, only slightly tart because the pears and cooked cranberries were refrigerated together several hours before using, which helped to ferment sweetness, and the cobbler pie crust is addicting.

In the South, when we break up pie dough with fruit,  we call it cobbler. We eat it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. We eat it often, and this is going to grace my holiday table.

I took the broken dough and put some on the bottom of a cast iron pan. I added the fruit and then topped it again.

I made a second one where I just used all scraps of pie dough and threw it into the fruit and baked it. This pie crust tasted great no matter what I did with it.

The pie crust was tender and balanced. It’s all butter, which I believe creates the best flavor.

There are a few recipes in the book that I’ve already bought the ingredients for, so stay tuned. This is the season of desserts, and I’ll be making blueberry mascarpone hand pies and chocolate hazelnut hand pies.

So tell me, do you like pie crust as much as I do? What’s your favorite pie?

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Pear Cranberry Cobbler

Pear Cranberry Cobbler, perfect Fall Holiday Dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Pie Dough

• 7 ounces all purpose flour see notes
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup iced cold water

Pear Cranberry Filling

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant tapioca
• orange zest from half orange
• juice of half orange
• tablespoon triple sec optional
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 large pears about 3 pounds
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• Prepare Pie Dough and Cobbler Filling. Both should be made in advanced and chilled first. This is perfect to prepare the day before, and then bake the next day. If you want a double crust cobbler, double the pie dough recipe.

Pie Dough Instructions

• Pulse flours and salt in the bowl of a food processor 2 or 3 times to combine. Chop butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add to flour mixture.
• Pulse for 1 second about 8 times, until butter is in pieces about the size of large peas.
• and pulse 3 to 4 times, until dough begins to come together. It may remain in a few large chunks.
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface and push chunks together. Knead 4 to 5 times, until it holds its shape. Flatten dough into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap tightly in parchment paper and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Cobbler Filling (which can also be used for a pie or hand pies)

• Put cranberries, sugar, water, tapioca, cinnamon into a sauce pan with orange juice and zest.
• Let sit for about 15 minutes.
• Turn on heat and bring to boil.
• Cook for about 5 minutes until the cranberries just begin to burst.
• In the meantime, peel and chop pears.
• Combine the pears with hot cranberries.
• Refrigerate for at least one hour until chilled, preferably longer.

Assembly

• At this point you can make a pie, a tart, hand pies, or a cobbler using these ingredients.
• To make a cobbler, roll out the dough and using a cookie cutter, cut into large rounds about 4-6 inches in diameter.
• Place some rounds on bottom of pan. Every inch of bottom does not have to be covered. If you are using a large baking dish, don't put any pie dough on bottom, just put it all on the top.
• Pour fruit over pie dough.
• Top with more rounds. You can use a lattice pattern or use a biscuit cutter as I did.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until golden brown.
• For hand pies, follow these directions.
• For a large lattice topped cobbler, follow these directions.
• For cobbler in a jar, follow these directions.

Notes

Storage
Because pie dough contains no chemical leavener, it stores well wrapped tightly in parchment paper. You can easily double, triple, or even quadruple this dough recipe and store enough for a month’s worth of pies. If you know the shape of the dough you plan to roll later, form it into that shape, about 1 inch thick, before storing to make rolling it later easier. Refrigerator: 4 days. Freezer: 4 months.

Qualities of Good Pie Dough
THE DOUGH: Pie dough should be fairly dry and tough to manipulate. You should see dots of butter throughout the dough. When rolling, the dough should hold together well and not tear or break.

THE PASTRY: Once baked, pie crust should be very flaky. Crust that isn’t in contact with filling should crumble and flake easily. Portions touching filling will be slightly less flaky but should still be dry and crisp.

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The post Pear Cranberry Cobbler appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

The other day I demonstrated this cranberry sauce and got to talk a little turkey. If you’re not familiar with Periscope, it’s a free app that allows you to broadcast live videos. Maybe you’re not a blogger, but feel like you have something to say or show the camera. Periscope could be for you.

I was inspired to make a pear cranberry sauce for this year’s Thanksgiving from the cranberry pear cobbler I made here. This puts a bit of a sweeter spin, still strolling nicely with the tartness of the cranberries. Now some people don’t like cranberry sauce, like my husband. He liked this. This is not the first time I’ve added fruit. One year I made this blackberry cranberry sauce.

We’ll be serving this today alongside a cheesecloth roasted turkey and this array of sides.

Retro Rose Candied Sweet Potatoes

No Lump Mashed Potatoes

Brussels Sprouts Apple Salad with Corn Bread Croutons

Candied Sweet Potato BiscuitsSausage Sage Stuffing

Turkey Gravy

Apple Hand Pies

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Tart

How about you?  Is there something you HAVE to have? I have to have cranberry sauce.

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Pear Cranberry Sauce

Pears add sweetness and texture to this cranberry sauce.

Course Sauce

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 large pear peeled, cubed
• 1 cup water
• juice of 1/2 orange
• orange zest
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon grand marnier optional

Instructions

• Put everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and continue to cook until the cranberries have burst, about 10 minutes.
• Cool completely.
• Refrigerate.
• The sauce will continue to gel as it cools.

The post Pear Cranberry Sauce appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I often get my cooking inspiration from local chefs, local restaurants, local food events. That’s exactly what happened here when I ate a salad sample at Generous Helpings.  It’s hard to believe that of all the fabulous food, such as charcuterie from Urban Grub, Legato Gelato, Jeni’s Ice Cream, macarons from Provence, that the salad from the Holland House would be the dish we would eat in triples. Yes.

The salad was like a crunchy slaw made with cabbage, Marcona almonds, cranberries and a caraway vinaigrette. The combination of flavors created an umami experience, as well as a great triple crunch texture.

I’m a long time fan of the Holland House and I wrote about them here. Known for their amazing vintage, craft cocktails, they change menus with the season and balance out exciting food with rustic notes that places it as one of the favorite neighborhood restaurants in East Nashville, serving food could be special occasion, and just approachable enough to eat at weekly.

A version of the salad is currently on the menu, using a combination of cabbage and brussels. It was easier for me to use two types of cabbage to make enough to feed a big crowd. However, if you are feeding a small group, make it extra special by using shredded brussels sprouts and a touch of red cabbage for flavor.

I couldn’t find the shredded phylo known as kataifi at my neighborhood grocery, so I substituted fried, crunchy ramen noodles (without the msg package). It works well.

This can be made in advance; however don’t put the kataifi or crunchy noodles on until right before serving.

Crunchy slaw can be served in one large serving bowl, or just for fun, pack in jars and take on a picnic.

If you want this grain free or Paleo, just leave out the crunchy ramen noodles.

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Crunchy Cabbage Salad with Marcona Almonds

A crunchy slaw of cabbage, cranberries, marcona almonds, and a caraway vinaigrette, topped with crunch ramen noodles.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Caraway Vinaigrette Recipe

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Crunchy Salad

• 1 small head cabbage shredded
• 1/2 small head red cabbage shredded
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
• 1/2 cup of crumbled fresh sheep’s feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons of marcona almonds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 package ramen noodles approximately 2 cups
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Caraway Vinaigrette

• Mix vinegar and mustard together until emulsified.
• Slowly add in oil, salt, pepper and caraway seeds.

Salad

• Mix together, cabbage, cranberries, feta cheese, marcona almonds with a generous portion of the caraway vinaigrette. Place in refrigerator.
• Make ramen noodles. Do not use the accompanying package of seasons, only the noodles.
• Heat a tablespoon or less of olive oil in frying pan.
• Toast the teaspoon of caraway seeds together with the noodles just until the noodles are golden. Be careful not to burn.
• Right before serving, take the crunchy slaw out of the fridge. Top with crunchy noodles right before serving.

The post Triple Crunch Cabbage Salad with Marcona Almonds and Caraway Vinaigrette appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I have made an abundance of blackberry recipes this year.  As a friend (thank you CL) was moving out of state, she handed me over twenty pounds of frozen blackberries she had hand picked. I was committed to not letting any go to waste, and I began creating blackberry recipes.  I thought I used them all up and surprisingly found one last bag  this week.

Although I’m sort of a traditional Thanksgiving cook, I thought why not add them to cranberries and make a new kind of sauce? The result was even more surprising. Rich in color, and fragrant in fall flavors, I had a delightful new recipe that might just become a new tradition.

The Process

I boiled the frozen berries down, threw in sugar, cranberries, almond extract, triple sec, a cinnamon stick, juice and zest of an orange. The flavors are fun and complex, and the deep color is captivating. The nice surprise is that I had too much liquid and was able to extract over a cup of syrup that I can use for other things from savory to sweet, perhaps duck breast, pancakes, ice cream, or goat cheese.

The possibilities of how to use the syrup are endless. It’s sweet but not too sweet and unlike a blueberry syrup, this has winter flavors. I added in a dash of sea salt and a grinding of black pepper to even further punch up the flavors. You can skip that step if it’s a little too daring.

This recipe is more of an idea to be inspired and try new flavors. You could make this recipe with raspberries also. You can change the combination and use 1 cup blackberries or raspberries and 3 cups cranberries. I used equal amounts but you can make this your own.

Here are a few good looking recipes I found elsewhere:

Cran Raspberry Sauce from Joy of Baking

Chipotle Cranberry Sauce from CD Kitchen

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce  from The Gallery Gourmet

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Cranberry Blackberry Sauce

Recipe for blackberry cranberry sauce beautiful for any Thanksgiving table.

Course Sauce

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 cup frozen blackberries
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon triple sec
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• juice and zest of an orange
• cinnamon stick
• dash salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Put frozen blackberries in medium sized heavy bottom pan with enough water to cover. Boil down until they are no longer frozen.
• Add in sugar, triple sec, juice of orange, almond extract, zest and cinnamon stick. Boil on cranberries on medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until cranberries pop open. Add salt and pepper and turn off stove.
• Remove and reserve liquid for a syrup. Cool completely. Refrigerate before serving. Make a day ahead so flavors come together and sauce sets.

The post Cranberry Blackberry Sauce and Syrup Recipes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.