Hurray, it's fall! Pumpkin lattes, leaves, frigid temperatures! Well, sort of hurray, we are definitely not used to the cold weather, but we certainly love the foliage we are getting in Idaho, and that we are starting to slide into all our favorite holidays. But, before we get to turkey and stuffing and latkes and gingerbread houses and rows of cookies, we are exited to helm our 7th, yes 7th, ingredient based instragram collaboration with Annie of What Annie's Eating! This seasonal celebration of ingredients has been our favorite way to connect with all the like-minded creative foodies we have found on instagram. We are constantly blown away by everyone's passion for food and community, and in all honesty, this is the community that has offered us respite in these crazy times and we are so grateful.

For this season, we have looked to the humble cranberry to offer up inspiration. For us, we really don't use it all that often except for our thanksgiving side dish, and dried for our granola or cookies over the rest of the year. However, cranberries are truly a special berry, packed with antioxidants and vitamin c. Their tart punch can lend themselves to both sweet and savory dishes, as their sweet and sour vibe can accompany meat or star in their own dessert as we have done here. Yes, they do need more than the usual amount of sugar to really bring out their charm, but, this pie is worth the extra! If you are someone who loves sour cherry pie, this is your winter pie. The streusel and oats give the pie an oatmeal cookie vibe, and the cranberries cook down with the orange and ginger to give you this delicious jammy filling. 

Be sure to check out our hashtag, #yesyoucranberry for everyone's amazing cranberry dishes and show us what you are making as well! 

​Cranberry Orange Streusel Pie
9” inch pie
1 Disc of Your Favorite Pie dough (can make from scratch or use a store bought)

​Filling:
4 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1/2 orange
juice of ½ orange
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of tapioca flour
½ tsp. ground ginger

Oatmeal Streusel Topping:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of oatmeal
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup brown sugar
1 pinch salt
 
1 egg, beaten.
1 tsp. sparkling sugar
 
To make streusel, place all ingredients into the food processor. Pulse until crumbly and beginning to hold together, then set aside.  
 
Place all filling ingredients into a saucepan, cook for about 7-8 minutes until berries begin to burst, and the sugar and tapioca flour have dissolved.  Set aside to cool.
 
Preheat oven to 400.
 
Roll our dough and line a 9-inch pie tin, trim edges and crimp. Add cooled filling and top with crumble letting a few berries peek through. You can use your extra dough to make some designs and place on top of crumble or along the edges. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
 
Bake pie for 10 minutes, then continue baking at 375 until evenly browned and berries are bubbling. Cover with tinfoil if the top gets too dark before the filling is bubbling. You really are just looking to insure your crust is baked as the filling has already been cooked.
 
Cool before slicing and serve with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream!

Check out these recipes from our friends!
What Annie’s Eating  Cranberry Mojitos
Easy and Delish -- Avocado Cranberry Hummus Dip
Flottelottehaan Buchteln with Cranberry Oranges Jam
The Cooking of Joy’s Cranberry Curd Tart
Jessie Sheehan Bakes - Cranberry Buckle
Ciao Chow Bambina - Cranberry Pecan Cracker Spread
Baking The Goods - Cranberry Apple Brown Butter Crumble Pie
Katiebird Bakes - Cranberry Sauce Breakfast Rolls
Crumb Top Baking’s Cranberry Orange Overnight Oatmeal Muffins

Sometimes the best ideas and recipes come from tinkering with ingredients you have in the fridge or pantry. Sort of like playing your own version of Chopped, you are forced to reimagine and create. This ridiculously good galette was the product of just that mind set. We had roasted some beets earlier in the week and forgotten to eat them, had a sad bag of a few hazelnuts sitting around, and a sweet potato that never made its way into roasted sweet potato fries. We had been wanting to experiment with adding nuts to our pie dough, so figured why not try the hazelnuts, as they always pair well with the earthy sweetness of beets. We randomly had some Boursin and cream cheese, so bam, this galette was born! Having made a galette a few weeks ago with raw beets, the roasted ones proved to be a better idea, and by slicing the sweet potatoes super thin on a mandolin, they also had time to bake and get all creamy. Hitting the sweet, the savory, garlicky, creamy, and crunchy  notes, our guests inhaled this tart, coming back for seconds and thirds! 

Beet, Sweet Potato and Hazelnut Galette
Makes one Galette that serves about 6 
 
½ Batch Hazelnut Pie Dough
2-3 beets, roasted and thinly sliced
1/2 large sweet potato, thinly sliced on mandolin
1 package garlic and herb Boursin cheese
½ c cream cheese
1 tablespoon of olive oil
¼ cup hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped
1-tablespoon honey
1 egg, whisked

 
Dough
(Makes 2 9 inch shells)
1 cup chilled butter
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup hazelnuts
1-teaspoon salt
1-tablespoon sugar
7 tablespoons ice water 
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
 
 
Dough- Put nuts into the food processor. Pulse until nuts are ground. Add butter, shortening, flour, sugar and salt into food processor. Pulse until you have small pea sized pieces. Add apple cider vinegar and chilled water to the flour mixture and pulse until dough just comes together. Flip dough onto floured surface and push into a ball. Divide into two, and gently flatten each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic and let rest in fridge or freezer until ready to use.  If freezing the dough, put in fridge the night before you want to make the tart.
 
*You can also make the dough by hand. Add ALL the dry ingredients to a bowl. Cut butter into smaller pieces and add the butter and shortening to the flour. Cut with a pastry cutter or two forks until you have pea-sized pieces and mixture looks sandy. Add all your liquids and stir until dough just comes together, then turn out onto plastic and push into ball. Divide in two and follow above.
 
*To roast beets, wrap in tin foil, creating a little packet, and roast at 400 degrees until easily pierced with a knife.
 
Preheat oven to 375
 
Mix the cheeses together and set aside.
 
Roll out one disc of dough on a well-floured surface.  Trim sides to get as close to a circle as you can then save the scraps. Move dough onto a parchment lined baking tray preferably without a lip.
 
Place cheese in center and spread out, leaving about an-inch rim around the sides. Alternating rings of beets and sweet potatoes, starting at the edge, leaving an inch, circle your vegetables, layering them slightly on top of each other until you have used them all. Drizzle with olive oil.
 
Brush with egg wash and start at twelve o’clock, folding the dough in. Work your way around the tart and use the egg wash to seal your folds. You will get about 6-8 folds resembling an octagon or hexagon.  You can stop here and brush with egg wash. Or, reroll scraps and have some fun with cookie cutters, using the egg wash to help stick your shapes to the tart. When done decorating, brush with egg wash.
 
Bake for 40-50 minutes until veggies are slightly browning and dough is brown.  If it browns too quickly cover with foil and keep baking.
 
Remove from oven and drizzle with honey and sprinkle the hazelnuts. Serve!
 
*You can also freeze before baking and then bake when you choose. It will take about 20 more minutes.

This lovely little tart was inspired by a collaboration with Muddy Boot Wines. We were charged with showcasing their tasty Rose and we decided to bake with it. Pear and rose seemed like a wonderful combination, and poaching the pears in the wine proved a delicious idea. By adding the cinnamon, ginger and vanilla to the wine, the sweetness of the pears was enhanced. The thyme in the crust added another herbal element that made the tart feel like the best pieces of a cheese plate thrown together. 


Rose Poached Pear Tart
Makes 1 tart serves about 6
 
1/2 batch of your favorite pie dough, or store bought. Enough for one disc.
 
1 bottle rose wine
½ cup sugar
1 ½ inch piece of ginger, peeled
½ of a lemon’s peel
1 vanilla bean
2 cinnamon sticks
5 ripe pears, peeled and cored
1/2 tsp fresh thyme, minced.
 
Preheat oven to 375
 
Take your vanilla bean and cut in half the long way, then scrape, adding both the bean and scrapings to a wide sauce pan. Add wine, sugar, lemon zest, ginger and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring just until sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes to blend flavors. Gently place pears into poaching liquid. You may need to cover with parchment or a towel to insure the pears are submerged. Simmer until pears are tender when pierced with a knife, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on ripeness. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a large bowl.
 
Bring poaching liquid to a boil until liquid has reduced and thickened slightly, 20 to 25 minutes. Strain and reserve.
 
Roll out half, one disc, of your dough on a well-floured surface.  Trim sides to get as close to a circle as you can then save the scraps. Move dough onto a parchment lined baking tray preferably without a lip. Sprinkle with minced time.
 
Slice pears about 1/8 inch thick and try to keep in their halved shapes, then slightly fan them out. Place fruit in middle of the dough, on top of the thyme, fanning the pears as you go, leaving about a two-inch rim around the sides. Brush with egg wash and start at twelve o’clock, folding the dough in. Work your way around the tart and use the egg wash to seal your folds. You will get about 6-8 folds resembling an octagon or hexagon.  You can stop here and brush with egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar. Or, reroll scraps and have some fun with cookie cutters, using the egg wash to help stick your shapes to the tart. When done decorating, brush with egg wash and sprinkle dough with sugar. Brush pears with reserved liquid.
 
Bake for 40-50 minutes until fruit is bubbling and dough is brown.  If it browns too quickly cover with foil and keep baking.

This carrot salad is a healthier version of the classic carrot and raisin salad. We switched out the mayo and used the greek yoghurt​ instead. You get the same creamy consistency without some of the fat. You can use whatever carrots you have on hand, but we have a fondness for the the rainbow ones as the kids love eating the rainbow! We made the recipe with this lovely JUST DATE SYRUP we got in the mail, which is just that, date syrup, an alternative sweetener that is a healthier low-glycemic index sweetener. Certainly worth a try, however, use whatever you have on hand. Agave and maple syrup will do. The salad gets better over time, so be sure to let it sit for the 3 hours in the fridge. 


Rainbow Carrot Raisin Salad
makes about 3 cups
 
3 cups shredded carrots, about 6 large carrots
¼ cup plus 1 tbsp. of Greek Yoghurt
½ cup raisins
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon date syrup, agave, or maple syrup
 
Place raisins in hot water to rehydrate, drain.  Mix lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, greek yoghurt, salt and sweetener in a medium bowl.  Add shredded carrots and raisins and stir.   Refrigerate 2-3 hours prior to serving.

We have always been a puff pancake, dutch baby kind of family. There is the drama in the puff, and the delicate sweetness and custardy texture is a favorite. In all honesty, we would rather make one big pancake instead of many little ones so we can actually eat breakfast with everyone as opposed to standing by the stove working batches! This one was inspired by that classic combination of cherries and vanilla. The fruit inside makes it sort of like a French clafoutis, another custardy dessert we love. You can sub any berry in, but the cherries pack a nice sweet tart punch! Be sure to have everyone siting when you pull it from the oven as the puff doesn't last long!


Cherry Vanilla Dutch Baby
serves 4-6 in 9 inch oven proof skillet

3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup cherries, pitted and halved
6 tablespoons butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (if you can't find add one more tsp. vanilla extract)
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Preheat oven to 425
 
Whisk together the flour, milk, eggs,  sugar and vanillas until smooth.

In an oven proof 9 inch skillet melt butter and swirl along the sides of the pan.  Add batter and scatter cherries on top. After about 1 minute, place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.
 
Pancake will be puffed and golden brown.
 
Serve immediately with syrup or jam or a squeeze of lemon!

Rainbow Carrot and Ricotta Tart
Makes one 9 inch square tart
Serves 6-8
 
1/2 batch of your favorite pie dough, or store bought, enough for 1 disc
Filling
6-8 oz ricotta
2 tablespoons milk or cream
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
 
24-30 baby rainbow carrots, peeled (or you could use about a dozen larger)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts and carrot top sprigs for garnish
 
 
Preheat oven to 375
 
In a large steamer working in batches of the same color carrot, steam carrots whole until just tender, about 7 minutes depending on size. Remove and place in cold water to stop cooking. Slice carrots in half and toss carrots with Olive Oil, salt, pepper, maple syrup and thyme and set aside.
 
Roll out your dough on a well-floured surface. Lay into a tart pan, making sure you get dough into the corners.  Prick bottom with a fork a few times. Add pie weights or beans and blind bake the crust for about 20 minutes until it just starts to brown. Remove from oven.  (If you don’t have a tart pan, use a shallow pie dish) 
 
Add filling ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well.
 
After your shell has cooled to the touch, spread your filling and then arrange the carrots on top. We did a herringbone pattern but you can just lay on top careful not to overlap too much, filling in all the holes.
 
Bake again for about 20 minutes until carrots have begun to caramelize, and crust is golden brown.
 
Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes and remove from tart shell. Sprinkle with pine nuts and some carrot top sprigs and serve.
 
 
 
 Here are all the wonderful collaborators! 

The Cooking of Joy’s Candied Carrot Rose Tart
Figs and Flour's Thai Peanut Pizza
Cocoa and Salt's Classic Carrot Cake
Jojoromancer's Carrot Pie
​Julie Jones' Mum's Carrot Cake
Lemon Thyme and Ginger's Sweet n' Spicy Herbed Carrots
Better with Biscuits’ Carrot Souffle
This Healthy Table’s Beet and Carrot Galette
Always Eat Dessert’s Carrot Cake Squares with Orange Glaze
What Annie’s Eating’s Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top/Herby Salsa Verde
Fufu’s Kitchen’s Oven Baked Carrot Fries Drizzled with a Tahini Sauce
Flours in Your Hair’s Carrot Pecan Cookies
Hola Jalapeno’s Roasted Carrots with Chipotle Honey Butter
A Worthy Pause's Paleo Thai Curry Carrot Soup
Battered n Baked's Baked Carrot Cake Donuts
Anna Jitlin's Carrot Muffins with Persimmon Topping
Lemon Thyme and Ginger's Sweet and Spicy Herbed Carrots 
Something New for Dinner’s Minted Sous Vide Carrots with Balsamic Vinegar and Goat Cheese
What Great Grandma Ate’s Paleo Carrot Mug Cake
My Love at First Bite's 
Rezel Kealoha's Turkish Yoghurt Dip
​Cosettes Kitchen's Sumac Spiced Carrot and Feta Salad
More Icing Than Cake's Spiced Quinoa & Roasted Carrot Salad
Measuring Cups Optional's Carrot Curry Soup 
Hot Dishing It Out’s Carrot Whoopie Pies with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting (vegan)
Bee and the Baker's Glazed Carrot Rosette Tart with Honey Ginger Mascarpone
Lady and Larder’s Carrot Crudite Board with Z'atar Hummus
Khabakom's 
Katie Bird Bakes’ Carrot Cake Scones
Jessie Sheehan Bakes' Chocolate Carrot Loaf Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
Marianne Cooks’ Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins with a Cinnamon Frosting
Baking the Good's Roasted Carrot and Herby Feta Galette
Laurel Street Kitchen's 
Confetti Kitchen’s Harissa-Roasted Carrots with Lentils and Yogurt
Prickly Fresh’s Carrot Cake Blondies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Forty-nine Figs' Carrot Pie
​Loko Kitchen's Miso White Carrot Pie with Black Sesame Crust
Gobble the Cook's 
Butter Loves Company’s Iced Carrot Cake Cookies
Champagne and Cookies' Savory Carrot and Cauliflower Crumble with Za'atar and Herbed Feta
Easy and Delish’s Carrot Spaghetti
Suburban Pie and Treat’s Carrot Pineapple Raisin Pie
Catgrammer's Triple Ginger Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Hello Flour’s Macro-Friendly Carrot/Tomato Soup w/ Grilled Cheese
Le Petit Eats’ Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars w/ Maple Coconut Icing
​Dukkah Queen's Carrots and Friends Salad (pickled, raw and roasted)
Amanda Skrip's Rainbow Roasted Carrots with Citrus, Fennel and Arugala
Flotte Lotte's Carrot Apple Pie
Cook Til Delicious’ Mini Carrot Cake
Smart in the Kitchen’s Curried Carrot Ginger Soup (Whole30)
Candace Nelson of Pizanna’s Vegan Carrot Birthday Cake
Farm and Coast Cookery's Carrot and Herbed Ricotta Phyllo Tart
Pie Girl Bakes’ Five Spice Carrot Bundt Cakes with Bourbon Cream Cheese Glaze
Zestfulkitchen's Moroccan Stuffed Portobellos
Mom’s Kitchen Handbook’s Salad with Miso Ginger Carrot Dressing
What’s Karen Cooking’s Spiced Cornbread w/ Carrots, Pecans & Chili Butter
Diane Morrisey's Harissa and Maple Roasted Carrots and Lemon
Rumbly in my Tumbly's Carrot Chai Pie
Sweet Pillar Food’s Carrot and Date Salad with Tahini Vinaigrette
Week Night Bite's 
Pies and Prejudice's Carrot Pie with Maple and Cardamon
Feed The Swimmer's Air Fried Rainbow Carrot Chips with Tzatziki
Plum Lucky Pie Pi's Roasted Carrot Pot Pie
​Smoothies and Sundaes’ Carrot Cake Sourdough
Blossom to Stem's Caramelized Carrots with Fennel, Ricotta, and Walnuts
Kate Aliberti's "Hop Scotch" Pie- Carrot Custard with Brown Sugar, Honey, Cinnamon and Scotch
​Annie Madison's Morning Glory Muffins
The Dirty Whisk's Carrot and Herbed Ricotta Tart
Jill Salama's Carrot Latkes with Cranberry Aioli (Paleo)
Food By Mars' Paleo Carrot Walnut Loaf Cake 
The Olive and Mango's Carrot Cake Roll
​Easy Gourmet Living's 
A Modest Feast's Pomegranate-Molasses-Glazed Carrots With Crispy Chickpeas and Feta
Seed and Mills' Carrot Cake with Tahini Caramel Frosting
Its a Vegworld Afterall's Zesty Carrot Spirals


 
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We have been adding cranberries to many a thing this past month, pies, applesauce, you name it, as we love the tart, acidic punch they give. So, when we found a bag of fresh cranberries tucked in the back of the refrigerator, (probably from Thanksgiving) we experimented with our trusty crumb bar recipe. Playing off the classic combination of cranberries and orange and knowing that the cranberries would need a bit more sugar then lets say a mixed berry crumb bar,  we tweaked the recipe a bit and came up with this delicious cookie/bar. Its sweet, tart, and sort of feels like breakfast without the carb load of a big cran-orange muffin, not that we have anything against a good cran-orange muffin:) Try these before you forget that you love cranberries, and have to wait until next Thanksgiving to enjoy them!

Cranberry Orange Crumb Bars
Makes 16 bars

1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
zest of 1 orange
1 egg
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
juice of one orange
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 375
 
Grease an 8’ inch cake or Pyrex baking dish.
 
In a medium bowl mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Then add in the cold butter and egg, cutting it in with a pastry cutter or fork.  You can also use your fingers to break up any large pieces of butter. Once the mixture resembles crumbs, press half into the pan.
 
In another bowl, add sugar, orange juice, cornstarch and almond extract and mix. Carefully stir in cranberries.
 
Spread fruit with juices evenly on top of dough and sprinkle with remaining dough. You want some fruit peeking out.
 
Bake 40-45 minutes until fruit is bubbling and topping is golden brown. Cool before slicing.
 

You asked, and we delivered. Here is the recipe for these yummy soft pretzels! We tweaked the original a bit as we gleaned it from a video, but the results were delicious. Yes, they have yeast, and yes, you have to let them rise, and yes, you will be nervous that they are not going to work, but push through the fear! Cooking and baking is all about trying, failing, trying again, tweaking, tasting, experimenting. Nothing is perfect, but that is ok. We never have really played around with yeast, and are trying to conquer the fear. The first attempts were flat, rock hard rolls that no one ate. Then, we made a successful challah, then another, then these, then cinnamon rolls! Have patience and you will be rewarded, especially with these soft pretzels. Salty, with a little tang, and super good to dunk in mustard!We especially loved them topped with Trader Joe's Everything Bagel Spice mix, but use what you have.

Soft Pretzels
Makes 10
 
1-½ cups warm water
1-tablespoon salt
1-tablespoon sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
4-¼ cup flour
2 tablespoons oil plus a little to coat bowl
2/3-cup baking soda
About 8 cups water
1 egg, whisked
 Salt and seeds for sprinkling
 
 
Mix in a bowl the warm water, salt and sugar. Whisk, and then add the yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Add flour and oil and knead about 5 minutes until dough is smooth and comes together.
 
Place in oil-coated bowl in warm place for 1 hour until doubles.
 
Preheat oven to 450
 
In a large pot boil water then add the baking soda (this will foam so make sure you have room in pot) Turn heat to medium high.
 
Turn dough out and cut in half, then each half into 5 pieces. Roll into long rope about 18 inches long.  Bring ends to each other, twist, and attach at bottom forming the pretzel shape. You can also cut into pretzel bites. Place on parchment lined baking sheet.  One at a time, drop into the water bath with the baking soda. Simmer about 30 seconds per side.
 
Remove and place on tray. Brush each with egg wash and sprinkle with desired topping.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until brown and puffed.
 
Serve with your favorite mustard.

P.S. You can freeze these after you bake them and warm them up in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
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We have been making Dutch Babies, or puffed pancakes forever. They take a little more time then regular pancakes, but are so worth it. And beside, most of that extra time is just waiting at the table for them to bake! These pancakes are light, subtle sweet and decadent at the same time. The top ridge, crispy, while the bottom always has this custard quality. We have experimented over the years with many combinations including the classic with lemon squeezed on at the end, blackberries and buttermilk, matcha, and even chocolate. The same basic recipe can be tweaked with different fruit, and different extracts like Vanilla. If you need to make a larger pancake, you can do this recipe times 1.5 and place in a twelve inch oven proof skillet. Be sure everyone is at the table when it comes out of the oven as the puff never lasts!


Almond Raspberry Dutch Baby Pancake
Makes 1, 9 inch pancake
 
½ cup milk
½ cup flour
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons of butter
¼-1/2 cup raspberries
 
Preheat oven to 425
 
Whisk together the flour, milk, eggs,  ¼ cup of sugar and the almond extract until smooth.
 
In an oven proof 9 inch skillet melt butter and swirl along the sides of the pan.  Add batter and scatter raspberries on top. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar. After about 1 minute, place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.
 
Pancake will be puffed and golden brown.
 
Serve immediately with syrup or jam
 
 

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