Pumpkin Cranberry Poke cake

Instead of making a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving I decided to leave the pies to someone else and went the cake route mostly because I have been wanting to make a poke cake for a while and this was as good a time as any.

When I told the mr I made a poke cake he had no idea what I was talking about, do you? A poke cake is exactly what it sounds like, a cake that had been poked. This cake that got poked was a simple but delicious pumpkin cake. Then all those poked holes got filled with cranberry sauce. and then frosted with a simple vanilla glaze situation.

A chunk of it was gobbled up within hours, the mr saying every time he ate a piece how good it was. I was trying to save at least half or it for family Thanksgiving but that didn’t happen. I ended up feeding it to a few more people. And they confirmed to me what I already knew…. It is delicious.

And now it is family Thanksgiving and I only have likes few pieces of the cake left…Good thing I have a brownie mix stashed somewhere in the pantry. Oops.

Now to the poke cake!

The stuff. Pumpkin puree, fresh cranberries, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Some brown sugar and white sugar. Flour, baking soda, salt. A neutral oil, apple cider vinegar, plant milk. And powdered sugar, vanilla, and a little vegan butter.

Start with making cake. Mix brown sugar, pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar, plant milk, and oil in a big bowl. Once mixed add in the flour, spices, baking soda and salt and mix until just incorporated.

Scoop batter into a well greased pan and pop into a preheated oven.

While cake is baking make the cranberry sauce. Cranberries go into pot with white sugar and some water. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer for a few minutes until all the cranberries pop when stabbed. Remove from heat, let cool a minute, and then either with a hand held blender or regular blender, puree until semi smooth.

A gorgeous baked cake. Now let it cool a bit in the pan.

After cooling for a few minutes grab a wood spoon or something that has a dime size handle and well, poke a bunch of hole into the top of the cake. Go deep but not all the way through.

And now grab the craberry sauce and pour all over making sure the sauce goes into the holes.

And now for the frosting glaze situation. Just mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, plant butter, and a little plant milk together unit completely smooth. It should be the consistency of a really thick glaze.

Then pour/smooth the glaze on gently. And if you are feeling fancy, make a design with a little extra cranberry sauce.

Finished cake looking like a class act.

And then you eat it.

Have fun poking!

-C

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Pumpkin Cranberry Poke cake

makes a 10x10 cake

For cake

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 cup of neutral flavored oil

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 1/4 cup plant milk

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

  For Cranberry sauce

• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup water

  For Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl mix the brown sugar, pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar, oil, and plant milk together unit completely combined. Next add in the flour, all spices, salt, and baking soda until just completely incorporated. Grease a 10x10 baking pan and scoop batter in. Level off and pop into the oven. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden brown, but start checking for doneness at around 30 minutes.

While cake is baking make the cranberry sauce. Cranberries, sugar and water go into a pot. Place on stove and bring to a boil and once its boiling turn heat down and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until all the cranberries are soft and pop when stabbed. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then with either a hand blended or regular blended, bend until semi smooth. Some chunks are good.

Once cake comes out of oven and has had a chance to cool down a little, grab a wooden spoon or something with a similar sized handle and poke a bunch of holes all over the top of cake. Go down deep but not all the way to the bottom. Now grab cranberry sauce and pour it all over the top of cake making sure it fills in all the holes. Smooth out the extra on top. Set aside and let cool and set.

To make glaze just mix the powdered sugar, plant butter and milk, and vanilla together unit smooth.It should be the consistency of almost frosting but still thin enough to pour. If it is to thick add a tiny more milk. o thin, more sugar. Once the cake is cooled and the cranberry sauce has had a little time to set up on the cake, pour glaze all over cake. And if you are feeling fancy and have a little cranberry sauce left in the pot you can make a little pattern in the glaze.

And then that is it. You eat it.

Cake is fine in airtight container out at room temperature for a couple of days but after that should be stored in the fridge for up to a week but really, who makes a cake and doesn’t eat it all right away?

Cranberry Brussels Sprout Slaw

What do you think about at 5 o’clock in the morning? Wait, are you awake at 5? Well I am and yes, I know that most people are not and think I am crazy for waking up so early, but it is and I do and whatever. Anyway, it’s 5 o'clock and I am at the gym (yes, I wake up at 5 AND go to the gym) and me and my gym friend start talking about food (as usual) and what we were going to do with our Brussels sprouts that we got from the farm (I got her to join my CSA!). That is what I am usual thinking at 5. Food, and how to prepare it. And as the sprout conversation commerced, this is what materialized in my head. Crisp, crunchy fresh Brussels spouts, shredded up and tossed in a warm tangy cranberry sauce. My mouth was salivating and as usual, I left the gym hungry.

So I came home, drank all my coffee and then proceeded to make the sprout dish for lunch and let me tell you, this sprout slaw is amazing. Tangy and crunchy and all Brussels sprouty. It has a hardy salad feel without being heavy. It is a slaw that really get me, you know. (I actually don’t know.)

Anyway, you should really get on the eating this Brussels sprouts slaw (or any Brussels sprouts dish) train now, before they go out of season and you end up buying kind of not great sprouts from the market that don’t taste as good. Bad Brussels sprouts suck.

To the cranberry Brussels sprout slaw.

The stuff. Fresh Brussels sprouts, cranberries (fresh or frozen), some onion, balsamic vinegar, a little maple, dried cranberries and toasted walnuts, and salt and pepper.

Start with onion. Grab it and dice it nice and small.

Dump the onion into a skillet with a little pinch of salt and a splash of water and cook for a few minutes, just unit they are not raw anymore. Then add in the cranberries and 1/2 cup water. Cook on a low heat until the cranberries all pop and the sauce starts to thicken.

While cranberries are cooking, shred up the sprouts. Thin as you can get them.

Cranberries are now a thick and chunky sauce and oh so delicious. Add in the vinegar and maple here and give it a good stir and a taste test too. If it is too tart for your liking, add more maple. Think you might need a bit more vinegar, well splash it on it.

Now toss those shredded spouts it.

Stir it around. Season with salt and pepper and there it is.

Scoop into a bowl. Top with dried cranberries and walnuts and grab a fork.

This is good.

-C

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Cranberry Brussels Sprout Slaw

serves 3-4 as a side or one person who wants to eat it all to themselves

• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

• 1/2 a pound Brussels sprouts ( around 3 1/2- 4 cups shredded)

• 1 small or 1/2 a large onion

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or more to taste)

• salt and pepper

• 1/2 -3/4 cup water

• small handful dried cranberries (optional)

• smal handfuls toasted walnuts (optional)

Start with dicing the onion up into small pieces. Place in a skillet with a small pinch of salt and a good splash of water and place on medium heat. Cook for a few minutes or until the water has evaporated and the onions are not raw. Add in the cranberries and 1/2 cup water. Keep on low heat and cook until the cranberries pop and start to thicken. If the cranberries are not cooked all the way and the water has evaporated out, just add another 1/2 cup.

While cranberries are cooking, shredded the Brussels sprouts, as thin as you can. A mandolin is great for this but a knife works too.

Once the cranberries have cooked down to a saucey consistency add in the vinegar and maple and stir around. Remove from heat and carefully taste the sauce. If you think it needs more maple or vinegar, add in another tablespoon until it tastes good to you. Dump in the shredded sprouts and mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

And then it’s done. You can dump it all into a bowl and sprinkle the dried cranberries and walnuts on top, or leave it in the skillet and do the same. Me,I scooped half into a bowl for pictures sake and ate the rest right out of the skillet. I then licked the skillet clean with my finger. Then ate the bowl full. SO good.

White Chocolate Cran-Pistachio Cookies

WHAT! Is it really almost Thanksgiving? Got you dessert plan yet? Thanksgiving doesn't have to be all pies, pies, pies… a cookie can be the perfect ending to any holiday meal. Don't get me wrong, pie is awesome!  I love to make pies, but whenever I show up to Thanksgiving dinner with the family, there are always maybe one or five too many. Yeah my mom thinks we all will eat 2 pies a piece This cookie is the perfect holiday combination. It says, yeah I am classy with my white chocolate chips. Cranberries are a nice seasonal flavor, and those pistachios.. this lady really went all out.  WIth this cookie, you lose the formalities of pie. You don't have to feel the pressure of eating piece after piece of pie.  Eating cookies is a little easier. Grab a cookie and go for a walk. Have a piece of pie and chat for a while. Need  little something.. well maybe another cookie. Watching a family movie after all the clean up and dishes are done? Why yes, a cookie is a no hassle movie snack. Bonus...Left overs are easily stored in tins or plastic baggies and there is no, Hey, where's my freaking pie plate?

For real. People love these cookies but full disclosure: the small littles not as much. Their little mouths don't yet appreciate the cranberries and pistachios as much as some folk. When we taste tested these cookies with the littles, the loved the cookie and they loved the white chocolate chip. A few(not all) picked out the cranberries and the $20 a pound pistachios. Needless to say, a batch of plan chocolate chip cookies always wins with the small people crowd.

If you are on dessert duty this Thanksgiving, I recommend making cookies.

So simple and so elegant. This combonation is the perfect balance of the sweet white chocolate, the tart cranberries, and the crunchy yum of the pistachio.

I don't own a stand mixer… I know, it's really sad, but I do have several littles who have lots of energy and are easily swayed to mix mix mix…Just give them the spoon and tell them they can lick it  clean when they are done….. And so goes the sugar, butter, and vanilla..creamed together by the arms of babes. Makes the cookies taste better.

In goes the dry…These ladies knows how to stir!This guy got lucky. He got to stir in the goodies. I gave him his own bowl of chocolate for his skills. It's important to pay the help.

So there you have it, a lovely cookie to share.

White Chocolate Chip Cran-Pistachio Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup pistachios

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown and white sugar. Once light and fluffy, mix in both eggs and vanilla.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet.   Add in the cranberries, pistachios and white chocolate chips. Mix until combined. refrigerate dough for 10-15 minutes before baking..

Drop dough on non greases cookie sheet. Place sheet on middle rack and cook for 9-12 minutes or until a slight golden brown.

Note: dough can be made up to a week in advanced and refrigerated.

Should make about 3 dozen… It really depends on the size you want.