Cranberries

The inspiration for these little seasonal treats came from a post on an awesome blog, Tastes of Lizzy T’s. One night I realized I was supposed to bring some cookies to an event early the next day. It was late and all I had in the house that seemed interesting was a can of pumpkin and white chocolate chips. I Googled the ingredients and was led to the above blog post. What a stroke of good luck! The cookies were delicious, but I couldn’t help but think how great they would be as whoopie pies – especially studded with dried cranberries and filled with cream cheese icing. I omitted the white chocolate chips and tried my idea out. Roy and Allison both agreed the resulting whoopie pies were yummy! Let me know how your family likes them – I’d love to hear all about it.

Ingredients for about 1 1/2 dozen Pumpkin Cranberry Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting Filling

For the cookie tops and bottoms:

1 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dried cranberries

For the Cream Cheese Frosting Filling

1/4 cup butter

1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, Beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Mix in the pumpkin puree. Add the spices. Then add the flour, baking soda, and salt and combine well.

Stir in the dried cranberries so they are distributed evenly throughout the dough.

Line a baking sheep with parchment paper or foil. (I used the inside of a half pint mason jar lid as a guide to draw circles on the parchment paper.) Using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, drop balls of dough on the on the baking sheet. Then, with the back of a spoon or a knife, flatten and spread the dough out to make circles. (I used the circles I had drawn as a guide.) Bake about 14 minutes or until cookies have firmed up and are starting to brown. Ovens vary, so keep an eye on them. After removing them from the oven, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to completely cool.

While they are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting filling.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy.

To assemble each whoopie pie, spread about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese frosting on the flat side of cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down on the filling, on top.

Being from the Midwest, I’ve only gotten the chance to eat at a True Food Kitchen twice. The southwestern area restaurant chain was started by Dr. Andrew Weil, who thought the super healthy food he cooked at home was tasty enough that others would love it too. He was right because anyone I’ve ever talked to that has visited one of his restaurants has raved about it. Since my post on a copy cat version of True Food Kitchen’s Inside Out Quinoa Burger is the most visited post on this blog, I decided it was time to share my “Almost” Autumn Ingredient Salad. The real one includes dried mulberries and dried pomegranate seeds, but they are pricey and hard to find. I just used dried cranberries and they make a good substitute. At any rate, this salad is a great side dish and the dressing works well any kind of veggie or salad.

Ingredients for the Salad and Dressing

1 medium butternut squash

1 medium head cauliflower

1 pound Brussels sprouts

1 (15 oz.) can white beans such as Great Northern or Cannelloni

2 tablespoons olive oil (For roasting veggies)

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar

2 tablespoons sliced green onions

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil. Cut off the cap and base of the squash, cut it lengthwise down the middle, and scoop out the seeds. Remove the skin by using a vegetable peeler. Lay both pieces of the squash on a cutting board and cut each in half, separating the neck from the rounded bottom. Then cut each of the four large pieces into two inch wide strips. Finally, cut each strip into squares. Spread the pieces on one of the baking sheets. Wash the cauliflower, cut into florets, and put them on one side of the second baking sheet. Wash the Brussels Sprouts, cut off the tough woody part of the base, and if they are large, cut them in half down the middle. Place them next to the cauliflower on the baking sheet. Drizzle the vegetables on both baking sheets with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss them around to make sure they are evenly coated and season with salt & pepper. Put both baking sheets in the oven for about an hour or until the vegetables pierce easily with a fork and are slightly browned.

Meanwhile whisk together the 1/2 cup of olive oil, vinegar, green onions, dried cranberries, horseradish, salt, red pepper flakes. Set aside. Rinse, drain, and put the beans in a microwave safe bowl.

When the vegetables are done, take them out of the oven. Warm up the beans for about a minute in the microwave. Then, place the beans, squash, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and gently toss.