White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Bark

I need you guys to file this little gem away so you'll have it to make in a few weeks when your holiday baking starts because you're going to need it. I made this a few weeks back and I loved it. I thought...oh man....for a quick and easy candy, this stuff is incredible. Then I wondered why it sat on my counter, not being eaten, for several days. Usually IT Guy is all over anything sweet but he wasn't touching this. My first thought was that he didn't like it or he had gone temporarily insane or something because he was walking by this stuff like it was invisible. Turns out the joke was on me. Apparently, I hadn't given him the "all clear" sign that he was free to eat it. When I asked why he wasn't eating it, he told me he didn't want to "get in trouble" for eating it and was waiting for me to take pictures. So after our little misunderstanding was cleared up and he was able to eat it....boy did he eat it. I think it was gone in less than two days. He loved it! Really...it's SO easy but SO good. It's very pretty and would look so nice tucked into little cellophane bags to giveaway. Love, love, love simple, yummy and pretty treats!

White Chocolate 
Cranberry Pistachio Bark



1 12-ounce bag white chocolate chips
1 cup Craisins or dried cranberries
1 cup pistachios ~ shelled and chopped

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips for 1 - 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.

Spread a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper onto your work surface.

Pour melted chocolate onto the paper and spread to desired thickness. (We like ours on the thin side.)

Immediately sprinkle the Craisins and pistachios onto the chocolate, pressing down to make sure they are embedded into the chocolate.

Allow to harden for an hour or so then break into chunks.  

 

The line-up for this quick and easy treat!

 

Melt the chocolate.

 

Spread out to desired thickness.

 

Add the Craisins and pistachios 

then allow to harden.

 

Break into chunks and eat!

Cranberry Blissful Bars

Raise your hand if you've been to Starbucks and had their Cranberry Bliss Bar. Raise your hand if you LOOOOVE it. (I know you can't see me, but I'm raising BOTH of my hands.) Here's a version that will knock your socks off and make you never want to go to " * $" again and spend big money for the same thing you can make at home. You'll be the envy of all your friends...unless they are fans of SFFS too, and see this post and make it themselves. Whatever....just make it! You'll be SO glad you did!!

Cranberry Blissful Bars



Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup Craisins
6 ounces white chocolate chips

Cream butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger and salt. Beat well. Gradually mix in flour until smooth. Mix ¾ cup Craisins and white chocolate chips into the batter by hand. Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Spread batter evenly across pan and bake for 35 – 40 minutes until light brown on the edges. Cool.

Let's get going!

Combine the butter and brown sugar.

Then add the eggs, vanilla, ginger and salt.

Mix in the flour.

Add the Craisins and white chocolate chips.

Spread it in the pan...

..and bake it up!

Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup Craisins

Make the easy-peasy frosting.

See how easy?

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth. Spread over cooled cake. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup Craisins over the frosted cake.

Drizzle Icing

½ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons shortening

Mix powdered sugar, milk and shortening until smooth. Drizzle over frosted cake.

Make the drizzle...

I only had butter flavored Crisco but 

use the regular white stuff if you have it.

Cut cake into 8 rectangular slices then slice each one diagonally to make 16 bars.

And drizzle over the frosted cake.

 Cut it up and enjoy!

This banana bread is so good. I love to throw stuff into sweet bread recipes. This is an easy bread to mix up and can be made into muffins as well. It's great for a quick "out-the-door" breakfast or for an afternoon snack.

Sunny Banana Bread

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)

1 cup Craisins

1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds

Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy.

Add eggs and beat well.

Add dry ingredients until just blended.

Stir in mashed banana.

Stir in Craisins and sunflower seeds.

Pour into well greased loaf pan and bake for 45 – 50 minutes at 350 degrees until done. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool completely.

Let's go!

Combine the sugar and shortening. 

Then add the eggs and beat well.

Add the dry ingredients.

Then the mashed bananas.

Stir in the sunflower seeds and the Craisins.

Plop into a prepared loaf pan. 

I like to put a piece of parchment paper 

in the bottom for easier removal. 

Bake it up!

Allow it to cool in the pan for a few

minutes then turn out of the pan to cool completely.

When we lived in California, we lived right down the street from a Trader Joe's. LOVE that store! One of the things they sold there that I really enjoyed was a spinach salad. It had the raspberry dressing...but it also had feta cheese, dried cranberries and candied pecans. Oh. So. Good. Once in a while, a friend and I would go there and pick ourselves up a salad, pretend it didn't have an calories whatsoever and just enjoy it. Yum. Since moving to the south, we DO have Trader Joe's but the stores here don't carry the same salad. Must be a regional thing or something. Well..never fear! I made my own version of their salad and I have to say...I'm pretty impressed with myself. If you're into froo-froo salads like this...you will love it! So good. I told IT Guy...psshhhh....TJ's aint got nuthin' on me!

Spinach Salad 

with Raspberry Dressing 

(and other yummy stuff)

1 bag Spinach
1 4-ounce container crumbled Feta cheese
1 6-ounce bag Craisins
Candied Pecans ~ recipe follows (or buy ready made)
Raspberry Dressing ~ recipe follows (or buy ready made)

Pile it on your plate and eat!!

 
Here are all the salad fixin's.

Raspberry Dressing

1 6-ounce package fresh raspberries
5 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
Cracked black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil

In a blender, place the raspberries, Balsamic vinegar, mustard, honey and black pepper.

Blend until well combined then while blender is running, drizzle in the olive oil.

Makes about 2 cups of dressing. Store in the fridge in a jar with a well fitting lid. Shake before using.

 
The ingredients for the dressing.


 
Put everything in the blender EXCEPT the olive oil.


 
After everything's blended, drizzle in the 
olive oil while the blender's running.


 
Here you go!

Candied Pecans

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pecans - halves or very rough chopped
1 tablespoon butter

Cover a small cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place sugar in a small skillet and cook over medium heat until sugar begins to melt and turns golden and caramel-y….stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter and stir, then dump in the pecans, stirring quickly. 

Immediately turn pecans onto parchment paper. Separate with two forks and allow to cool. The pecans can be broken into smaller pieces once they are completely cooled.

 
For the candied pecans.


 
Heat the sugar over medium heat in a medium sized skillet.


 
As the sugar heats, it will start to melt. 
First it will get kind of lumpy. See?


 
And lumpier. Don't panic! It WILL melt. 
Just keep stirring so it doesn't burn. Yuck.


 
See how melt-y it is? 
Remove the pan from the heat.


 
Stir in the butter and let that melt.


 
Then stir in the pecans.


 
Working quickly, spread the pecans 
out onto some parchment paper. 
When they are completely cooled, 
you can break them into smaller pieces.

I love nougat candy. Not plain nougat, though. I like mine kicked up with stuff. My favorite candy in the whole world is See's Rum Nougat. I LOVE THEM!! I haven't had one in a long, long time because there are no See's stores here in SC except during the holiday season at the mall. When I go to CA or AZ to visit friends and family, I always stop and load up. Anyway...I decided to make my own nougat candy and it turned out pretty good, I have to say. I added pecans and dried cranberries to it so it wouldn't be boring. I enjoy making candy anytime of year...not just the holidays, but I'll be sure and return to this recipe when Christmas rolls around! If you enjoy a honey based candy, then this is really great. I have another nougat candy recipe that I'm going to make at some point that's more chewy than this one, so stay tuned!

Honey Nougat Candy



3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup hot water
2/3  cup honey
1 egg white, beaten until stiff peaks form
1 cups rough chopped pecans
½ cup Craisins

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar, water and honey until mixture reaches 270 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat. Add the beaten egg white and whisk until combined. Add nuts and Craisins and beat mixture until it thickens.

Pour mixture into a greased 8x11 inch pan.

Allow to cool and cut into squares.

Here's the ingredients.

Combine the water, sugar and honey in a saucepan.

Boil until the mixture reaches 270 

degrees on a candy thermometer.

Whisk in the beaten egg whites.

Then stir in the nuts and Craisins.

Pour into a greased dish. Let it set up...

..then cut and eat!