Walnut Cranberry Tart for the Festive Season

Welcome December! We had lots of rain last night and this morning!! With the prolonged drought we have been in here in California, this is cause for celebration. Of course the coming holidays are also cause for joy...and lots of baking and making. Here is the first recipe I recommend to you, dear reader, for you holiday baking. It's a keeper. Do read through the full post before making it...there are tips for you.

I bought a bag of fresh cranberries sometime in early November. I do this almost every year because I know that before they get too old I'll come across a recipe or recipe idea where you need fresh cranberries...and there they will be in the bottom crisper drawer in the fridge.

That happened last week. There was no time to make the tart for Thanksgiving, but that weekend I had the time, so I made this delicious tart which combines walnuts, fresh cranberries, orange, and some brandy.

Instead of making a tart dough, I just used a refrigerated, rolled out pie dough circle. Once I fit it into my 9" tart base and pushed the dough up the sides, there was just enough to fold the rest of the dough down along the sides and push it into the sides...so I had double thick sides but a single thickness on the bottom. Of course a home made pie dough is delicious, so if you prefer to do that, the recipe is below the recipe for the tart.

Because I didn't have the size tart pan called for in the recipe (10-inch is called for but I had a 9-inch one), I knew that there would be extra filling. My solution was to let the fruit and nuts settle a bit after I mixed them into the filling, and then I poured out about a third of the filling into a spare bowl. I poured the rest into the tart shell and then topped it up with the filling in the spare bowl. It worked just fine, but I had leftover filling...without many bits of cranberry or nuts. My solution was to spray a pie dish with baking spray and then I added about a half cup of walnuts to the spare bowl and the filling still left in it. That mixture went into the prepared pie dish and it was baked at the same temperature...but for only about 15-20 minutes until the mixture was set. Sweetie had some after it cooled and he liked the mostly nuts version...without any crust!...better than the tart. I liked the tart better. I think that the cranberry added a freshness that the 'mainly nuts' filling didn't have. Still, if you would like to put in more walnuts and fewer cranberries (or none), feel free. I think you'll find that the orange-brandy-brown sugar filling works well with both.

Bakers tip: Zest the orange before you juice it.

Cranberry Walnut Tart

by Michele Anna Jordan, as published in the Nov. 23,2022 Press Democrat newspaper
Makes 6-8 servings

Pastry dough (recipe follows) (or do as I did and use ready made pie dough circles)

3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup agave nectar or maple syrup (I used 1/2 cup pure maple syrup and 1/2 cup dark brown Karo syrup)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon brandy
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh cranberries, minced
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

First, make the pastry dough and chill it according to the instructions in the recipe.  Then, on a well-floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Carefully lift the dough and put it into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing it gentle at the inner edge and crimping it all around. Cover and refrigerate until ready to fill. (Alternately, use a refrigerated pre-rolled pie dough round, folding the extra dough down the inside circumference and pressing gently into the indentations to make a double sided crust. Chill as described above.) 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the eggs into a medium bowl and whisk until they are thick and frothy, about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and agave nectar or maple syrup and stir well. Add the melted butter, vanilla, brandy, orange juice, orange zest, and salt. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts, pour the mixture into the tart shell and set on a baking sheet. Set the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake until the edges of the crust are golden brown and the filling is set, about 40 minutes. (Check at about 20 minutes and thereafter; if the top is getting too brown, tent loosely with foil.)

Remove from the oven and let rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour before cutting into wedges and serving.

Pastry Dough for Pies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 4 pieces , or 4 ounces of lard, chilled
3-4 tablespoons ice water

Combine the flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl. With your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter or lard until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal; work very quickly so that the mixture doesn't get too warm.

Make a well in the center and pour in 3 tablespoons of water. Use your fingers to mix the dough together quickly; add more water if needed for the dough to come together.

Press the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes and as long as 2 hours.

My, My... Pumpkin Pie

Never did make an apple pie when the Gravensteins were ready. The days just swirl by like the bright leaves falling from the trees. Right now I'm getting ready for big doings...fun with family this week plus getting ready for clinic at work. It is unlikely that I'll find time to make a pie before Thanksgiving, and a dear friend is doing dessert, so no pie baking for me then, either. Instead, I made a pie today and rewarded Sweetie and Straight Shooter for replacing the tarp on the pump house roof, plus myself for all of the chores associated with becoming a temporary B&B.

Sparkle Plenty gifted me with a couple of lovely sugar pies, so pumpkin pie was the obvious choice, especially since I cooked the pumpkin flesh in the oven Friday.

A spin in the food processor turned it into a lovely golden puree. Mom's recipe for pie crust was tweaked just a bit by the substitution of whole wheat pastry flour for some of the regular flour. I used 2% evaporated milk and eggs, brown sugar and spices for the filling, along with that glorious fresh pumpkin.

The results were a delight. The filling was lighter in texture than it is when I use canned pumpkin and the pumpkin flavor was actually more subtle, so the spices were more forward. We all liked it better than the standard filling and the crust was just great!

If you are going to make this, the only tip I have is to allow enough time and to handle all of the crust ingredients lightly. It also helps to have the crust ingredients no warmer than room temp and colder is actually better. I keep my whole wheat flour in the fridge, so that cooled down the mixture nicely.

Hope you are enjoying the fall and looking forward to some fun, too, this week.

Fresh Sugar Pumpkin Pie with Whole Wheaten Crust

1 sugar pumpkin
2 large eggs
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
10 oz. evaporated milk or light cream
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell (recipe below)

Pierce pumpkin with a sharp knife in a couple of places, then place on a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree F. oven for about ½ hour to 45 minutes, or until the flesh is tender when pierced, although the shell of the pumpkin will be hard. Remove from oven and set aside to cool until cool enough to handle.

Using a sharp chef’s knife or cleaver, cut the pumpkin open and scoop away the seeds and stringy parts.

Discard seeds or use for another purpose. Discard stringy parts. Scoop the pumpkin flesh out of the shell and set aside to cool to room temperature. This can be done a day or two in advance of baking the pie. Put the pumpkin flesh in a cover container and refrigerate. Return to room temperature.

Prepare the pie shell as described below, or use a pre-made pie shell if desired.

In a mixing bowl beat the eggs slightly, then add the brown sugar and beat to combine. Add the salt and spices and combine well.

Take the pumpkin flesh and put into the bowl of a food processor. Process with the steel blade until a smooth puree develops. Measure out two cups. Reserve the rest for another use.

Add the prepared pumpkin puree to the egg mixture and combine then slowly add the evaporated milk or light cream. When blended, pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell (which has been placed on a baking sheet), making sure to leave at least ¼ inch of the sides unfilled to allow for expansion during baking. If you have remaining filling, you can bake it in a buttered ramekin or custard cup as a treat for the cook!

Place the cookie sheet with pie in a preheated 425 degree F. oven fore 15 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue baking for another 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack at least 45 minutes, up to 2 hours. Serve at once or refrigerate. Not a good idea to freeze this pie.

Whole Wheaten Pie Crust
based on Mom’s pie crust in Family Food
makes a 2 crust pie or two single crust pies…you only need one crust for the pie above

1 ¼ cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup shortening
about 1 cup ice water, measured by tablespoons

Sift the flours and salt into a bowl. (If the wheat flour particles from the whole wheat flour won’t go through the sifter, dump them on top of the sifted flours and whisk the mixture with a wire whisk to combine all.)With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut shortening into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the water, a tablespoon at a time, over the mixture, stirring gently with a fork until all flour is moistened (6-8 tablespoons usually). Press dough gently into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill before rolling out. (I cut the dough in half and wrapped into two discs to chill.)

If chilled as one ball, divide dough into two pieces. Roll out each piece until it is slightly larger than the pie tin. Fit into the pie tin and flute the edges for a pie shell. Makes one 2-crust pie or 2 9” pie shells.

More Peaches...With Blueberries

I confess. These cute little tartlettes were made weeks ago when blueberries were at the peak of ripeness and peaches were just starting to ripen. Life got in the way of sharing the recipe with you, but in many places there are still peaches and blueberries to be found and baked with!

For the crust, use your favorite pie crust recipe. You can use the ready make kind (I'm partial to the Pillsbury kind, especially now that they come in a roll instead of folded) or make the dough yourself. I have included my Mom's recipe for 2 Crust Pie Pastry if you'd like to try making your own.

My Dad loved pies above all other desserts. One of the first things I learned to make from scratch was a good pie crust. Pie pastry is made with very simple ingredients...flour, salt, water and shortening. The technique is the key to flaky pie crusts. My Mom had me read the how to section in the Fannie Farmer cookbook which explained not only what to do but why.

Key points include having all ingredients cold, using a light hand in cutting the fat into the flour, and also to use ice water, not just cold water, and to sprinkle the ice water into the flour mixture a tablespoon at a time (using a fork) so that you gradually moistened the dough. As each portion is dampened with the ice water, you push it aside. Even so over mixing is discouraged, so you can imagine how daunting the prospect was for beginning baker! The good news is that once you figure out just how to do it and how much ice water the flour needs to make a flaky dough, you don't forget how to do it. Maybe one day the Daring Bakers will have a challenge that includes making pie dough by hand.

These little tarts taste great with either peaches or nectarines. You could substitute blackberries for the blueberries, too. The crystal sugar sprinkled on the top of the pastry not only looks pretty, but adds a textural contrast that is a perfect complement to the soft, juice baked fruit.

2 Crust Pie Pastry
(Use half the amounts for one crust, or make two and save the second crust dough for your next single crust pie)

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
ice water - have ½ cup or more ready
¾ cup shortening

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut shortening into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle water, a tablespoon at a time, over mixture, stirring gently with a fork until all flour is moistened (usually 6 – 8 tablespoons). Press dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill before rolling out. Divide dough into two pieces. (Some like to divide the dough and then wrap each in plastic wrap, flattening into discs before chilling.)

Roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface until it is slightly larger than the pie tin.
Makes 1 2-crust pie or 2 pie shells.

Peach Blueberry Tarlettes

1 recipe for 2-Crust Pie Pastry
5 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 pint fresh blueberries, wash, picked over and drained
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Optional:
2 tablespoons milk
2 - 3 tablespoons sanding sugar...larger crystal sugar if possible

Roll out the pastry and cut three discs from each crusts worth of pastry. I have a 5 inch in diameter cookie cutter ring, but you can also cut around a small plate's rim.
Place the 6 discs on a parchment or silicon baking mat lined baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough and use for another purpose. (We used to roll out again, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, then cut into fingers and bake along with the pie, removing as soon as they were browned around the edges. Eating them made it easier to wait until after dinner for the pie.)

In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, blueberries, flour, sugar, and nutmeg. Spoon the filling into the center of each disc, making sure to leave an inch of dough uncovered all around the edge of each disc. Divide the filling among the discs as evenly as possible.

Have a small bowl of water nearby. Using clean hands, pull the edges of the pastry, on each disc in turn, toward the center, pleating as needed and moistening the dough surface as needed to have the pleats stick together.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the milk on the top of each pastry, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. (This step is optional, but makes a nice textural contrast and is pretty. I didn't have any sugar when I did these tartlettes, but I have used it in the past and recommend it.)

Bake tartlettes in preheated 400 degree F. oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pastry is browned and flaky.

Serve warm or cooled. Nice with whipped cream or ice cream garnish.