Cranberry-Walnut Corn Muffins

Let’s talk (read: complain) about college food for a second. I realize we are pretty spoiled when it comes to food at Harvard; we have 13 dining halls for only 6000 people, all of which serve endless buffets three times a day, and they have things like fried plantains and mussels and clams (I’ve heard that they used to do lobsters too, before budget cuts. Tragic.) But it’s still just dining hall food: everything is edible, but nothing is amazing. The spaghetti is always undercooked or overcooked, nothing is seasoned enough, and the salad bar never seems to have feta when I want it.

I know, life is hard.

There are, however, a few highlights among the d-hall foods. The waffles, for instance:

And yes, that is the Harvard Veritas logo stamped into my waffle. Veritas + Waffle = Veritaffle. It’s so pretentious that it’s kind of endearing.

I also really like the muffins they serve in the mornings.  They’re warm and soft, and make getting out of bed at the butt crack of dawn (as in, 10 a.m.), that much more bearable. My favorites are the corn muffins; they’re slightly too sweet, but they have that earthy cornmeal flavor and texture while still being light and fluffy. Plus I’m from Indiana, so it’s kind of a requirement that I love corn. Hoosier pride.

These cranberry walnut muffins are light and soft, and have just the right amount of sweetness and hard-to-describe corn flavor.  This recipe is also super easy, and can be made in about 30 minutes flat, from prepping to clean up.

And now, I’m off to go stuff myself with Italian food before I have to

suffer through

enjoy school food again.

Love,

Caroline

Click here for the printable recipe.

Cranberry Walnut Corn Muffins

Yields: 12 Muffins

Adapted from

The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1 cup cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ cup buttermilk (or 1 ½ cup milk mixed with 1 tablespoon white vinegar)

1 egg

¼ cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup dried cranberries

½ cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Directions

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Set the mixture aside.
6. In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, and baking soda.
8. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until just combined. Stir in the butter, honey, and vanilla extract.
10. Fold in the cranberries and pecans.
12. Pour batter into a greased muffin pan, and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
14. Let cool until just warm, and serve.

Cranberry Orange Cookies

These cookies are as delicious as they are beautiful. So yummy; I could eat these all day. The recipe is a little more complex than what we usually do, but the results are worth it. I'd imagine these cookies would be perfect for holidays, but why not also just for fun?

Whether you use fresh cranberries or dried is up to you, but I can personally vouch for the dried cranberries for lending a soft, chewy texture. Unfortunately, we placed the cookies too close together, so they expanded into each other while baking. Regardless, these cookies tasted absolutely amazing.

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Scroll down for "Print-friendly" button

Inspired by Roy Chen

Yields: 48 cookies

Time: approximately 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

2 tablespoons orange juice (give or take)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth.

3. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in 1 teaspoon orange zest and 2 tablespoons (give or take) orange juice.

4. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries (and walnuts, if desired) until evenly distributed. Depending on how much you like cranberries, feel free to add more or less than what the recipe calls for. For us, 2 cups worked out fine.

5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.

6. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

7. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

Meet Roy, the inspiration of this post.

Bon apetit!

Caroline & Monica

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Spring + sunshine + pretty flowers + yummy scones = happyhappyhappy

Okay. Check the ingredients list, and get whatever you need. You WILL want to make these. Hard, sweet glaze on the outside, soft and biscuit-y on the inside, scones make the perfect breakfast/snack food. They're also gratifyingly easy to make, especially after trying to make my own bread for the first time (more about that in an upcoming post.)

Also, we're on Facebook! Check out our new Pass the Cocoa Facebook page, where we post reaction shots of our taste-testers, take recipe requests, post food photos, and more. Visit us here:

http://www.facebook.com/passthecocoa

. And don't forget to like the page!

Got your ingredients? Let's go!

I forgot to take process shots today, so you'll need to use your powers of imagination. Believe me, I'm proud of the fact that I even remembered to snap a photo  before I stuffed it into my mouth.

Mix together your dry ingredients, add the butter, then use your hands to incorporate your butter. This photo was from the biscuit post, but the process is similar. You could use a pastry cutter or a fork to do this, but hands are just so much faster.

Add the wet ingredients (buttermilk and egg beaten together.) DON'T OVER-MIX. As I've said before, you will want to cry if you do.

Shape the dough into a 6-inch circle, and cut it into 8 wedges, like a pizza.

Bake, cool, and brush on the glaze. The glaze is powdered sugar and a little bit of water (you could use juice from an orange instead) and it is NOT optional. The glaze helps seal in moisture and keeps the scones tasting fresh and soft. Liberally apply it. You won't be sorry, trust me.

Click here for the printable recipe.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Yields: 8 scones

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, cold, cubed

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 egg

5 tablespoons buttermilk (you can substitute this for 5 tablespoons whole milk mixed with 1 teaspoon lemon juice)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

For the Glaze:

¾ to 1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons water (approximately)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.

2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

3. Add the butter. Use your hands (or a pastry cutter) to mix it into the flour. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.

4. Add the cranberries and orange zest.

5. Beat together the egg and buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. DO NOT OVER-MIX.

6. Shape the dough into a 6-inch circle. Cut it into 8 wedges, like you would a pizza.

7. Place on baking sheet and bake 12-14 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool.

8. Make the glaze. Mix water with the powdered sugar. The glaze should be smooth, but not too runny.

9. Brush the bottom and sides of the scones with glaze. Let dry. Then, glaze the tops.

Enjoy them as much as we did!

-Monica and Caroline