Cranberry Curd Almond Tart

This post is sponsored by Cocavo - the healthiest coconut and avocado cooking oil blend. All opinions are my own.

And just like that, we are through with Thanksgiving and onto the last month of the year. Happy December!! November was the busiest month for me yet - traveling almost every week, juggling school and my biggest workload of freelance projects to date, and then hosting Thanksgiving on top of it. I’m looking forward to having a slower Christmas season!

The flavors of Christmas are some of my favorites. Bring on all the peppermint, eggnog, gingerbread, and cranberries! While I didn’t truly love the little red berries until about a year ago, now I am just obsessed with them and look forward to them this time of year. I love their tart flavor, especially when paired with something sweet.

Cooking them down in sugar and a liquid (here, orange juice) turns them soft and slightly sweet. I transformed them into a curd here and baked it just until set in an almond crusted tart. Instead of using butter to make my curd, I subbed Cocavo healthy coconut oil instead. After doing some research, I learned you can sub coconut oil for butter 1 to 1, because of its saturated fat content.  The result is a creamy, smooth, delectable curd that is the most festive red color. I liked to serve this with fresh whipped cream and sugared cranberries as a garnish! What are you planning to bake up this holiday season? Now is the best time of year to experiment!

You can find Cocavo at Walmart's nationwide, and they have lots of flavors to choose from, including Original, Chili and Lime, and Turmeric and Lemon. Click here to view more products.

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Cranberry Curd Almond Tart

Ingredients

• 12 oz fresh cranberries

• Peel and juice of 1 large orange

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup Cocavo coconut oil

• 2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks

• 2 cups almond flour

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 3 tbl maple syrup

• 1/4 cup Cocavo coconut oil, melted

• Whipped cream for serving

Directions

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberries, orange juice, peel, and sugar. Cook for 10 minutes, or until cranberries have burst and softened. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pushing the cranberries against the sieve to squeeze out as much cranberry liquid as possible. Stir in the coconut oil and whisk until combined.

Whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl and then slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot cranberry mixture to temper the eggs. Stir in another 1/4 cup of cranberry liquid, and then again two more times until you’ve mixed in one cup of the warm liquid. Whisk egg mixture back into the cranberry mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

Wipe out the saucepan (if needed) and pour cranberry mixture back in. Heat over low heat for 10 minutes until sauce is just bubbling and thickened. Turn off heat and let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, salt, maple syrup, and melted coconut oil. Press into a tart pan, pushing up against the sides and evenly pressing it down as much as possible.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until slightly browned and dry to the touch. Set aside to cool completely.

Once tart crust is cool, pour in the cranberry curd. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, just to set the curd.

Cool on a rack. Serve with whipped cream and sugared cranberries.

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Everything Pretzels with Honey Mustard Dip

Have you ever been at the mall and are doing your best to get in and out as quickly as possible (crowds and malls are not my favorite) and then you walk by an auntie ann’s and almost die from excitement (or the delicious aroma)? Just me? Cool. Well I’m so excited to share this recipe with you today!! In the past year or so I have become a huge fan of soft baked pretzels. And especially now that Baby H is on her way, I am always wanting carbs. :) Although, let’s be honest, I was already that way before!

I’m so excited to share with you how to make pretzels from scratch at home and with your own honey mustard dipping sauce (so good!) to serve with it. I love my mall pretzels, but these are SO much better. Seriously, once you try a homemade pretzel you will scoff when you see the pretzel stand at the mall, and keep on walking by. I am doing you a favor!

Ok, let’s talk about this honey mustard dipping sauce. I want to use this on everything. It is made with Maille Dijon Originale mustard and is simply divine! I have been a huge fan of their mustard for awhile and was so excited to be able to work with them.

These everything pretzels with honey mustard dip will be a hit at your next holiday party or even as an appetizer for Thanksgiving. Everyone will be so impressed you made pretzels from scratch, and you get to avoid the mall crowds and eat your pretzels in peace.

Pretzels may seem intimidating to make but they actually are pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. I have some tutorials on my instagram page in my stories if you want a step by step on how to shape them!

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Everything Pretzels with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

makes 8 pretzels

Ingredients

• 2 tbl Maille Dijon Originale mustard

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 tbl honey

• Juice of half a lemon

• 1 1/2 cups warm water

• 2 tbl brown sugar

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 active dry yeast packet

• 4 1/2 cups flour

• 2 oz butter, melted

• 1/4 cup baking soda

• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

• Everything bagel seasoning (or just coarse salt!)

Directions

To make the honey mustard dipping sauce: Whisk together dijon mustard, mayonnaise, honey, and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the pretzels: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough attachment, Combine warm water, brown sugar, and salt. Sprinkle yeast on top, and let sit for 5 - 10 minutes or until foamy.

Turn mixer on to low speed and add in the flour and melted butter. Stir on low until combined, and then increase speed to medium/medium-high for 4 - 5 minutes until dough pulls together into a ball and is smooth.

Dump dough out and shape into a ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and place dough inside. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and sit on counter for 50 min - 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Dump dough out onto a clean surface. Divide into 8 equal portions. Using your hands, roll a portion of the dough into a 20 inch rope. Form a “U”-shape with the dough rope. Bring the ends towards the middle and twist. Lightly press ends into the bottom, to form a pretzel. Set pretzel on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat with remaining dough.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Sprinkle in the baking soda.

Drop the pretzels into the boiling water, two at a time, for 30 seconds, making sure to dunk pretzels in the water a couple of times. Set aside on the second baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining pretzels.

Brush the egg wash on top of each pretzel. Sprinkle generously with everything bagel seasoning (or course salt if not using). Bake in the preheated oven for 12 - 14 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Serve with honey mustard dipping sauce!

These taste best the day off. You can also reheat them slightly by popping them in the microwave for 15 seconds.

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This post is sponsored by Maille. All opinions are my own.

Ginger Peach Lattice Pie

Today is the first official day of summer! I don't know where you live, but here in central Texas it has already felt like summer for about a month now. While I do get tired of the heat come August, I honestly love summer and all the things around it: sunshine, swimming, being outside, ice cream, and all the fresh produce in season (tomatoes, peaches, and corn - to name a few of my favorites!). I guess I'm also kind of like a lizard too because my body and skin were made for the sun. 

There is something rustic and old fashioned about making a pie from scratch. I don't know why, but I often picture that scene in Tuck Everlasting, when Mae Tuck (Sissy Spacek) is making a cherry pie from scratch, and pitting the cherries one by one, talking about how they embrace slow living. I always liked that scene. If you haven't seen that movie, you should! It's cute.

Another reason I probably enjoy making pies is because it's like playing with play dough. You get to use your hands, shape, roll, and cut out pieces from the pie dough. It's so much fun! I also love that making pies doesn't require any equipment - it's all hands on (although, I have recently started using my food processor to make my pie dough and it's a lot easier imo). Peach pie is a defining summer food here in Texas, as we have really, really good plump and sweet peaches. Peach season probably isn't for another month or so, but here is the recipe ready so when it does come, you can whip up your summer pie fast.

The addition of fresh ginger is something I grabbed from Alison Roman in Dining In. Ginger and peaches are the perfect match, as the spicy ginger offsets the sweetness of the peaches, which are enhanced even more with sugar and honey here. The ginger bakes out a lot and becomes really soft, so you won't even notice it's there! Of course, I served this with a scoop or two of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla, and I suggest you do the same, if you can swing it!

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Ginger Peach Pie

makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients

• 2 discs pie dough, I love making this recipe but with my food processor
• 5 cups sliced peaches, skin on (5-7 peaches)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbl corn starch
• 2 tbl lemon juice
• 1 heaping tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 egg, beaten
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out one of the pie dough discs and press into a 9-inch pie pan. 

In a large bowl, toss together the peaches, honey, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and ginger. Pour into the prepared pie pan.

Brush the egg wash on the edges of the bottom pie dough (this will make it easier for the top crust to stick to it).

Cut 2 inch strips out of the other pie disc, and arrange in a lattice pattern on top of the peaches. Here's a great tutorial on how to do a lattice pattern!

Press down the top dough onto the top of the egg washed bottom crust, and then trim the excess pie dough from the edges. Brush the top with the rest of the egg wash, and then sprinkle with turibinado sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 - 75 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Let cool for about 4 hours before slicing into and serving!

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