Cranberry Orange Pinwheel Cookies

Approx. 3 dozen cookies

Recipe from Pillsbury Cookies, Brownies and Bars

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

It’s that time of year when we make cookies for our friends, family, and, of course, Santa. This is a refrigerator cookie dough recipe, which means these cookies can be baked up to several days after preparing and shaping the dough.  The cookie part is sweet, but the filling is tart. Our friend, Mac, especially loved these “swirly cookies.”  Santa will love them too.

Filling

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

¼ cup whole berry cranberry sauce (Mix the leftover cranberry sauce with some Greek yogurt for a nice snack.)

¼ cup orange marmalade

Cookie Dough

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon allspice

In a small saucepan, combine all the filling ingredients.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, butter and egg until light and fluffy.  Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level off.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, orange peel, salt and allspice; mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap; chill for at least 1 hour for easier handling.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 16 x 8 inch rectangle.  Spoon and spread the cooled filling evenly over the dough to within ½ inch of the edges.  Starting with the 16-inch side, roll up jellyroll fashion (This is where a bench scraper comes in handy); cut in half to form two 8-inch rolls.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or waxed paper freeze at least 2 hours.

The cookie dough is ready to roll into a pinwheel.

Heat oven to 375 F.  Using a sharp knife, cut dough into ½ inch thick slices.  Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.  (I skipped the greasing and used parchment paper.)  Bake at 375 F for 9 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

Nutritional Information per Serving:

Serving Size = 1 cookie

80 Calories; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fat; 60 milligrams sodium; 1 gram protein

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Cranberry Sauce

Recipe from  Bon Appétit  | November 1998


I served this dish for Linda’s birthday dinner along side mashed potatoes, a Roasted Pear Salad and a Carrot Cauliflower Medley and for dessert, Maple Pumpkin Custards. 

The sauce is delicious with just a hint of sweetness that goes perfectly with the pork.

Reviewers from Epicurious also made this substituting the cranberry sauce with cherry preserves.  The husbands and wives at the table loved this and deemed it blog worthy. I think next time I make the sauce, I'll serve it with roasted chicken breasts.  Get your ingredients at Lost River Market & Deli, our community-owned grocery store.

 

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 (16 oz.) pork tenderloin (bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts would make a good substitute)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup chopped onion or sliced shallots

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 Tablespoon dried

1 cup chicken broth

2/3  cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce

2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450°F. Melt 1/2 of the butter in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Sear pork on all sides, about 2 minutes. Place the skillet with pork in oven. Roast pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 155°F (160° F if using chicken), about 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion (or shallots) and rosemary. Sauté until onion (or shallots) softens, about 3 minutes. Add broth, cranberry sauce and vinegar and whisk until cranberry sauce melts, about 2 minutes.

Transfer pork to work surface. Scrape any juices from large skillet into cranberry mixture. Boil until sauce has reduced enough to coat spoon thickly, about 6 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Slice pork and serve with sauce.