DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS by CoachBJ

January 4, 2019November 21, 2019

DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS by CoachBJ

Grab a bar for a whole food, plant-based snack. These delicious Date Walnut Cranberry Bars are filled with natural sweetener for a scrumptious healthy dessert. When you combine dates, dried cranberries and walnuts you get terrific flavors, a satisfying taste and plenty of nutritional value! Let’s get started.

Preparing the Dates:
Today we are using 10 ounces of pitted whole dates as the main sweetener for the DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS. To keep them fresh, I freeze a bag of pitted dates until I’m ready to use. They are easy to pull apart and thaw in a microwave in about 30 seconds.

CHOPPING DATES (10 ounces) to make DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS

Chop the thawed dates with a knife and when the knife becomes sticky just run it under cool water and continue chopping. The 10 ounces of chopped dates make about 2 cups.

CHOPPED DATES - 2 cups — CHOPPED DATES – 2 cups

DOUGH FOR DATES WALNUT BARS — DOUGH FOR DATES WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS

DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS RECIPE

Serves: 24 || Prep Time: 25 minutes || Cook Time: 25 minutes

10 ounces pitted dates or 2 cups chopped
3/4 cup water (to cover chopped dates to soften)
1 cup (5.45 ounces) white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (2.20 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup (3.30 ounces) oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon concentrate orange juice
3 tablespoons aquafaba (brine from chick peas)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
3/4 cup (3.00 ounces) chopped walnuts
1/2 cup (2.10 ounces) dried cranberries
Optional: If the dough is too stiff to spread, add additional water tablespoon by tablespoon
Optional: Use dried cherries in place of dried cranberries

Preparing the dates: Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Chop pitted dates and place in a small microwaveable bowl along with 3/4 cup water. Microwave the dates for 3-4 minutes or until they break down to your liking; stir and set aside.

Preparing the dough: In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. To the dates add vanilla, aquafaba, peanut butter and orange juice concentrate; mix until combined. Place wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mix until combined. At this time, if needed, add tablespoons of water. Combine walnuts and cranberries. Either (1) fold in walnut/cranberry mix or (2) place walnut/cranberry mix on top of dough and press into dough.

Baking the bars: Spoon and even out the dough in a non-stick 9 inch by 13 inch pan or line a bake ware pan with parchment paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool before cutting into 24 servings.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 119, Total Fat 4g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 73 mg, Total Carbohydrate 20g, Fiber 3g, Sugars 11g

DATE WALNUT BARS OUT OF THE OVEN — DATE WALNUT CRANBERRY BARS OUT OF THE OVEN

Enjoy!

January 10, 2018

Cornbread topped with Cranberries

I revised my basic cornbread recipe to accommodate my extra cranberries this winter. It’s been so much fun photographing cranberries…they are colorful and beautifully translucent. During those chilly days it was uplifting to spend time in my studio photographing these lovely fruit dishes. The warm sun coming through the windows was marvelous! One bonus was enjoying the cornbread after the photo shoot.

CORNBREAD TOPPED WITH CRANBERRIES: Simple healthy corn bread with fresh Cape Code cranberries.

Serves=10
1 cup cranberry sauce – see recipe – (make before preparing cornbread)

1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1/3 cup water
1/2 lemon (juice plus 1 teaspoon zest)
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoon date paste or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons flaxseed meal
3 tablespoons aquafaba (chick pea brine)

Preheat oven to 375° F. In a small bowl measure non-dairy milk and water, add juice and zest from 1/2 lemon into this liquid. Set aside. In a medium size bowl mix these dry ingredients – flour, corn meal, baking soda and baking powder. To the wet ingredients add sweetener, vanilla, flax seed meal and aquafaba then whip this mixture. Combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour batter into non-stick loaf pan. Place cranberry syrup on the top of the batter. Bake for about 30-35 minutes. Cool before slicing.

Nutrition Facts (without cranberries)
Calories 120 Calories from Fat 13, Total Fat 1g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium108mg, Total Carbohydrate 24g, Fiber 2g, Sugars 3g, Protein 2g

CAPE COD CRANBERRIES – Beautiful fresh cranberries are full of antioxidants for a healthy heart.

Enjoy adding cranberries to your winter baked goods especially when they are fresh from Cape Cod, can’t be beat!

December 12, 2017November 11, 2021

Let’s Make Cranberry Sauce

‘Tis the season for wonderful, healthy Cranberries – fresh from Maine. The raw berries are bitter-tasting but full of powerful antioxidants. I will add some unprocessed sugar and orange flavoring to make a tasty syrup to use in healthy plant-based baking. The cranberries will gel from their natural pectin, causing the sauce to thicken. The color and texture of the cranberry syrup is stunning, the translucent berries are especially captivating for a photographer.

CITRUS - CRANBERRIES and ORANGES — CITRUS: Oranges, lemons and cranberries.

SIMPLE CRANBERRY SAUCE RECIPE (to be used in desserts):
Quantity: After cooking, makes about 1 cup sauce.

2 cups raw cranberries, wash and sort
1/3 cup sugar-in-the-raw type sweetener (or to taste)
1/3 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed or 100% juice)
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier (orange-flavored liqueur)

****************
So easy to make Cranberry Sauce: Add sugar, orange juice and Grand Marnier to a small skillet. Stir and heat until sugar dissolves. Add raw cranberries, stir gently, bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Some of the berries will pop. Don’t over stir or over cook, leave some berries whole.