Celebrate the Cranberry this Christmas

One of my favorite seasonal ingredients for holiday cooking and baking is a crimson beauty: the cranberry. It would be a crime, though, to let this tart and healthy berry be relegated to just a side of sauce on one day of the year -- why should Thanksgiving get all the cranberry love? When I see those beautiful piles of bagged red berries hit shelves this time of year at a really good price, I always snatch up several bags to pop into my freezer to use all winter long. Aside from cooking, frozen cranberries make a pretty alternative to ice cubes in your Christmas cocktails. Here's a recipe roundup of a few of my top cranberry-forward concoctions, from a super-simple appetizer and punch for your holiday parties, to a sweet quick bread that's sure to please the entire family (or for a lovely host/hostess gift). If you swoon for these berries as much as I do, you may also want to check out the Cranberry Chiffon Pie at kingarthurbaking.com. It's a rather time-intensive recipe with many steps, but it looks divinely delicious and would be sure to wow your holiday dinner guests. Cranberry Brie Bites Adapted from delish.com 1 8-oz. tube crescent dough, or sheet of puff pastry Cooking spray, for pan Flour, for surface 1 8-oz. wheel of brie cheese 1/2 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce 1/4 cup chopped pecans 6 sprigs of rosemary, cut into 1-inch pieces Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough or puff pastry and pinch together seams. Cut into 24 squares. Push squares into muffin tin cups. Cut brie into small pieces (you can leave the rind on) and place inside crescent dough cups. Top with a spoonful of cranberry sauce, sprinkle of chopped pecans, and one sprig of rosemary. Bake until pastry is golden, about 15 minutes. Frosted Mistletoe Margarita Punch Makes 8 servings Adapted from halfbakedharvest.com Ingredients: 3 tbsp. granulated sugar 2 tbsp. kosher salt 1 1/2 cups silver tequila 2 cups no-sugar-added cranberry juice 3/4 cup Cointreau (orange liquor) 1 cup fresh lime juice 3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries 1/4 to 1/2 cup honey, to taste Zest of 1 orange 3 to 4 cups ice OPTIONAL: rosemary sprigs, sugared cranberries Instructions: Combine sugar and salt on shallow plate and rim each glass in salted sugar. In blender, combine tequila, cranberry juice, orange liquor, lime juice, cranberries, and honey. Add ice and blend until slushy. Add orange zest and blend to combine. Pour into prepared glasses and garnish with rosemary and sugared cranberries, if desired. To make sugared cranberries: In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups fresh cranberries with 1/2 cup pure maple syrup. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Strain cranberries, then spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss cranberries with 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar until all cranberries are coated. Allow to dry, in a single layer, for at least one hour. Cranberry Pecan Bread Adapted from smittenkitchen.com Ingredients: 3/4 cup pecans 1 cup granulated sugar 2 medium-to-large oranges, any variety 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1/2 to 2/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt 1 large egg 1 tsp. kosher salt 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, halved 2 cups all-purpose flour OPTIONAL: Pearl sugar (about 1½ tbsp.) to finish Instructions: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pecans by placing on a small baking sheet in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they smell fragrant, watching closely so as not to burn. Remove, roughly chop, and set aside. Coat a loaf pan with butter or nonstick spray. Add sugar to a large bowl and zest oranges into it. Use your fingers to rub zest into sugar, breaking it up a bit and releasing more fragrance. Cut oranges in half and juice them into a separate 1-cup measure, amounting to between 1/3 and 1/2 cup. Spoon in sour cream until juice reaches the 1-cup line and whisk to combine. Whisk butter and egg into zested sugar mixture. Whisk in orange juice and sour cream mixture. Sprinkle surface of batter with salt, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk thoroughly into batter. Scrape bowl down and stir in cranberries and pecans. Stir in flour until it just disappears. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth it out. Sprinkle cake with pearl sugar, if using. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, rotating once for even color, until toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out clean. Give more time as needed. Cool in pan on rack. Serve in slices.Dish