Cranberry Clusters

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What is Christmas without a cookie exchange or two to go to? I’ve hosted my share of them in the past, but this year it is a welcome change of pace to go to a cookie exchange and let someone else take charge. Due to a bible study, I missed one of my favorites, hosted by a lovely woman who truly has the gift of baking. I’m not complaining cause there is a bright side, another friend is hosting one next week. So out come the cookbooks, pouring over and contemplating which treat to bring.

These little gems are my oldest daughter’s absolute favorite. They combine that perfect balance of sweet/tart, crunchy/creamy, juicy/dry. I cannot describe fully enough how delicious these glistening ruby delights are, you will just have to make up a batch and judge for yourself.

They are a little putzy to make, but trust me, they will be the first to fly off that cookie laden table. As I’ve mentioned all to many times before, its cold here. But, cold is only one aspect of living in a place where ‘cold’ is a runner up to the North Pole cold, its bitterly dry also. So, here in my environment, these babies will keep on a cookie platter for a few days at room temperature. Since you are in essence ‘candying’ the berries, humidity is your enemy. If you are in a moist environment, eat them quickly (trust me, not a problem) or store in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 5 days. They will get soft, but the flavor will remain.

Cranberry Clusters
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cup chopped white chocolate (a good quality white melting bark will do also, and sometimes works better than white chocolate which can seize easily)

Combine the sugar and water together and cook to a hard-ball stage, 250-265 deg.
Remove from the heat. I put my pot on a heat pad to retain its heat for as long as possible.
Working quickly (but carefully, hot sugar burns, badly!) drop 3 cranberries in to the syrup and using 2 forks clump them together and flip to coat. Remove quickly and put on a piece of waxed paper or siliconed parchment. (a silpat mat will also work)

You will likely get about 7-8 clusters out of this batch, the first ones will be clear like glass, the last ones will start to look frosted. Stop when the sugar starts to crystalize. Now, at this point, I suppose there is a way to reheat the sugar and continue on. I have not found a way to do that effectively. I have found, in my experience, that you never get that shiny clear result when you try reheat the sugar. For me, because I’m sort of picky, I just make another batch or two of the sugar syrup, depending on the quantity I need. Play with it yourself and decide. Using a non-stick pan makes all the difference in the world as far as clean up goes!

While your candies are hardening, melt the white chocolate (or bark) in the microwave or in a double boiler. (It is advisable when dealing with all chocolate to be sure not to let any moisture get in to it, as it will cause it to seize)
Then dip the flat side of the cooled clusters in to the white chocolate, leaving the tops uncoated. Set aside on the parchment to harden.

I put these in small candy cups when I give as gifts, but they are just as beautiful scattered on a cookie tray.
Trust me, you want to have all your treats leave first? Make these.

Whether for dessert, cookie exchange or a party, these will please.

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Christmas Past

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As I’ve mentioned before, I love the holidays. During the season when we celebrate the birth of Christ, it’s fun to pull down all the christmas boxes pulling out treasures which both make the holiday feel special but also stir up memories of christmas past. (I feel like a bell should be tolling and ghost should be manifesting in the background right now)

 

Usually I set up our tree first. I moved here to the arctic tundra from the moderate Pacific NW going on 13 years ago. I have always had a real tree, but in temperate and moist Oregon, keeping it fresh for the whole season was never an issue nor concern. However, here in the hinterlands, its bitterly cold (yes, at -20 a runny nose freezes) and skin witheringly dry. There was no way I was going to risk setting my house on fire with a real tree, and I was not about to give up my tradition of putting the tree up Thanksgiving weekend and enjoying it through New Years Eve. So, fake it is. 

 

This year, however, with family in town visiting I decided to start by putting out all my room decorations. I love going through each box, for me it’s actually better than christmas morning. With each decoration I pull out that was lovingly packed the year prior, I can recall where I was when I bought it, who gave it to me or who passed it down to me. The same goes for my tree. 

 

So, a week later, my youngest and I are dragging the limbs up from the basement and assembling the tree limb by limb. (Yes, I know there are pre-lit umbrella styles, but this one looked the most realistic 13 years ago) Then on go the lights. Now that is a chore and not fun at all. Every year they go in to the box fully lit and working, and every year I pull them out and inevitably one strand is half burnt out. I do not ‘treasure’ putting up the lights, even if I do treasure the lighting of the tree. 

 

But then, I pull out the boxes with our tree trimming ornaments. Every year since the children were born, I have given them each an ornament so that by the time they go out on their own, they will be able to have a head start on their own tree, filled with memories of their childhood. I love looking at each one, remembering why I chose that particular one to represent that particular year. 

 

The photo below is of a rather special ornament. It is my great grandmother Bishops’ ornament, handed down to me by my own grandmother Evelyn. I never knew her mother, she had passed before I was born. This sweet and very fragile ornament is special to me not only from a family history perspective, but has as heirloom. It, along with a few pieces of china and an old secretary desk, made it around the cape of Africa on a steamer bound for the west coast of the USA well over a hundred years ago. Let that sink in for a moment. It sailed around the continent back in the late 1800’s/1900’s in straw filled barrels on a STEAMER ship! With all the advanced technology of today and modern transportation system, it’s amazing to me to think about the journey of this little ornament church. 

 

I hope that as you pass through this wonderful time of the year, you are able to take the moment to pause and reflect on your history, your families history and be aware of the memories you create in your own families. Because you see, Christmas isn’t about shopping or stuffing our faces with special libations and foods. Christmas is about the moment a very special little family was created in a very simple and humble surrounding, giving the world the best present of all. That truth helps me to keep the reason for the season in perspective.Image

Billie Rupp’s Popcorn Balls

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Here is my second attempt to post my godmothers wonderful popcorn balls. It appears wordpress is not exactly easy to navigate for someone who is technologically handicapped. My wonderful, reminiscent ramblings were deleted somehow, some way I’ve yet to comprehend.
So back to old school, type it up in Word and then copy/paste. I’m never going to rely on word-press to save my draft for me, no Sir-E-bob. (UGH! SO FRUSTRATING!)

When I was 6, my parents moved our family up from California to a cul-de-sac in the western suburbs of Portland, Oregon. I have fond memories of that house: riding my banana bike with ‘reins’ (a piece of string) tied to the handlebars of which I had vivid fantasies of riding some great white majestic mare; making mud pies with my brother, digging caves in haystacks of cut drying wheat in the fields next to our housing development, playing on our Jungle Gym; and going over to Mrs. Rupp’s house, a wonderful woman who would become my Godmother.

Mrs. Rupp you see, always had something wonderful going on in her kitchen. My own mother was a stay at home mom, but as we all know, the grass is greener elsewhere, and my mother was a busy woman. My little brother and I would regularly traipse over to see what interesting thing she was working on, and hopefully score a treat.

Mrs. Rupp had the best sarsaparilla ever. She made the syrup from scratch and kept it in a mason jar in her fridge. She’d fill a tall glass with ice, pour the molasses colored brown liquid in, then fill it with old fashioned seltzer water. Half the thrill was holding the glass up and letting the bubbles pop in our noses. Mrs. Rupp’s mother made shrunken apple ‘people’, which created a mixed reaction of ‘neato’ and ‘gross’. But, the memory most fond for me was of her popcorn balls.

You see, every Halloween, Mrs. Rupp handed out homemade popcorn balls. Creamy, sticky, caramel-loaded goodness that we waited a year for. Those were the days eh? When people actually handed out homemade goodies like real candied apples (bright red and shiny), real lollypops, homemade divinity and fudge, real candies. Oh yes, those were the days alright, and lest I start on a rant about the world we live in now…we’ll move on.

My Godmother would hand them out at Halloween, but I make them over the Christmas holidays. I prefer to give baskets of homemade treats over store bought trinkets which end up in the trash. I wrap my popcorn balls up in waxed paper and tie them off with a piece of string or colorful rubber band, and nestle them in with other homemade goodies. So, as we begin the Christmas giving season, here is the gift of my Godmothers famous (at least in my mind) Popcorn Balls:

Pop 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels and pour in to a large bowl.

In a saucepan melt:
1 stick of salted butter (extra for your hands and molding)
30 large marshmallows
1 cup of brown sugar, packed

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You could use unsalted and add back a bit of salt, but I just use regular salted butter. The marshmallows I buy are Gluten Free, be sure to check the ingredients if you are intolerant. I supposed you could make your marshmallow from scratch, but I don’t bother. If you do, a bag is 10 oz and you don’t use the entire bag, so I’d estimate you need about 9oz.

Once the mixture is all melted and all the marshmallows have turned to goo, pour the whole thing over the popped corn and stir to mix.

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Then take additional softened butter and liberally rub it all over your hands. Grab a lump and form in to a ball, putting on some waxed paper (or parchment) to cool. Try not to compact them too much. They should be kinda loose, just packed enough to keep them in their shape. See in the photo below? These are not lead balls of sugar. When they cool, you want to be able to pull them apart, its half the fun!

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You will likely need to reload your hands more than once to keep the mix from sticking and making clubs out of your hands. You’ll want to work fairly quickly to keep the mix from setting up. I recommend for large quantities you make multiple batches instead of doubling. Its easier to work with while warm.
Note: If they are too warm, they will not stick together. Just wait another minute and try again. Keep your hands covered in butter to keep them from sticking to your hands-which can be frustrating!

That’s it! I hope you enjoy them as much as we all do. I hope they become a tradition in your house, and if you have any questions, leave them in the comment section below.