Cranberry Pork Roast

• 3-lb boneless pork top loin roast (preferably a double loin, tied)
• 1 Tbs cooking oil
• salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 16-oz can whole cranberry sauce (or real cranberry sauce, if you have access to it)
• 1/2 c. cranberry juice
• 1/4 c. sugar (reduce if your cranberry juice has sugar added)
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 Tbs cornstarch
• 2 Tbs cold water
• optional starch to serve on/with – rice, rice pilaf, noodles, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc.

In a 10″ skillet, heat oil, then sear roast, rotating frequently, until browned on all sides.  Place roast in 4- or 5-qt slow cooker; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

In medium bowl, stir together cranberry sauce, cranberry juice, sugar, mustard, and cloves.  Pour over roast.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6-7 hours, or on high-heat setting for 3-3.5 hours.

Using tongs, transfer roast to a platter; keep warm.  Skim fat from juices in slow cooker.  Measure 2 c. of juices, and transfer them to a medium saucepan, along with most or all of the cranberries from the sauce.  In small bowl, stir together cornstarch and water; add to saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 2 minutes more.  Serve sauce with roast (and optional starch).

Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars

oooh alliteration! 😀

These are a copycat recipe of Starbucks’ C.B.B., which I love, so I’m definitely excited to try this recipe so I can have them year-round and not just at holidays!

Bars

• 1 c. butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 1 c. brown sugar (or only 2/3 cup if you’re trying to cut back on guilt)
• 1/3 c. regular sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp orange or vanilla extract (why not both? I did 2 tsp vanilla, 1 orange)
• 2 c. flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 c. dried cranberries (I used the orange-infused cranberries from Trader Joe’s and they were great!)
• 3/4 c. white chocolate chips

Frosting

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened (I ended up using more like 5 oz)
• 2 Tbs butter, softened
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp orange extract (I wouldn’t recommend vanilla here; the orange is important)

Topping 

• 1/3 c. dried cranberries, chopped
• 1-2 Tbs orange zest (grated orange rind)
• 1/3 c. white chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp canola oil
• (to be honest, I skipped this step completely and just ate it with the cream cheese frosting)

Preheat oven to 350 F (or 325 for a glass or dark pan).  Prepare a 10×15″ ** pan by lining it with parchment paper or non-stick cooking spray.

In bowl of stand mixer, beat together softened butter, brown sugar, and regular sugar for 3-5 minutes.

Gently blend in eggs and extract (don’t overbeat eggs).

Add flour, baking powder, and ginger; beat briefly.

Add cranberries and chips; stir just until incorporated.

Spread thick batter in prepared pan.  Bake for 20-24 minutes ** until light brown AT EDGES and toothpick test comes back clean. Don’t overbake!

Let cool completely.

In bowl of stand mixer (yes you’re gonna hafta wash it) blend cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add orange extract and powdered sugar; beat until frosting is fluffy and spreadable (add 1 tsp milk if needed).  Spread evenly over COOLED bars.

Sprinkle orange zest and chopped cranberries over frosted bars.

In glass measuring cup, heat white chocolate and canola oil.  Microwave 15 seconds, stir; repeat until chocolate chips are completely melted. Use fork or whisk to drizzle white chocolate diagonally over bars.

Allow one hour for white chocolate to set before cutting and serving.

** = If using a 9×13″ pan, bars will be thicker and will need 26-28 minutes to bake.

Note: I’m not 100% positive this is fructose-free, but I don’t see anything that ISN’T fructose-free… oranges are citrus fruit, and cranberries are berries (but are they “vining berries”? I dunno)… let me know if this tag is incorrect!

Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/cranberry-bliss-bars-starbucks-copycat-203229