Let’s use the fruit! This monthly column, written by Alyssa Bonnarens features ideas and tips from your neighborhood fruit picker. Alyssa also writes on Substack: Alyssa’s Substack.
NEWBERG, Ore. — Let’s go, cranberries, it’s your time to shine.
Short on the local seasonal u-pick, I day-tripped to Cranguyma Farms in Long Beach, Washington, to get cranberries. I missed the u-pick window by one day, and the patch had already been flooded and harvested.
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I bought four gallon bags from their homey little stand as the wind whipped and a storm rolled in. It was high drama at the bog. We scurried away with our berries, enjoying the sense of hard-won achievement.
Half of the berries I boiled down in water, then strained to make a tart, rich red juice. The other two bags are reserved for Thanksgiving.
I’ve experimented with all sorts of cranberry sauce add-ins: bourbon and vanilla bean, spiced varieties, and infusions with sage and rosemary.
I’ve settled on this favorite: one 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries, 2/3 cup sugar (or up to 1 cup if you prefer it sweeter), orange peel strips for flavor, juice of two fresh oranges, and enough water to make 1 cup. Cook it down and check it off your Thanksgiving to-do list early.
Leftover sauce? Always. Solution: put it in a cookie.
Thanksgiving Leftover Cookies (adapted from Taste of Home)
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1-to-1 gluten-free)
- 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 5–7 minutes. Beat in pumpkin puree, cranberry sauce, egg, and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in chips. Refrigerate, covered, until firm, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden brown, 15–18 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Also in Season: Persimmons
Still hanging out to pick? Crunchy, sweet Fuyu persimmons cling to bare branches like bright orange beacons. I drive around town scouting these happy branches. Slice them thin to snack, or dehydrate for a chewy treat. Rumor has it very ripe persimmons frozen turn into a sorbet-like dessert—I plan to test that. A note of caution: Fuyu persimmons are non-astringent, but Hachiya and some other varieties are very astringent unless properly prepared.
Closer to home, quince is one of the most unique fruits I’ve encountered. Every year I pick about a dozen at Sherwood Orchards and turn them into membrillo and jelly. The flavor is distinctive—tropical, rose-colored raspberry pear. Some people love it with Manchego cheese and crackers; others want nothing to do with it. The jelly is a deep rose color and more universally palatable. A dozen quince yields plenty of membrillo—ask me if you want some.
This year, my supply, barely tapped, was taking up a lot of room in the fridge. I made applesauce and stirred in some membrillo and cranberry juice. A win.
All right, cranberries! I know you won’t let us down.
Happy Thanksgiving, Newberg!
