Yankee Ingredients – Cranberries in a Blanket

Cranberries are a staple at most American family’s Thanksgiving tables. The form in which the cranberries appear varies from family to family. For example, my Northern Yankee family eats their cranberries boiled in water until they are saucy and sweetened with sugar. My Southern in-laws eat their cranberries with oranges and pineapples set in gelatin. With that being said, I don’t know what made me throw Fontina cheese, candied walnuts, and a tube of crescent rolls into my grocery cart alongside the bag of cranberries. Perhaps it could be that I was craving cheese? Or maybe it was because the nuts and crescent rolls were on sale? Whatever the reason, I am very happy with the choice of ingredients that helped showcase my delectable little cranberries.

I cooked the cranberries just like my mom does every gobbler day – with sugar, water, and lemon juice. I added the honey and maple syrup on a whim because they seemed like a good way to get rid of the tartness that was overpowering the sauce. Sadly, I don’t have a name for the teeny tiny cranberry fontina walnut crescent rolls that I created. My first thought when I pulled them out of the oven was that they looked a little like pigs in a blanket – except for the cheese and red cranberry sauce oozing out the sides. Next time I make them I won’t cut the crescent triangle in half, and I will use two tubes of crescent dough. I will also add more cranberries and walnuts. The crunch of the walnut inside the moist crescent roll was definitely a great surprise.

I am hoping that you try my recipe and can come up with a name for this fabulous fall appetizer!!

Cranberries in a Blanket

• ½ bag fresh cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar + ½ cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup candied walnuts pieces
• 3/4 cup shredded Fontina cheese
• Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine cranberries, water, 1 cup sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until cranberries start to soften.Stir in ½ cup sugar, honey, and maple syrup. Taste for sweetness (you might want more sugar!). Turn heat to low.Open crescent rolls, lay dough flat on an ungreased cookie sheet, and use a small paring knife to cut each triangle down the middle so you have 16 skinny triangles. Use the back of a spoon to butter the triangles (butter makes everything better).Sprinkle a pinch of cheese onto the fattest part of the triangle. Sprinkle a pinch of walnut pieces. Use a small spoon to add a few cranberries and sauce. Roll the dough starting at the fattest side to make teeny tiny crescent rolls.Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle tops with sugar while still hot. Enjoy!