Cranberry Pistachio Baked Alaska Recipes

Steps:

• Bright red cranberries and toasted green pistachios stud these tart-and-tangy bar cookies and make them a colorful addition to any cookie platter. They hold well in both the refrigerator and the freezer so they're an excellent make-ahead option.
• To prepare crust: Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350degreesF. Coat an 8-inch-square baking pan with cooking spray.
• Beat butter, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and brown sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Stir in whole-wheat flour, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour and salt until well combined (the mixture will still be crumbly). Evenly press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until just barely golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
• To prepare topping: Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add egg, egg white, orange zest and juice; stir until blended and smooth.
• Sprinkle cranberries over the baked crust. Pour the orange mixture over the cranberries and sprinkle with pistachios.
• Bake until golden and set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack; if possible, chill before cutting into squares.
• Recipe Tips & Notes:
• 1. Note: Whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat. It contains less gluten than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure a tender result in delicate baked goods while providing the nutritional benefits of whole grains.
• 2. Tips: To make quick work of chopping cranberries, place whole berries in a food processor and pulse a few times until the berries are coarsely chopped.
• 3. To toast chopped pistachios, cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes. .
• Recipe Nutrition:
• Per serving: 126 calories; 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat, 1 g mono unsaturated fat); 19 mg cholesterol; 22 g carbohydrates; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber; 44 mg sodium; 58 mg potassium
• 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings
• Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1 other carbohydrate, 1/2 fat
• To Make Ahead: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month

Steps:

• Make pistachio custard for ice cream:
• Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scape seeds into a heavy medium saucepan using tip of a paring knife, then add pod. Add milk, cream, and half of sugar and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
• Whisk yolks with remaining sugar in a large bowl. Slowly add hot milk mixture, whisking. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is slightly thickened and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil)
• Immediately strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl, discarding vanilla bean. Whisk in pistachio paste. Chill custard at least 6 hours.
• Make cranberry base for sorbet:
• Bring cranberries, water, sugar, and zest to a boil in a medium saucepan, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have burst, about 5 minutes. Purée in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids), then force through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Chill at least 6 hours.
• Prepare cake layer:
• Line loaf pan with a large sheet of plastic wrap, leaving a 4-inch overhang on all sides. Trim off top of cake and cut 2 (1/2-inch-thick) long horizontal slices from cake, reserving remainder for another use. Place 1 layer in bottom of pan, trimming to fit, and put in freezer. Cover remaining cake layer with plastic wrap to keep moist.
• Make sorbet:
• Freeze sorbet base in ice cream maker, then transfer to loaf pan, smoothing evenly over cake layer. Freeze 1 hour.
• Make ice cream, and assemble:
• Freeze custard in cleaned ice cream maker, then fold in chopped pistachios, spread ice cream over cranberry sorbet, smoothing top, then top with remaining cake layer, pressing it flat. Wrap cake with overhang and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours.
• Make meringue:
• Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
• Beat egg whites with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in sugar, then beat until whites hold stiff peaks. Invert cake onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and discard plastic wrap. Spread meringue over top and sides of cake. Bake until meringue is tipped with brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Do Ahead
• Assembled cake (without meringue) can be frozen, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap, up to 4 days. Cake can be covered with meringue (but not baked) 4 hours ahead and frozen, uncovered.

Steps:

• Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler.
• I have melted in the microwave with excellant results by keeping a close eye on it.
• Let cool to room temperature.
• Roast pistachios at 350F for 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Stir cranberries and pistachios into melted chocolate.
• Pour onto foil-lined 10x15" edged cookie sheet.
• Refrigerate for atleast 1 hour, then break into pieces.