Bake It Through the Holidays with Focus Foodservice – Recipe Idea for Leftover Cranberry Sauce Included!

Focus Foodservice has all the commercial baking pans, baking utensils, and measuring tools you need to bake it through this holiday season.

The holidays are coming up quick, which means time for endless cooking, eating, socializing, and stressing about all the cooking, eating, socializing and gift giving you have to do.

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I know we’re all researching and saving recipes for what we’ll make this year. As an ex-cake designer and baker, I usually offer to make a pumpkin pie (as well as the stuffing and the green beans and the…). But this year I’m on a cranberry kick. Last year I did an “Almond Cranbrandy” tart and I always love making the cranberry sauce. It’s just tradition to have cranberry sauce on the table but isn’t there always SO much leftover?

And yes, everyone knows you can spread leftover cranberry sauce on that next-day turkey sandwich at lunch on Black Friday, but what if I don’t want a sandwich? What if I’m craving something sweet and Aunt Margaret ate the rest of the pumpkin pie while everyone else was napping?

It’s OK. We’ve all been there. And I have a solution for you: Cranberry Quick Bread.

This is a simple recipe and I’ll get to that in a second, but let’s first talk about what type of pan to use. In other words, let’s focus on Focus Foodservice. Focus is a leading producer of commercial baking essentials, food prep utensils, dining room supplies, and storage racks. We love Focus for its dedication to value and innovation, and that’s why I love their baking pans.

For this recipe, you could use any of their loaf pans or muffin pans, and one of my faves is this Mini Loaf Pan.  The aluminized steel makes this pan more heavy duty than what you’re used to, and is reinforced to prevent from warping while in that hot oven. Another plus: the silicone glaze allows each loaf to release perfectly when done baking so you don’t sacrifice one ounce of your hard work!  The last thing I love about this pan is how unique the loaf size is. Usually a “mini loaf pan” yields a 5 3/4 in x 3 1/2 in loaf.  This one gives you 3 7/8 in x 2 1/2 in loaves. So they’re like, mini mini, and make for totally adorable gifts.

Now that you have some ideas for what to bake in (and maybe some holiday gift ideas?) let’s get to baking and clearing out some room in your fridge.

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Quick Bread

Yield: 12 Mini Loaves, if using a Focus Foodservice Mini Loaf Pan (which yields 12 6 oz loaves)

OR 24 standard size muffins (3/12 oz)

Bake Time: 20-25 Minutes

Other Tools: Mixing bowls, Spatula, Measuring Cups, Measuring Spoons, Wire Whip, Cooling Rack

Props: Recipe adapted from www.seriouseats.com

What You’ll Need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups oats
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon (or other baking spices if you’re feeling spontaneous)
• 2 tablespoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups leftover cranberry sauce
• 1 cup Skim Milk or Milk Alternative
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs

What You’ll Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 400° F and spray or butter a loaf pan generously.
2. If your leftover cranberry sauce is a bit watery, I suggest draining any excess liquid out (Don’t throw it out! I’m sure it would taste great in a vodka soda.)
3. In your large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients – flours, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until combined. Set aside.
4. In a smaller bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (cranberry sauce, milk, oil, and egg) with your spatula.
5. In batches, add your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix to incorporate. Make sure everything is blended completely but don’t over mix! That’s a no-no if you want a light and fluffy end-result.
6. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan, only filling each about ¾ full.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted to the middle of one loaf comes out clean.
8. Cool on baking rack until cool enough to eat. Serve with softened butter and any leftover cranberry sauce.
9. Enjoy!