Spiced Hot Fruit Food

HOT SPICED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a small bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients; gradually whisk in cranberry juice., In a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, combine remaining ingredients. Pour cranberry juice mixture over top., Bake, uncovered, 30-35 minutes or until pears and apples are tender, stirring once. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or cold.

HOT SPICE FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• In a 2-1/2-qt. baking dish, combine the pineapple, peaches, apricots, pears and cherries; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat; pour over fruit. Bake uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Discard cloves. Serve warm.

SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, add the apple cider. Stir in the brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg until the sugar is dissolved and bring to a low boil.
• Stick the pointy ends of the cloves into the orange so that just the buds of the cloves are visible. The entire orange should be covered with the cloves.
• Add the orange to the cider and reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and continue cooking for 20 minutes.
• Serve in warm mugs with a cinnamon stick garnish. For adults, add bourbon to the cider.

SPICED HOT FRUIT

Steps:

• Drain pineapple, reserving the juice.
• In an ungreased shallow 3 1/2 quart baking dish, combine the pineapple, apricots, peaches and pears; set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter cinnamon, ginger and reserved pineapple juice.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes.
• Discard cinnamon sticks.
• Pour over fruit.
• Bake, uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.

SPICED FRUIT SALAD

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup each sliced dried apricots and dried cherries, 3 strips lemon zest, the juice of 1 lemon, a spoonful of sugar, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 tablespoons water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds. Toss with 2 segmented oranges, 2 sliced pears and a dash of vanilla; let sit at least 30 minutes. Serve with yogurt.
• Serves: 4 (does not include yogurt); Calories: 181; Total Fat: 0.5 gram; Saturated Fat: 0 grams; Protein: 2 grams; Total carbohydrates: 46 grams; Sugar: 35 grams; Fiber: 6 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 3 milligrams

EASY SPICED HOT FRUIT BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300F.
• In a large bowl, toss your fruit and add in 1-2 tsp lemon juice. Set aside.
• In another glass bowl, combine your melted butter, spices, and honey or maple syrup.
• Mix in a few tablespoons of your leftover pineapple juice as well.
• Add this sugar/butter mixture to your fruit and coat evenly.
• Pour fruit evenly in a 9×12 baking dish.
• Pour the leftover sugar/butter/oil mixture on top.
• baking for 1 hr.
• OPTIONAL - Toss your nuts in a tiny bit of melted coconut oil or butter and pinch of cinnamon. I usually just coat the nuts in the leftover butter/sugar from the fruit mix bowl. Then sprinkle the nuts to the top of dish and bake all together for 1 hr.
• Sprinkle any additional cinnamon and spiced over hot fruit bake before serving, if desired.

HOT SPICED WINE

Steps:

• Place cinnamon sticks and cloves on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Gather corners of cloth to enclose spices; tie securely with string. Place in a 3-qt. slow cooker., Add remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, on low until flavors are blended, 4-5 hours. Discard spice bag. Serve warm.

SPICED HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl with the spices and dried fruit and mix well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, 50ml warm water, the beaten egg and the melted butter. Mix everything together to form a dough - start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water; if it's too wet, add more flour.
• Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy. Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size - this will take about 1 hr depending on how warm the room is.
• Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a few secs, then divide into 12 even portions - I roll my dough into a long sausage shape, then quarter and divide each quarter into 3 pieces. Shape each portion into a smooth round and place on a baking sheet greased with butter, leaving some room between each bun for it to rise.
• Use a small, sharp knife to score a cross on the top of each bun, then cover with the damp tea towel again and leave in a warm place to prove for 20 mins until almost doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• When the buns are ready to bake, mix the plain flour with just enough water to give you a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag (or into a plastic food bag and snip the corner off) and pipe a white cross into the crosses you cut earlier. Bake for 12-15 mins until the buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. While still warm, melt the granulated sugar with 1 tbsp water in a small pan, then brush over the buns.

TRADITIONAL FRUITY AND SPICED HOT CROSS BUNS: BREAD-MAKER

Steps:

• Put all of the Hot Cross Bun ingredients into your break maker in the order listed, excepting the dried fruit.
• Put the fruit into the "extras" tray on your bread maker, or leave to one side to add towards the end of the kneading cycle.
• Set the bread maker to Dough setting - or Raisin Dough setting if you have it.
• Press start and if you do not have an "extras" tray, add your dried fruit when your machine alerts you or 5 minutes before the end of the kneading time.
• Lightly grease two baking trays/sheets.
• When the dough cycle has finished, take the dough out and place it on a lightly floured board. Knock back and shape into 12 pieces, rolling them into balls.
• Place them on the greased baking trays/sheets and cover with a clean tea towel or lightly oiled cling film.
• Allow them to rise for about 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Meanwhile pre-heat the oven the 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Make the pastry crosses by rolling out the ready-made pastry very thinly and cutting into strips.
• Make the glaze by heating up the milk and adding the sugar - heat them until the sugar has dissolved. Set to one side.
• When the Hot Cross Buns are ready to bake, place two strips of pastry on each top - pressing lightly and bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until well-risen and golden brown. The buns should sound hollow when tapped underneath.
• Brush the glaze on each bun as soon as they have been taken out of the oven and then allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.
• Eat whilst still warm, split & spread with butter!
• These are GREAT toasted when they are a few days old as well!

CONTEST-WINNING HOT FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Pour into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread pie filling over fruit mixture; sprinkle with brown sugar. , Cover and bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly. Serve warm.

SERIOUSLY GOOD SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients, except the fruits, into a large saucepan and slowly bring to the boil, uncovered. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes then remove the pan from the heat.
• Top and tail the oranges, then slice off the skin and every scrap of pith, using a small, sharp kitchen knife. Cradle each orange in the palm of your hand, hold it over the saucepan and cut out the segments, letting them drop into the syrup. Squeeze any juice from the debris into the syrup, too, then discard.
• Add the apricots and plums to the syrup and return the saucepan to a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then simmer the fruits for 10 minutes. Leave to cool, then chill for at least 2 hours.
• Serve the poached fruits just as they are or as a brûlée: whisk the milk into the fromage frais to loosen it a little, then divide the fruits and enough juice to cover them, among six ovenproof ramekins and spoon on the fromage frais, thickly. Dust with caster sugar and then 'burn' the sugar with a blow-torch. (Or put the ramekins on a heavy baking sheet, place it under a very hot grill and leave for 1-2 minutes until the sugar has caramelised.)

HOT SPICED ORANGE AND FRUIT TEA

Steps:

• Pour 2 quart boiling water over the 8 teabags.
• Brew 5 minutes, remove tea bags, set aside.
• While doing the above boil 2 Celsius each water and sugar together for10 minutes, or until sugar is disolved, to make syrup.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Bring backto boil and simmer 20 minutes.
• Remove cloves and cinnamon.
• Serve hot.
• Allow each person to sweeten as they choose.

CROCK-POT HOT FRUIT

Steps:

• Open your jars/cans.
• Dump the first 6 ingredients in the crockpot and stir gently.
• In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Sprinkle over the top of the fruit.
• Cook in crockpot on low for 3 to 4 hours.
• When warm/hot to your satisfaction, turn off crock.
• Stir and serve while still warm.

HOT FRUIT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Arrange drained fruit layers in large buttered casserole dish in the following order: pineapple, peach slices.
• pear halves, apricot halves and spiced apple rings.
• Combine flour and brown sugar and mix well with the melted butter and creme sherry in a sauce pan.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened.
• Pour over fruit, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before baking for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until hot and bubbly.
• NOTE: Cooking time refers to both cooking and chilling time.

HOT SPICED FRUIT

Steps:

• Combine the pineapple juice, marmalade and spices in a saucepan.
• Boil for 2-3 minutes.
• Reduce the heat and add the margarine and fruit.
• Simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.

SPICED HOT FRUIT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• 1. Drain pineapple, reserving juice.
• 2. In an ungreased shallow 3-1/2- quart baking dish combine the pineapple, apricots, peaches and pears: set aside.
• 3. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, ginger and reserved pineapple juice and bring to a boil.
• 4. Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks. Pour over fruit. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through.