Happy Fall! Eat Cranberry Fluff

Homemade whipped cream with cranberry sauce and marshmallows

Cranberry Fluff

 I love the colors and flavors of autumn. I love learning about the auld time harvesting customs for Scotland and America. 

 

Harvesting w/horse drawn wagon (credit: Marv Penner on flikr)

This fall I came across this Scottish folksong relating to farming & the harvest (sometimes referred to as “bothy ballads.”) It's called "The Band O' Shearers." Back when farming was done with horses and hand tools, groups of young boys and girls (laddies & lassies) traveled around the countryside and joined adults to help neighbors and neighboring communities bring in their grains. The “shearing” mentioned in the folksong refers to cutting the grains with scythes – not shearing sheep’s wool. When the work was done in the evening, the shearers oftentimes would gather to play music, sing and dance. Here is Ed Miller’s rendition.  (Emily Smith has a lovely version as well; the bonus track on her “Echoes” album.)

I've recently discovered 2 new desserts - fluff and self-saucing cakes. Yum! So far I've tried cranberry fluff, then chocolate, butterscotch, and pineapple self-saucing cakes. Next I want to make pumpkin fluff and my son wants me to make chocolate. Perhaps I should wait a couple weeks and stretch out my sweet tooth indulgences. I hope I don't regret starting my holiday baking season at the beginning of October!

There are many variations for “fluff” desserts. I define it as always including whipped cream and mini-marshmallows, along with fruit or sauces. Thick and fluffy and not overly sweet, I find it a “Calgon Take Me Away for a few minutes” kind of treat.

You can play around with this recipe and I think it’s really flexible for adjusting to personal tastes and ingredients on hand. The whole berry cranberry sauce can be homemade or store-bought. I used an organic version that came in a small boxy carton. Next time I’d like to make my own. I do have a recipe for cranberry-orange sauce (see here) if you’d like your fluff to be cranberry-orange instead. For the fruit here I used crushed pineapple. You can use orange or craisins or blueberries or whatever you prefer. The extract could also be a different flavor, like orange.

You could also use Cool Whip topping, although I don’t recommend it – it’s highly processed and someone once told me it is a single molecule removed from plastic. Which I don’t find appetizing. On the other hand, I’ll probably eat it if I’m at a pot luck and don’t know any better. So your choice. If you use Cool Whip, it replaces the whipping cream, syrup and extract in my recipe.

Do be aware if you are accommodating for food allergies that when packages say they are “non-dairy” it does NOT necessarily mean they are FREE from dairy products or byproducts. (For example some products labeled "non-dairy" may not contain milk or cream, but do include casein or lactose or whey, which can trigger allergic reactions.) So always check with your guests for the best replacements and for the safest options. My family is dealing with nut and egg allergies, so I’m not an expert on dairy-free options. I did, however, find some helpful info over at the Go Dairy Free website specific to dessert toppings.

Also be aware that some brands of marshmallows contain eggs or egg whites or may be cross contaminated by coming in contact with other allergens like nuts. Look on the label for ingredients that include gelatin instead of eggs. Call manufacturers to double check most recent ingredients, manufacturing practices, and allergy prevention measures. Doumak - The American Marshmallow Company makes a large number of marshmallows distributed under other brand names. They are very friendly with customer inquiries regarding allergy questions. Click on their name above for contact info.

Now.... on to the fluff!

 Cathi’s Cranberry Fluff

Adapted from Jamie at http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/cranberry-fluff/

Ingredients:

1½ cups whole berry cranberry sauce

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

2 cups heavy whipped cream

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

• Stir together cranberry sauce and pineapple in medium mixing bowl.
• In a small, deep bowl pour in ingredients and give a few stirs. Then use immersion blender or hand mixer to whip up the cream.
• Fold whipped cream into cranberry/pineapple mixture with spatula.
• Sprinkle in marshmallows and fold in to combine all ingredients.
• Transfer to glass casserole dish and cover.
• Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

ALLERGENS: contains dairy

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: To replace the dairy, try using whipped full fat coconut milk. Check out the Oh She Glows blog; Angela has detailed step-by-step directions and photos there. Because the coconut is solid before you whip it, wait to add the maple syrup and extract until after the coconut is mostly whipped, and then finish whipping to incorporate. Or try out a soy or rice whipped topping product.