Cream Cheese Cranberry Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, tossed with 1 Tbsp flour
Whipped cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray, coating well.

Beat butter and cream cheese until combined. Add sugar and turn mixer to med-high and cream for 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time until combined. Add lemon juice and zest, almond extract, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Turn mixer to low and add salt. Add the cake flour in two batches. Fold in the cranberries.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake 60-70 minutes, until the cake has browned and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with only moist crumbs attached. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a rack and cool completely. Cover tightly overnight (I put it in on a cake plate and cover with a glass dome) and enjoy the next day. (You can certainly eat it the same day but it gets better with an overnight resting period.)

Yields: 1 bundt cake, 8-12 servings depending on slice size

Recipe borrowed from Confections of a Foodie Bride.

Marina’s Ricotta Cookies

½ lb margarine (250g)

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

4 cups flour

1tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 container (450g) ricotta

Chocolate chips optional

If you want a sweeter version put an extra tsp or 1 of vanilla

Mix eggs, margarine & sugar add vanilla & ricotta.

In another bowl, mix flour, b.soda, b.powder & salt.

With a wooden spoon mix flour a little at a time in the batter.

Prepare icing sugar in a dish & scoop on bater with a spoon to place in sugar then role them into a ball.

Place them on a baking sheet 1 ½ “ apart

Bake at 350F for 10 to 15 min. (check colour)

Use tsp for smaller cookies and tbsp for larger cookies.