Decades ago cranberries used to be boring: Just a ho-hum side dish that made holiday appearances and disappeared into culinary obscurity the rest of the year. Often, cranberries were simply dumped from a can, either jellied or sauced. When jellied, they conformed to the shape of the can; cut, the jiggly slices toppled like cascading dominos.

Seems like mundane treatments for a berry so revered by Native Americans long before the arrival of the first Europeans. These tangy berries deserve more respect. Over the last couple of decades or so, they’ve gotten it. Now culinary movers and shakers place fresh cranberries in more prominent roles.

Tantalizing salsas, chutneys and sauces appear more frequently on menus and in cookbooks. Glamorous cranberry desserts show off on dessert carts and bakery shelves. And many supermarkets offer bags of flash-frozen cranberries year-round.

They are a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, and Manganese. They are also a good source of Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Enjoy.

Apple Cranberry Pie features a layer of jam-like cranberry mixture spread on the dough topped with apple slices. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)

Apple Cranberry Pie

The combination of flavors in this pie is blissful, the sweetness of the apples merrily dancing with the tart edge of the cranberries. The two are added in layers; first the jam-like cranberry mixture is spread on the raw dough, then the apples are placed on top before the top crust is added. The pie fillings require cooking and cooling before the pie is assembled, so the prep takes some time. If you like you can use prepared refrigerated pie dough, but homemade pie dough can be made a day in advance and refrigerated sealed in plastic wrap. I like to serve this pie with either sweetened whipped cream or ice cream.

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon for top of pie, divided use

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided use

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided use

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3 1/2 pounds sweet apples (6 to 7 medium), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices such as Gala, Fuji, Golden Delicious, or Jonagold

Pie Dough for double crust, recipe follows

1 egg white, beaten lightly

For serving: sweetened whipped cream or ice cream

Cook’s notes: After microwaving the sliced apples in step 2, I sometimes have a large amount of juice that isn’t the least bit thick. I pour off the juice into a small saucepan, boil it to reduce it by half and then return it to the apples to cool. To prevent the fluted rim of pie from over-browning, I place a pie shield on the rim after the first 25 minutes in the oven in step 6. A pie shield is a ring made of metal or silicone. If you don’t have one, you can use strips of aluminum foil to shield the rim.

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring cranberries, juice, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally and pressing berries against side of pot, until berries have completely broken down and juices have thickened to jamlike consistency (wooden spoon scraped across bottom should leave clear trail that doesn’t fill in), 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in water, and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cornstarch in large microwave-safe bowl; add apples and toss to combine. Microwave on high power, stirring with rubber spatula every 3 minutes, until apples are just starting to turn translucent around edges and liquid is thick and glossy, 10 to 14 minutes (see cook’s notes). Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Take disks of dough out of the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 25 to 30 minutes.

3. While fillings cool, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees.

4. Roll out one disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to a 1/8-inch thickness. Place in pie pan, leaving at least 1-inch overhang. Transfer cooled cranberry mixture to dough-lined pie pan and spread into even layer. Place apple mixture on top of cranberries, mounding slightly in center; push down any sharp apple edges.

5. Roll second disk of dough until it is 1/8-inch thick on lightly floured surface. Place dough on top of filling. Trim overhang to 1/2-inch. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie pan. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg white and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Using sharp paring knife, cut four 1 1/2-inch long slits in top of dough (think of a clock for slit placement at 12,3,6,9 positions).

6. Place pie on preheated rimmed baking sheet and bake until top is light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (See cook’s notes.) Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotate baking sheet, and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack to cool at least 2 1/2 hours. Cut into wedges and serve with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Homemade pie dough for an Apple Cranberry Pie can be made a day in advance and refrigerated in plastic wrap. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)

Double Crust Pie Dough

Yield: Double pie crust for 9-inch pie

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon table salt

2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

7 to 8 tablespoons ice water (drain off ice just before use, measure without ice)

DIRECTIONS

1. Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined, for about 20 seconds. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces remaining.

2. Drizzle 5 tablespoons ice water over the mixture; pulse several times to combine. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the mixture holds together when pinched.

3. For a 9-inch pie, shape dough into 2 disks and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day before using. The dough rolls out easier when it is out of the refrigerator for 25 to 30 minutes.

Source: Adapted from “Martha: The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen”

Cranberry Spice Cake is spiked with two cups of chopped fresh cranberries to give it an inviting sweet-tart perkiness. (Photo by Nick Koon, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Cranberry Spice Cake

The tartness of fresh cranberries pairs well with sweet, buttery baked goods. This sweet-tart cake is delicious for breakfast or served as a holiday dessert accompanied with sweetened whipped cream or crème fraiche sweetened with powdered sugar to taste and a smidgen of vanilla extract.

Cake can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups (8 ounces) fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup apple cider or apple juice

Lemon glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For serving: sweetened whipped cream or crème fraiche

DIRECTIONS

1. For cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom with parchment paper; coat paper with spray. Whisk flour and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Pulse cranberries in a food processor until finely chopped but not puréed; set aside.

2. Stir sugar, brown sugar, and oil in another medium bowl to blend. Add eggs one at a time, stirring to blend between additions. Whisk in sour cream, orange zest, lemon zest, and vanilla.

3. Whisk in dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with apple cider (or juice) in 2 additions and whisking to blend. Fold in chopped cranberries. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.

4. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out almost clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around inside of pan to release cake; turn the cake onto rack. Peel off parchment paper, then flip cake and let cool for 20 minutes.

5. For lemon glaze: Whisk powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl. Spread glaze over warm cake, allowing it to drip down sides. Let stand until glaze becomes crackly, about 1 hour. Serve at room temperature.

Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

Quesadillas featuring leftover turkey are served with Cranberry Salsa. (Photo by Nick Koon, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Cranberry Salsa

Cranberry Salsa is a blend of sweet, spicy and tart flavors. It goes splendidly with Mexican food made with leftover turkey or chicken; enchiladas, tacos or simple quesadillas taste glorious with a spoonful of Cranberry Salsa on top. It’s also scrumptious spooned over Brie or goat cheese. Preparation is easy; all the ingredients are placed in a food processor and pulse-chopped together.

It can be refrigerated for up to one week, but it is best to leave out the cilantro if it is refrigerated for more than two days. In that case add the cilantro before serving.

Yield: 3 cups

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded, coarsely chopped

1 fresh jalapeno chili, seeds and veins removed, minced, see cook’s notes

1/2 medium red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1/2 cup washed and drained cilantro, coarsely chopped, see cook’s notes

Cook’s notes: Use caution when working with fresh chilies. Wash work surface and hands thoroughly upon completion; do NOT touch your eyes.

For turkey quesadillas, work in batches. Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet on medium; place 1 flour tortilla in the skillet. Top with 1 teaspoon finely diced red onion, 1 to 2 tablespoons shredded cheese (such as the packaged 4-cheese Mexican shredded cheeses) and shredded cooked turkey. Top with more cheese and second tortilla. Cook for 2 minutes, until golden, then flip over and cook a further 1 to 2 minutes until the other side is golden and the cheese has melted. Transfer to cutting board and cut into 6 wedges.

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all salsa ingredients in a food processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse until ingredients are coarsely chopped.

2. Serve and enjoy.

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting in mixed trading on Wednesday.

Related Articles

US Mint in Philadelphia to press final penny as the 1-cent coin gets canceled

Small grocers and convenience stores feel an impact as customers go without SNAP benefits

Mega Millions jackpot grows to $965 million for Friday’s drawing

Today in History: November 12, Ellis Island closes its doors

A happy circumstance: Bob Ross paintings sell for more than $600K to help public TV stations

The S&P 500 added 0.1% and remains near the edge of its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 416 points, or 0.9%, after setting its own record the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time.

Advanced Micro Devices was one of the strongest forces lifting the market, and it rallied 5.9% after CEO Lisa Su said the chip company is expecting better than 35% of annual compounded growth in revenue over the next three to five years. She credited “accelerating AI momentum.”

Superstar stocks benefiting from the artificial-intelligence frenzy have been shaky recently, as investors question whether they can add much more to their already spectacular gains. Nvidia, for example, came into the day with a 4.6% drop for the month so far after it more than doubled in four of the last five years.

Their sensational growth has been one of the top reasons the U.S. market has hit records despite a slowing job market and high inflation. But their prices have shot so high that critics say they’re reminiscent of the 2000 dot-com bubble, which ultimately burst and dragged the S&P 500 down by nearly half.

Similar questions are also dogging the broad U.S. stock market, though other stocks don’t look as expensive as Big Tech and AI superstars.

One way for stock prices to look less expensive is for companies to deliver big growth in profits.

IBM rose 3.2% and was one of the biggest reasons for the Dow’s strong performance after announcing progress in “bringing truly useful quantum computing to the world,” according to Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research. Companies across the industry are racing to develop quantum computing in order to solve complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers.

On Holdings jumped 25% after the shoe and apparel company reported a much bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

But even beating expectations may not be enough for some stocks. Circle Internet Group fell 6.6% even though its profit for the latest quarter trounced analysts’ estimates.

The stock price of the U.S.-based issuer of one of the most popular cryptocurrencies has been generally falling since it got near $300 in June, just a few weeks after its initial price offering of $31.

Another way for stock prices to look less expensive is if interest rates fall because bonds paying lower yields usually encourage investors to pay higher prices for other investments.

In the U.S. bond market, where trading resumed following Tuesday’s Veterans Day holiday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.07% from 4.13% late Monday.

Traders still see a roughly two-in-three chance that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in December, according to data from CME Group. That’s despite Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying a third cut for the year to shore up the slowing job market is far from a sure thing. Fed officials are worried about the potential of giving still-high inflation more fuel.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.2%, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.1% for two of the world’s bigger gains.

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

By Céline Gounder, KFF Health News

A large study from Massachusetts has found that babies whose mothers had COVID-19 while pregnant were slightly more likely to have a range of neurodevelopmental diagnoses by age 3. Most of these children had speech or motor delays, and the link was strongest in boys and when the mother was infected late in pregnancy.

The increase in risk was small for any one child, but because millions of women were pregnant during the pandemic, even a small increase matters. The study doesn’t prove that COVID infection during pregnancy causes autism or other brain conditions in the fetus, but it suggests that infections and inflammation during pregnancy can affect how a baby’s brain grows, something scientists have seen before with other illnesses. It’s a reason to help pregnant women avoid COVID and to keep a close eye on children who were exposed in the womb.

What the study found

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital examined medical records from more than 18,000 mothers and their children born from March 2020 through May 2021, before vaccines were widely available to pregnant women. Because everyone giving birth during that period was tested for COVID, the team could clearly see which pregnancies were exposed to the virus causing it.

About 5% of those mothers had COVID while pregnant. Their children were modestly more likely to be diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental condition by age 3 than those whose mothers weren’t infected, even after accounting for differences in maternal age, race, insurance status, and preterm birth.

The link appeared strongest among boys and when infection occurred in their mother’s third trimester. Still, most children in both groups showed typical development.

“This was a very clean group to follow,” said Andrea Edlow, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Mass General and one of the study’s authors. “Because of universal testing early in the pandemic, we knew who had COVID and who didn’t.”

Independent authorities say COVID, which causes a powerful immune response in some people, fits the biological pattern seen with other infections in pregnancy. Alan Brown, a professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University who studies maternal infection and brain development and was not involved in this research, explained, “COVID would be a very strong candidate for it to happen because the amount of inflammation is very extreme.”

How might infection affect brain development?

Scientists are still piecing together how various infections during pregnancy can affect fetal development. Severe illness can cause inflammation that disrupts brain growth or can trigger preterm birth, which carries its own risks.

“There’s a long history of evidence showing that maternal infection can slightly raise the risk for many neurodevelopmental disorders,” said Roy Perlis, the vice chair for research in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-author of the new study.

Edlow’s lab is investigating how infection and inflammation may interfere with brain development. In a healthy brain, immune cells help shape developing neural circuits by trimming away extra or unnecessary connections, a process known as “synaptic pruning,” which sculpts the brain’s wiring. When a mother’s immune system is activated by infection, inflammatory molecules can reach the fetal brain and alter the pruning process.

Animal studies support Edlow’s hypothesis. When scientists trigger inflammation in pregnant mice, their offspring often show changes in how brain cells grow and connect, changes that can alter learning and behavior.

Related Articles

Mounds View veteran overcame mental health challenges, now helps fellow vets

Biovac starts trials on South Africa’s first domestically developed cholera vaccine

Calisthenics are making a comeback. Is body weight enough to get a good workout?

ByHeart recalls all baby formula sold nationwide as infant botulism outbreak grows

At The Hollow in Florida, the ‘medical freedom’ movement finds its base camp

Why late pregnancy and why boys?

In Edlow and Perlis’ study, the link between COVID and developmental delays was strongest when infection occurred late in pregnancy, during the third trimester. That’s also when the fetal brain is growing most rapidly, forming and refining millions of neural connections.

“When we think of organ development, we think earlier in pregnancy, but the brain is an exception in this regard, where there’s a massive amount of brain development in the third trimester. And that continues after birth,” Perlis said. “It is entirely plausible that the third trimester is a period of vulnerability specifically for brain development.”

But not all researchers agree that the third trimester is uniquely vulnerable. Brian Lee, a professor of epidemiology at Drexel University, cautioned that because most mothers in the study were tested at delivery, there were simply more late-pregnancy infections to analyze. “That gives the study more power to find a difference in the third trimester,” he said. “It doesn’t prove earlier infections aren’t important.”

The study also found stronger effects in boys. That pattern is familiar: Boys are generally more likely than girls to have speech or motor delays and to be diagnosed with autism. Researchers suspect that male fetuses may be more susceptible to stress and inflammation, though the biology isn’t fully understood.

What the study can and can’t show

Edlow and Perlis are careful to say the study shows an association, not proof that COVID infection in pregnancy causes developmental problems. Many other factors could explain the correlation.

Mothers who get sick with COVID may have other health issues, such as obesity, diabetes, or mental health conditions, that increase the risk of developmental delays in children. “Persons with mental disorders are much more likely to get COVID. Women with mental disorders are much more likely to have kids with neurodevelopmental problems,” Lee said. “Mothers with worse physical health are also at higher risk of having children with neurodevelopmental problems.”

Lee’s research has shown that even infections before or after pregnancy can be linked to autism, suggesting that shared genetics or environment, rather than the infection itself, could be at play. That’s why experts say much larger, longer studies are needed to understand the extent of any risk from the infection.

Edlow, Perlis, and their team plan to follow the children in their study as they grow older to see whether early differences persist or fade. They’re also studying how inflammation during pregnancy affects the placenta and fetal brain, and how to counteract these effects.

What about vaccination?

Because this study followed pregnancies from early in the pandemic, it doesn’t answer whether vaccination changes the risk. But other research offers reassurance.

A large national study in Scotland found no difference in early developmental outcomes between children whose mothers were vaccinated and those who weren’t. Another study in the U.S. found the same: no link between prenatal COVID vaccination and developmental delays through 18 months. Both align with decades of data showing that vaccination during pregnancy is safe for both the mother and the baby.

“Vaccination is a short spike … your immune system revs up, then it goes back to normal,” Edlow said. “COVID [infection] is much more prolonged, unpredictable, and people can get … a dysregulated immune phenomenon that really doesn’t exist in vaccine responses.”

What this means for parents and clinicians

Since late 2020, there’s been widespread confusion and misinformation about the safety of COVID vaccination during pregnancy. Some women have hesitated to get vaccinated out of fear it might harm their baby. But the evidence since then has been clear: COVID vaccines are safe in pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly recommends COVID vaccination to protect both mother and child.

Experts say the broader lesson is that pregnancy is a period of vulnerability, and prevention matters, not only for COVID, but other infections as well.

Janet Currie, a professor of economics at Yale University, said these risks remain “underappreciated,” despite decades of evidence. “Even though the flu vaccine is recommended for pregnant women, very few pregnant women get it,” she said. “Physicians seem to be reluctant to vaccinate pregnant women.”

As Gil Mor, scientific director of the C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development at Wayne State University in Detroit, put it, “Protecting the mother is protecting the long-term health of the offspring. … The best intervention is vaccination.”

A century-old echo

The idea that what happens in the womb can shape life after birth took root with studies of famine, like the Dutch “Hunger Winter” in the final months of World War II. In 1944 and 1945, as German forces blockaded the western Netherlands, rations fell to just a few hundred calories a day. Thousands died of starvation, and women pregnant during that period gave birth to babies who later faced higher risks of heart disease, diabetes, and schizophrenia. The episode became a cornerstone of the “fetal origins” idea, that deprivation or stress in pregnancy can have lifelong effects.

The 1918 flu pandemic broadened that idea to infection. Babies exposed to influenza in utero later showed small but lasting differences in education and earnings, a sign that illness during pregnancy could affect brain development. Researchers in Taiwan, Sweden, Switzerland, Brazil, and Japan found similar consequences. Some argued that those findings reflected the disruptions of World War I, not the flu itself. But later studies, including those from the United Kingdom and Finland, have strengthened the case for a biological effect, reinforcing that the infection itself, not wartime upheaval, was the key driver.

“It isn’t simply influenza that can alter fetal neurodevelopment,” Kristina Adams Waldorf, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington, explained. “Many types of infections … in the mother can be transmitted as a signal to the fetus, which can alter its brain development.”

A century later, the same question has returned with COVID: Could infection during pregnancy subtly shape how children grow and learn? The new Massachusetts General Hospital study offers an early look at an answer.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.