Aronia Berry Recipes
Aronia Protein Bites
3 cups oats
1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup honey
½ cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup Aronia berries
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. The mixture can be rolled into balls or flattened in a pan to cut into bars.
Aronia Salsa
1 ½ cup Aronia berries
1 medium red onion
2-3 jalapeños, chopped
4 cups Roma tomatoes, diced
14 oz. can corn
14 oz. can black beans, rained and rinsed
2-3 limes, juices
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop the onion, jalapeños, and Roma tomatoes. Place into a large mixing bowl.
Chop the Aronia berries (or keep them whole). Add to bowl.
Dice the Roma tomatoes and add to mixing bowl.
Drain and rinse the canned corn and black beans. Add to mixing bowl.
Add lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.
Aronia Berry Cornbread Panzanella
Cornbread Croutons:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
3 cups cornbread cubes (1-inch cubes), store-bought or homemade, use your own recipe or recipe follows
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vinaigrette:
1 cup aronia berries
1/2 cup champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
Zest of 1 lemon plus juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad:
6 ounces arugula
1 cup mixed cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup Aronia berries
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
Skillet Cornbread:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
For the cornbread croutons: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease a baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Gently arrange the cornbread cubes on the baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper. Don't toss the cornbread or it will crumble.
Toast, gently turning halfway through, until golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes. Allow it to cool 5 to 7 minutes before moving to a serving platter.
For the vinaigrette: Put the aronia berries, champagne vinegar, honey and lemon zest and juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a low simmer and cook until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Transfer the aronia berry mixture to a blender and puree at low speed. Increase to medium and slowly drizzle in the oil, allowing it to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a pitcher or container. If making ahead, the vinaigrette can be made up to 48 hours in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container. Shake to emulsify if separated.
For the salad: To assemble on a platter, layer half the arugula, half the croutons and half the tomatoes, then repeat with the remaining arugula, croutons and tomatoes. Top with the aronia berries and goat cheese. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and top with the torn basil.
For the skillet cornbread: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Measure the buttermilk and milk into a measuring cup and add the egg. Stir together with a fork. Add the baking soda and stir. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until combined.
In a small bowl, melt 1/4 cup shortening in the microwave. Slowly add the melted shortening to the batter, stirring until just combined.
In a cast-iron skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons shortening over medium heat. Pour the batter into the hot skillet. (The batter should sizzle.) Spread to even out the surface. Cook on the stovetop for 1 minute, and then transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. The edges should be crispy!
Raspberry Aronia Balsamic Glaze
This glaze with its deep color and complex flavors will upclass your pork chops or other meat! It is also very easy and quick to make!
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1/4 cup aronia berries
1 1/2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
Puree the 3 ingredients together.
Pour over pork or other meat. Or, put in jar and save for later.
Aronia Berry Vinaigrette
1 cup Aronia berries
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shallots diced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil
1 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
Heat the berries, honey, and water until hot throughout and syrupy, then reserve and cool. Combine the berries and their syrup, and all ingredients but the oils in a blender or food processor.
Process the mixture slowly adding the oils to form an emulsion.
When the oils have been added and the mixture thickened, transfer to a labeled, dated container and refrigerate until needed.
This is great with some fresh greens, craisins, sliced almonds and goat cheese, but would be equally good alongside some poultry or game
Yogurt Aronia Berry Popsicles
2 cup’s frozen aronia berries
2 cups plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
6-8 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice of 1 small lemon
Chopped or crushed raspberries, blueberries or strawberries, optional
Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container as needed. Add a few chopped or crushed berries to the bottom of a small disposable cups or your favorite freezer pop molds. Add the yogurt Aronia berry mixture on top. Place the cups onto a freezer safe dish and freeze for 30 minutes, add popsicle sticks and freeze for additional 3-4 hours or until firm. To serve, snip one edge of the cup and peel it away. After initial freeze, store any remaining pops in a zip top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for us to one month. Makes about 7 small freezer pops.
Aronia Berry Ice Cream
1 cup frozen aronia berries
2 cans full fat coconut milk
8 large dates, pitted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dash of cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
Chill the coconut cans overnight.
Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender. Blend until smooth.
Run the mixture through an ice cream machine as per instructions. If you don’t have an ice cream machine, place in the freezer in a large container and freeze until firm (approximately 4 hours), removing every hour to whisk with a fork
Bourbon Blue Aronia Berry Sauce
1 cup aronia berries
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup bourbon
3 tsp corn starch
2 Tbsp water
In a blender mix bourbon and aronia berries.
Pour into a heavy medium sized saucepan.
Add blueberries and brown sugar.
Mix and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Turn down heat and simmer 20 minutes.
At the end of 20 minutes if you’re wanting it thicker make mixture of corn starch and water. Add a couple spoonfuls of the hot liquid to the corn starch mixture and slowly add to the hot saucepan. It will thicken quickly.
Remove from heat. Put sauce into a canning jar.
Serve warm or cold over ice cream, pancakes or waffles.
Aronia Banana Bread
1 cup aronia berries
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp salt (leave out if using salted butter)
2-3 overripe bananas
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a loaf pan (mini loaf pan or a large bread loaf pan).
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs, mash bananas and frozen aroni aberries until well blended.
Stir banana mixture into flour mixture - stir just until moistened. Pour the batter into prepared pans. For mini loaf pans, bake 25-30 minutes. For a large loaf pan, bake 55-60 minutes.
Aronia Cheesecake
Graham Cracker Crust:
10-12 graham crakcers, crushed
5 tbs melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
dash of cinnamon
Cheesecake:
8 ounces sour cream
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
dash of vanilla
2 tbs cornstarch
Aronia juice to taste
Mix the crust ingredients together. Press into the bottom of a spring form pan. Pre-bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Take out and let cool.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix sour cream, cream cheese, cornstarch, and sugar together. Mix until very smooth. Add in vanilla and 2-3 spoonfuls of aronia juice.
Pour cream cheese mixture on top of the crust and spread evenly. Add drops of aronia juice on top of the cheesecake and swirl.
Prepare the water bath - wrap the bottom of the spring form pan in foil. Place the wrapped pan onto a larger jelly roll pan. Place pan in oven and pour water around the springform pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 27 minutes. When done, turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool in the closed oven. Remove when the oven and cheesecake are cool. Store in refrigerator.
Aronia Jelly
6 1/2 cups aronia juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package Sure Jell
9 cups sugar
In a large kettle, mix the juice, sure jell, and lemon juice together. Bring to a boil.
Add 9 cups of sugar and bring to a boil again. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
When finished cooking, pour into jars and process in a canner for 10 minutes.
Aronia Muffins
2 cups flour
2 large eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt (leave out if the butter is salted)
1/2 cup milk
frozen aronia berries - add to taste
1/2 cup butter
2-3 tsp granulated sugar for sprinkling on top of the muffins (OR omit for a simple crumble topping recipe)
1 cup granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degress. Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. Set aside.
In a bowl, place flour and baking powder. Mix together and set aside.
In another mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix.
With a spoon, stir in half of the flour and then half of the milk. Repeat, stirring well after each addition until just blended. Do not over mix!
Gently fold in the aronia berries.
Fill the muffin tins and sprinkle tops with granulated sugar OR a crumble topping.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Aronia Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup aronia berries
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla.
Combine oats, flour, cinnamon, salt, soda, and powder. Gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the aronia berries.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop batter onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.
