Instructions: Q. I have searched and searched for a method to drying cranberries. Can you help? When they are in season I would like to try this for snacks.

A. According to Deanna DeLong, author of How to Dry Foods cranberries are not the best candidates for drying because they take a long time, although Ocean

Spray has clearly found success with their Crasins brand of dried cranberries.

DeLong says if you have the patience, the berries should be washed first to remove dirt or fungicide. Dipping them in boiling water to crack the skins is optional, but if you dont, they take "forever" to dry. They should be kept at a temperature of 140 F (60 C) until dry, and youll know theyre dry when they are shriveled and light in weight with no sign of moisture, although they will likely be a bit sticky. Once dry, they can be kept at refrigerator temperatures for 18 to 24 months or in a freezer for 5 to 8 years. So make a big batch!

Q. I have heard of a recipe called Mud Cake, but can find no more information. Im a cake decorator by hobby, and this sounds just my kind of thing.

A. First of all, the folks in Mississippi will tell you that youre looking for a Mississippi Mud Cake, while the folks in Alabama claim it as their own.

Second, weve looked through dozens and dozens of recipes for "mud cake", and have yet to find any agreement at all among them (one includes crushed pineapple and canned cherry pie filling for heavens sake!).

Given that level of controversy, we only feel comfortable stating that a mud cake is a dessert from the American South that includes chocolate. In color, it is supposed to resemble the dark brown-black mud of the Mississippi River.

Nowadays, it is a chocolate sheet cake studded with pecans and marshmallows and covered in a dark chocolate icing. In earlier times, it was lighter and more delicate, without nuts, certainly without marshmallows, but with a modest mocha flavor.

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