Description
Festive holiday Cranberry Sauce brings zesty sweetness to your seasonal table, combining tart berries with classic spices. Homemade goodness delivers pure comfort you’ll savor with each delightful spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
Fruits:
- 12 ounces (340 grams) fresh cranberries
- 3/4 cup (180 milliliters) pure orange juice
Sweeteners:
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
Additional Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) water
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine water, orange juice, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan, heating over medium-high until mixture reaches a rolling boil.
- Add cranberries to the bubbling liquid, immediately reducing heat to a gentle simmer.
- Allow cranberries to cook for 10-12 minutes, occasionally stirring, watching them pop and split open naturally.
- Gently crush cranberries using a potato masher, controlling the texture based on desired smoothness – more mashing creates a smoother consistency.
- For an ultra-silky sauce, optional blending will create a completely uniform texture.
- Continue simmering for an additional 3 minutes to develop deeper flavors.
- Remove from heat, leaving the saucepan uncovered on the warm burner to enable natural thickening for 20-30 minutes, periodically stirring.
- Transfer the vibrant crimson sauce to a sealed container, refrigerating overnight or minimum 6 hours to enhance flavor development and achieve optimal jellied consistency.
Notes
- Achieve a balanced flavor by adjusting sugar levels based on cranberry tartness, tasting and adding more sugar if needed during cooking.
- gentle mashing creates a chunkier sauce, while thorough blending produces a silky-smooth consistency.
- Enhance nutritional value and complexity by experimenting with alternative sweeteners like honey or maple syrup, which can add depth and unique flavor profiles.
- Store homemade cranberry sauce in the refrigerator for up to a week, allowing flavors to develop and intensify over time.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Snacks, Dinner
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 104 kcal
- Sugar: 26 g
- Sodium: 1 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg