No Thanksgiving meal is complete without a huge bowl of cranberry sauce on the side, but the unnaturally red, Jello-like substance that comes from a can will never serve your roasted bird justice. Fresh is always better, and the same holds true for cranberries.  These tart, flavorful berries are currently in season, so do yourself a favor and make your cranberry sauce from scratch this Thanksgiving.  It’ll impress your family and friends, plus you can slather the leftover sauce on turkey and stuffing sandwiches (#leftovers4dayz).

Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

3 cups, or roughly 12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 whole nutmeg seed
Juice and zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Add cranberries, sugar and nutmeg to about an inch of boiling water. Stir occasionally for 10 minutes.

Photo by Emma Danbury

2. Once cranberries begin to burst and boil over, add the orange juice, orange zest and cinnamon, then stir to combine.

Photo by Emma Danbury

3. Lower heat and stir frequently to prevent the sauce from burning.

4. Once the sauce reduces to a caramel-like consistency, remove from heat and serve.

Photo by Emma Danbury