The Berry Best Cranberry Sauce

Holiday season is just around the corner. As family dinners and celebrations commence, offering to help in the kitchen can earn you major brownie points with friends and relatives alike. But, aren’t holiday dishes a pain to make? Wrong! Don’t forget one underrated menu item that is a festive staple and an incredibly easy to make from scratch – cranberry sauce. Some may shudder at the mental image of wiggly, jiggly cranberry gel that slides out of a can. Fear no more! This vibrant, tangy condiment is a festive twist on the original holiday classic. It’s ready in less than two hours and features real, whole cranberries (not questionable gelatinous goop).

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Inactive time: 1 hr
Total time: 1 hr 20 mins

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
1 bag of cranberries, washed and picked over
1 cup granulated white sugar
Juice of one large orange, plus enough water to make a total of 1 cup liquid
Orange peel from one orange – you want fairly long strips, which adds extra citrus flavor as well as an awesome kick of color
Optional: 3 whole cloves

Photo by Claire Hurley

Directions:

1. Combine the sugar and the orange juice/water mixture and bring to boil in a medium sauce pan. Add cranberries, orange peel, cloves, and return to a boil. Be careful of popping berries!
   

   Photo by Claire Hurley

2. Reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes or so, stirring occasionally. If you prefer a smoother cranberry sauce, you can mash the cranberries with the back of a fork. If chunkiness is your thing, just let it be.
3. Let the sauce cool to room temperature (it will thicken as it cools) and refrigerate. It will last a week in the fridge (but we are guessing there won’t be much left to store).
   

   Photo by Claire Hurley

Hint: If you can’t wait until Thanksgiving to give this sauce a go, try it on a regular turkey sandwich with Havarti cheese.

Warning: You may never use mayo again. It also adds a bright punch to a bowl of oatmeal in the mornings – add in some slivered almonds and extra cinnamon as well for a festive seasonal breakfast.

Photo by Claire Hurley