bake it: Cranberry Sauce and Leftover Ideas

bake it: Cranberry Sauce and Leftover Ideas

One of my favorite holiday dishes is homemade cranberries. They are really so simple to make, I am not sure why anyone would buy them in the can. I make mine very simple, with just the addition of a little orange zest. You can adapt this recipe by adding nuts, chopped fruit or a little ginger.

Cranberry Sauce

Shopping List:
1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 orange

Rinse: Clean cranberries with cool water, discard stems.

Boil: Heat water and sugar to boiling in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Continue boiling 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Add: Stir in cranberries. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Continue boiling about 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries begin to pop. Remove from heat.

Zest: Add the zest of an orange to the berries and blend well.

Chill: Pour sauce into bowl or container. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled. Can be made the night before.

Here are a few ideas for leftover Cranberry Sauce....

Ice Cream: Warm on the stovetop and spoon over ice cream.

Muffins: Add a scoop to homemade muffins.

Salsa: Add to hot salsa! so yummy.

Cheese and crackers: Add a dollop to goat or cream cheese.

Oatmeal: Add some nuts and cranberry sauce to oatmeal.

Cranberry Bars: Make like lemon bars - just substitute the cranberries for lemon.

Add your ideas in the comments!