Cranberry sauce lovers seem to fall into two very distinct groups; there are the cranberry sauce purists who love their sauce homemade with whole berries and fresh spices, and there are those who like their cranberry “sauce” jellied and in the shape of a tin can.
I think it is clear which group I fall into. 😉 Though I don’t mind a slice of cran-can from time to time, I prefer a little more flavor from my cranberry sauce than a sugary cranberry juice flavored jelly mold. I get it, it’s a “texture thing” (weirdos).
Homemade cranberry sauce always seemed like such a fancy and impressive thing to find on the dinner table. But allow me to let you in on a little secret…it’s crazy easy to make. I’m talking, you can whip it up in 10 minutes kind of easy. That’s barely any more time than it takes to wiggle that jellied blob out of the can and slice it up.
And this sauce is waaaaay better. It’d even say it is awesome. It’s… AWESOME SAUCE (yup, totally went there #noregrets).
This homemade apple cranberry sauce has just the right amount of sweet and tart. Honeycrisp apples and apple cider add sweetness while the cranberries are pleasantly tarty. The orange zest adds just a little tang of fresh citrus – hey, remember that dried orange zest we made last week? Now is the time to use it! – and of course we can’t have a holiday dish without a little pinch of cinnamon. Perfecto!
This apple cranberry sauce and be made ahead of time. Just pop it into the fridge and pull it out right before dinner (I like it best chilled!). It’s also a great dish to bring to dinner or give as a hostess gift!
Serve this beautiful homemade apple cranberry sauce with turkey (of course) and it is also delicious on leftover turkey sandwiches or eaten on crackers or toast like a jam or chutney. It also tastes pretty darn good straight off the spoon (not gonna lie).
- 15m
- about 2 cups
Ingredients
- 1 c sugar
- 1 c apple cider (or orange juice)
- 1 12-ounce package fresh whole cranberries
- 1 honeycrisp apple, chopped
- 2 tsp. fresh orange zest
- 1 tsp. cinnamon, ground
Instructions
- Combine sugar and apple cider in a small pot on the stove on medium-high heat. Bring to a gentle boil. Stir in whole cranberries, apple pieces (You can peel your apple if you like, I just chop it up skin and all. I don't have a good reason other than I am lazy and it doesn't seem to affect the texture at all), orange zest and cinnamon and return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently until the cranberries "pop" - about 10 minutes - stirring occasionally.
- Once all the cranberries have popped, remove from heat, cover and allow to cool to room temperature. Sauce will thicken the more it sits. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Pin for Later:
I forgot to save some fresh cranberries for photos, but good thing it’s Christmas time as I had a handful of cranberry beads leftover from making the garland for my tree. Shhhhh. You can’t even tell. 😉
Happy Holidays!
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