Hi all – this is a companion post to this Friday’s happy hour cocktail, because I thought it needed to stand on its own.
You’ll see a few posts like this coming up, where instead of cramming all the instructions on several different things into one post, I spread them out over a couple. It’s easier to find them later and to reference them when I want to use them as part of another recipe.
But enough blog housekeeping. Let’s talk candied cranberries!
These are one of my favorite little additions to recipes during the holidays.
While you can snack on them by themselves, they’re awfully tart – but they’re great for dressing up a cake or a holiday cocktail. I’m sharing these here today because I used them in the mocktail I’m also sharing today, and want to have this recipe available in case anyone is interested.
It’s a simple process, and you can use this to candy just about anything you’d want to use as a garnish, decoration, or a snowy-looking snack. Because I think that’s the best part – the cranberries end up looking like they’ve been rolled through newfallen snow.
And yes, that’s exactly the reason I keep sharing pictures of them.
Just look at these beauties!
Candied Cranberries
Makes about 3 cups.
What You’ll Need:
- 1 12-oz bag of fresh cranberries
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup water
How to Make Them:
1. Mix the water and 1/2 cup sugar together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved {2-3 min}. Remove from heat.
2. When the mixture has cooled a little, add the cranberries and stir until they’re well coated. Let them sit for about 10 minutes, and then remove from the water and let dry for at least an hour.
3. Spread parchment paper and the remaining 1-1/2 cups sugar on a rimmed baking sheet. Roll the cranberries through the sugar until they have picked up an extra layer of sugar and look like they’ve been kissed by newfallen snow.
Cheers!
