I made these candied cranberries last year after seeing them on A Spicy Perspective.
Sommer shared this super simple and gorgeous recipe with us and I just couldn’t pass it up.
I knew the combination of sweet and tart would be dangerously addictive. As soon as she said they were like natural sour patch kids I was sold.
After my great success with them last year, I made them asap this year.
My boyfriend loves them too, so he was happy to have them return to the kitchen!
But these cranberries aren’t just for Thanksgiving. Oh no.
You will want to make them for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and any other time you can find fresh cranberries!
This recipe also leaves some wiggle room. You can switch out the extracts for the flavors you like, or think might go well with cranberries.
Last year I used coconut extract and I found it a little overpowering. This year I scaled it back on the coconut, added more orange liqueur and the insides of a whole vanilla bean.
If I would have had any lemon or orange extract I would have added that too!
Candied Cranberries
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups sugar, plus an additional cup
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1/4 tsp coconut extract
- 2 tsp Patron Citronge Orange Liqueur
- 1 – 12 ounce bag of fresh organic cranberries, washed
To Make the Candied Cranberries:
- In a large pot over medium heat combine the 2 1/2 cups sugar, water, vanilla bean and scraped out seeds and pod, coconut extract, and orange liqueur.
- Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. You also need to make sure the mixture never reaches a boil!
- Once the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat and remove the vanilla bean pod. Pour the cranberries into the hot sugar and stir to make sure they are completely covered.
- Put a heavy plate over the cranberries to keep them submerged, then store the whole thing in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours (depending on how sweet you want them).
- Once you are ready for your cranberries, pull them out and drain the syrup into a jar (trust me, you are going to want to hold on to this stuff).
- Spread out 1-1 1/2 cups of sugar on a cookie sheet.
- Now in a few quick motions: move the soaked cranberries to the cookie sheet and immediately start lightly shaking the sheet back and forth to fully cover the cranberries in the sugar.
- Allow to dry and harden before moving to a container for storage.
I’m not sure how long these will keep because I’ve never had them last longer than a few days!
This recipe is great for a hostess gift on New Years or Christmas. The candied cranberries would also be a lovely addition to a gift basket!
About bigfatbaker
Oh how fun! These could then be added in muffins, scones, etc, that would be delicious:-) Beautiful, Hugs, Terra
Ohhh…I love anything cranberry and these look amazing! I happen to have a few bags of cranberries that I just picked up at the store yesterday- I think I see these sugar coated lovelies in my future- thanks!
Oh yum, I’ve never made these but they look gorgeous!
Oh how cute those look..very pretty and delicious!!!
These are so pretty!!!
I have never seen such a thing. I love cranberries though and try to use them whenever I can. I am definitely bookmarking this recipe. Beautiful!
I bought some cranberries last week…I think I might just make this recipe when the little one is in bed!
I like the liqueur in the recipe…sounds like a good addition. I made candied cranberries for the first time earlier this year and was surprised at how additive they were! Definitely a go-to holiday treat!
These look amazing! I never had a candied cranberry! Hmmm, I may have to try this!
These will be devoured in my house in no time! My hubby and daughter absolute fans of the sweet n tart flavours. Thanks for sharing
These are so pretty! I bet orange or lemon extract would be awesome!
I looooove candied cranberries but never thought they’d be so easy to make!
I agree that cranberries are not just for the holidays! I could eat them year round. These candied cranberries look delicious and a fun thing to do. They are so unique and I bet quite addicting and thus a dangerous treat to have around the house.
Very interesting – I have major issues with tart foods, including cranberries – maybe this way I’d enjoy them!