Cranberries seem to be the quintessential holiday flavor. I saw them everywhere this past Thanksgiving.

I do admit, they provide a great tart flavor contrast to savory dishes like stuffing & biscuits while also cutting the sweetness in desserts like pecan pie.

And how can you beat the beautiful bright red color!

I have always loved dried cranberries. I can eat crasins almost non-stop and cranberry sauce is my favorite thing about Thanksgiving.

But, this was the first Thanksgiving I have ever bough whole, fresh cranberries.

I’m so glad I decided to try something new. My sister made fresh cranberry sauce, and I made candied cranberries.

We both agreed the sauce was the best we have ever had, and the candied cranberries are going to become a new holiday tradition.

If you have never had a cranberry in its close to natural state like this, you should try this recipe immediately. The tartness from the cranberries is not at all overwhelming, and they are just sweet enough to feel like a treat.

I made them two different ways, once with orange liqueur and once with coconut extract. Both recipes were absolutely delicious.

If you are going to be serving these to children, you might want to use something like coconut extract. I think orange extract would also match the tartness of the cranberries well. [Read more...]