• 1/2 cup of sugar or 1 cup of Pure Maple Syrup
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 12-ounce package of frozen or fresh cranberries
  • zest of orange
  • 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
  • 1 cinnamon stick

This year was the first year I decided to make fresh cranberry sauce. Granted there is something to say about the allure of canned cranberry sauce and seeing the ridges on the side and having it jiggle on the plate. But the sweetness and tartness of the cranberries bring a lot more flavor explosion to the main dishes at the dinner table.

Directions:

  1. Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse them. Pick out and discard any damaged or bruised cranberries.
  2. Put the water and sugar in a medium saucepan on high and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
  3. Add the cranberries to the pot and return to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the cranberries have burst.
  4. Once the cranberries have burst now you dress it up with the other ingredients. I placed nutmeg and cinnamon stick and a little orange zest. Some other options: You can mix in a half a cup of chopped pecans. Raisins, blueberries for added sweetness. You can also add other holiday spices such as allspice or pumpkin spice.
  5. Remove the pot from heat. Let cool at room temperature, then transfer to a bowl to chill in the refrigerator.

Optional:

You could replace the sugar with 1 cup of Pure Maple Syrup (Not Pancake Syrup!)