Cranberry Sauce

Since I won't be able to see my friend, Colleen, at Thanksgiving this year, we had a "Friendsgiving" this past weekend. It was my job to bring dessert and cranberry sauce. I'd never made cranberry sauce. After doing research, I realized it is so easy to make. The idea of canned cranberry sauce is about as criminal as whole canned chicken. Look it up. It's a real thing. I refuse to show you myself. You can't make me. Oh okay, here it is.

In all honesty, it took me 15 minutes and tastes way better than the gel you need to cut up into cubes. Trust me on this and just try this recipe. Aldi has 12 oz bags of cranberries for $0.99. I'm fairly certain that's the same price as a can and you will get twice as much sauce that is not in the shape of a ribbed cylinder. For the sake of your guests, just try it. Buy a can of sauce if you want backup, but trust me, you'll just end up throwing it away.

Look how pretty! This is when they start to pop.

You need:

1 c sugar
1 c water
12 oz bag cranberries, rinsed
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
2 tsp grated orange peel, optional

Dissolve the sugar in water over medium high heat. When the mixture is clear, add the cranberries. Stir the berries until they start to pop. You will hear the crackle sound.

Add the cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel. The measurements were an estimate. It is really to whatever taste you are comfortable.

Continue stirring the berries until they have all popped. I smashed a few spoonfuls against the side of the pan after they popped to make a smoother sauce, but I still wanted whole berries in there.

Some bubbling cranberry sauce

Pour the sauce into a heat resistant bowl to cool. Store in the refrigerator until serving. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

Silky, sweet and tart