Southern Made Simple

SUGARED CRANBERRIES

BY LAURA TUCKER

Icannot imagine what holiday baking in my house would look like without beautiful, crisp and perfectly tart cranberries. In fact, I’ve been known to stock my freezer with them the moment I see them being stocked in the produce stands at my local grocery store during this time of year. I honestly feel that they’re vastly underrated considering how vibrant they can make a holiday dish look – plus they’re loaded with nutrients and antioxidants to boot!

I’m always looking for ways to add cranberries to my Thanksgiving and Christmas cooking, and perhaps my favorite way to incorporate them into my dishes, especially desserts, is to “candy” them by dusting them with sugar.

They’re stunningly gorgeous when they’re sugared – almost giving them a “winter ice” effect, and they make a beautiful embellishment to all sorts of holiday desserts. Frankly I find them so irresistible, I keep a few handfuls reserved to snack on as a special treat!

Making sugared cranberries is very simple, but it can be a little bit time-consuming as there are two different times that you have to let them sit and “dry.” The first step to making them is to heat a medium saucepan with 1/2 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add in the cranberries and stir them long enough to coat them in the syrup that you’ve created. Remove from heat quickly – they should not be on the heat long enough to hear them pop.

Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the cranberries onto a cooling rack with foil or parchment paper underneath to catch the drippings. Allow them to sit for roughly an hour to dry.

In a small bowl, pour about 1/4 cup of white granulated sugar and toss the cranberries in – just a few at a time. The cranberries will be dry, but will have a sticky film around them from the syrup. I recommend doing just a few at a time so that the cranberries don’t all clump together. You’re looking for a nice, even sugar coating over all of the cranberries. Once they’ve been sugared, move back to a drying rack and allow to sit for another 1-2 hours. Store them in a loosely covered container and keep for a few days.

SUGARED CRANBERRIES

Ingredients 3/4 cup white granulated sugar + additional for dusting 1/2 cup water 8 oz bag fresh cranberries Instructions 1. In a medium saucepan, heat water and sugar and stir until all sugar has dissolved 2. Add in cranberries and stir for just a few seconds until completely coated 3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cranberries onto a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and allow to dry for an hour or so 4. Once cranberries are dried, pour a small amount of sugar into a bowl and toss around to coat 5. Place cranberries back onto drying rack and allow to dry for one more hour 6. Store cranberries in a loosely sealed container so the sugar will stay intact and not dissolve 7. Enjoy!

Sugared cranberries are such a simple little holiday treat to make, so make sure you pick up a few bags at your local grocery store to utilize in your baking this season! They truly make any holiday dessert stand out, but I also love to add them on top of pancakes, yogurt, freshly baked banana bread and even a piping-hot sweet potato with cinnamon-sugar butter!!

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