Homemade Cranberry Sauce

It’s Thanksgiving week! We have a thing for cranberries  (surprise, surprise!) and one of our favorite ways to use cranberries during the holiday season is in a homemade cranberry sauce. It also makes for a wonderful hostess gift!

Our go-to homemade cranberry sauce recipe is simple: in a saucepan, mix together one cup of fresh cranberries, ½ cup of dried cranberries, about ¾ cups granulated sugar, ½ cup orange juice, ¼ cup water, about a teaspoon of orange zest, and a pinch of salt. You can add a cinnamon stick for extra flavor.

Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, allowing it to simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the fresh cranberries burst and the sauce thickens.

Remove the cinnamon stick and using a wooden spoon or potato masher, gently mash the now cooked fresh cranberries to your preferred consistency. Let the sauce cool to room temperature; it will continue to thicken as it cools. Transfer your homemade cranberry sauce to a serving dish and enjoy! If you are making the sauce ahead of time, store the prepared sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Enjoy – and from our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

The Mariani Family