Add some festive flair to your holiday spread with this simple recipe for Sugared Cranberries that are easy to make and perfect for snacking or adding to cocktails.
Sugared Cranberries
These sweet and tangy sugared cranberries make for a delicious and festive holiday treat. They are as tasty as they are beautiful, with their deep scarlet hue and the glittering, sparkling sugar that look like frost in the sunlight.
These tart and tangy treats make the perfect holiday snack or garnish for desserts or cocktails. They're easy to make with just a few simple ingredients and will be a festive hit with your guests!
Why Let the Cranberries Dry After Coating Them in Simple Syrup?
This is really the trick to turn the cranberries from just rolled in sugar to truly beautiful and sparkling. When the cranberries are rolled in sugar wet, it will stick, but the sugar will look dull and gummy.
When you let the simple syrup dry, it will be sticky enough for the sugar to stick, and it will stay dry and sparkly!
It's important to let your cranberries dry first, for about an hour. I place mine on parchment paper. Be sure none of them are sitting in wet puddles, and try to not let them touch each other either.
What Kind of Sugar Should I Use?
I recommend using standard granulated sugar. This sugar will be white and small and perfect for making the cranberries glitter and sparkle.
Larger brown sugars will not stick as well, plus they're not white so they won't sparkle like glistening frost. Powdered sugar or other very fine sugars will look cakey, like little snowballs.
Can I Use Frozen Cranberries?
No. Cranberries thawed from frozen are generally softer and wetter. This texture is difficult for sugaring them.
How to Use Sugared Cranberries
- Pies, Cakes, and Baked Goods - Sugared cranberries make beautiful garnishes on holiday pies and cakes, such as this maple pumpkin pie or orange cranberry bundt cake.
- Breakfast - Top your favorite holiday breakfast with these sparkling gems, such as eggnog French toast casserole, gingerbread waffles, homemade cinnamon rolls, eggnog French toast, or gingerbread pancakes!
- Drinks - Add them to a toothpick to set over a drink, such as sparkling wine, a cosmopolitan, or this festive moscow mule. This garnish will add holiday spirit to any of your favorite drinks.
- Ice cream - These make a fun a pretty topping for ice cream, by themself or alongside any of your usual favorites.
- Yogurt - Make a parfait by adding granola, seeds, and these sugared cranberries.
- Snack - While they do make pretty garnishes, they also are delicious enough to eat as a sweet snack alone.
- Charcuterie - Add these to a holiday charcuterie board with your favorite cured meats and cheeses. They add sweetness, festiveness, and beauty to a classic appetizer board.
What to Do with Leftover Sugared Cranberries
If you've exhausted all of your baking, decorating, and topping and still have some left over, it's easy to turn these cranberries into a cranberry sauce. I recommend cutting the maple syrup in half since the cranberries already have sugar, and you can substitute apple juice for water in a pinch! My cranberry sauce recipe has lots more serving suggestions, as well!
More Festive Cranberry Recipes You'll Love
- Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce - This is the best cranberry sauce around, and so simple to make! With extra flavor from maple syrup and apple juice that bring out the cranberry without overpowering, this is a holiday classic!
- Cranberry Bliss Bars - These cookie bars are as beautiful as they are delicious with cranberry and white chocolate cookies and an orange frosting.
- Cranberry Relish - The simplest way to prepare cranberries. Simple fresh ingredients in a food processor become a delightful and festive dip or topping.
- Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake - Moist orange cake with lots of cranberries and a cranberry swirl, topped with a sweet orange glaze.
- Cranberry Moscow Mule - A classic drink with a festive twist, cranberry adds both color and flavor to cocktail favorite!
Sugared Cranberries Video
Sugared Cranberries
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- 1½ cup granulated sugar
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine water and ½ cup sugar.
- Bring to a boil and let it simmer on low heat for 3 minutes.
- Stir in cranberries to fully coat in the syrup. Remove from heat and continue stirring for 1 minute.
- Remove cranberries to a parchment lined baking sheet or metal rack to allow cranberries to dry out for 1 hour. Do not let the cranberries sit in puddles, and try to spread them out as best as possible.
- After an hour, place remaining sugar in a small bowl. Roll cranberries in sugar to coat. Use as garnish or as desired.
Notes
- Storage: Store in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for one week. If the sugary coating begins to soften or look a little wet, simply toss them in more sugar.
- Leftover Syrup: If you have leftover simple syrup (sugar and water), you can place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use it for cocktails or hot or cold coffee during the holiday season!
Nutrition
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