This isn’t your average cranberry sauce.
For years, I didn’t even think I liked cranberry sauce. Who wants to eat tart jello-like slices that come out of a can? Not me.
This cranberry sauce, however, is a totally different story.
Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and bursting with Fall spice, this little dish might be my new favorite addition to our Thanksgiving dinner table. Pure maple syrup is a nutritional powerhouse, loaded with anti-oxidants, zinc, iron and calcium, and may even prevent gas and bloating when you swap it for refined sweeteners–> a definite perk after a large meal! Paired with nutrient-rich cranberries, this is a dish you can feel good about serving to your family this year.
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Spiced Cranberry Sauce
serves 4-6
Adapted from Alton Brown
Ingredients:
12 oz. fresh cranberries
3/4 cup pure maple syrup (I prefer Grade B)
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
Directions:
Wash the cranberries and discard any soft ones.
In a 1 1/2 quart sauce pot, combine the water, maple syrup, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the cranberries, and cook for 15 minutes. The cranberries should burst and the sauce will thicken.
*Note: Make sure you don’t cook the cranberries any longer than 15 minutes, or pectin will start to break down and the sauce will not set as well.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a mold, or storage jar. Allow to chill for at least 6 hours before serving.
- 12 oz . fresh cranberries
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup (I prefer Grade B)
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger , minced
- Wash the cranberries and discard any soft ones.
- In a 1 1/2 quart sauce pot, combine the water, maple syrup, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the cranberries, and cook for 15 minutes. The cranberries should burst and the sauce will thicken. Make sure you don't cook the cranberries any longer than 15 minutes, or pectin will start to break down and the sauce will not set as well.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a mold, or storage jar.
- Allow to chill for at least 6 hours before serving.
As with any recipe, feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste. I happen to LOVE fresh ginger, and would have added more if I were the only one eating it! Fresh orange juice and zest can also be used in place of the lemon, if you prefer.
As with any recipe, feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste. I happen to LOVE fresh ginger, and would have added more if I were the only one eating it! (Austin doesn’t care for ginger at all, so this was our compromise.) Fresh orange juice and zest can also be used in place of the lemon, if you prefer.
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Reader Feedback: Are you a fan of cranberry sauce? Did you grow up with homemade or canned versions?
gabby
Just made this for our early thanksgiving celebration and my kids liked the pan clean (once it was cooled). So so yummy and so excited to share tomorrow!
Jess
This is incredibly delicious. I liked the spoon, scraped out the sides, and was left wishing I had made more! I have a feeling the rest of the English department will, tomorrow, too…
Jess
licked* this is what i get for typing while eating..lol.
Racheal
tons of thanks for sharing this, my 9yr old made this and came out so good, everybody enjoy this, she also suggest that instead of peanut butter jelly sandwich you can replace jelly as cranberry jelly…..love this
Tonia
Hi Megan,
we don’t have fresh cranberries over here. Do you think I could adjust the recepie wih dried cranberries, maybe soaked in water? Would love to hear your opinion on this. Thanks, Tonia
Ali
Tonia,
I, too, live in a country that doesn’t have fresh cranberries. I have tried Megan’s recipe the past two Thanksgivings using dried cranberries, and it is possible, but you have to alter the sweetness since dried cranberries are sweetened already. It seems like I might have added more lemon to balance it as well. I never used exact measurements, so I can’t tell you exactly what I did…I just taste along the way. Just wanted you to know someone else out there had tried it. I’m sure it’s not the same taste exactly as the recipe written, but it is delicious and doable all the same.
This week I found a bag of fresh cranberries while visiting another city, so this Thanksgiving I’m so excited to actually try the recipe as written!