Cranberry Sauce by RickMach

• Quick — only 20 minutes on the stove
• Easy — no boiling the water and sugar together first
• Convenient — just 5 simple ingredients, including water
• Flavorful — made with fresh orange juice & zest
• Texture — moderately thick with whole cranberries swirled in
• Make-ahead — make it a few days in advance so it’s ready!
• Unlike the rest — I use brown sugar & vanilla

Ingredients:

• 12 ounce bag cranberries, rinsed*: Use fresh or frozen cranberries. Do not use dried.
• 3/4 cup Water: The cranberries cook in liquid, so we’re using a combination of water and orange juice. I find using all orange juice overpowers the cranberry flavor.
• 1/4 cup Fresh Orange Juice: Squeeze 1/4 cup of juice from a fresh orange. You need the orange zest anyway, so why not use the juices inside? Orange and cranberry are a natural pairing. Have you tried my orange cranberry bread yet?
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar: Why use regular white granulated sugar when there’s brown sugar?! That’s my motto and it definitely applies to cranberry sauce. I usually use only 3/4 cup, but if you want a very sweet cranberry sauce, increase to 1 cup.
• 1 teaspoon Orange Zest: Before you juice the orange, grate some zest off. Add the zest after the sauce comes off heat. Why? When I cook the cranberry sauce with the zest, the end result tastes a little bitter.
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract: I don’t see a lot of cranberry sauce recipes use this ingredient, but I swear by it. A dash of vanilla extract tastes unbelievable with the orange, brown sugar, and cranberry flavors. (And bonus! Smells great too.)

Instructions:

1. Read before you begin: You need fresh orange juice and orange zest. I recommend zesting the orange first, setting the zest aside, then cutting the orange for the juice. (Harder to zest a cut orange!) You need about half of a large orange for 1/4 cup juice. Juice the other half of the orange if you need more to yield 1/4 cup.
2. After rinsing the cranberries, set 1/2 cup cranberries aside. You will stir these in at the end for extra texture.
3. Combine the remaining cranberries, water, orange juice, and brown sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally as the mixture comes to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce heat to low-medium. While stirring occasionally, continue to cook until liquid has reduced and cranberries have burst and thickened, about 15 more minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup reserved cranberries, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
5. Sauce is excellent served warm or at room temperature. Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Other Info (pictures, nutrition, etc)

• Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can prepare the sauce 3 days ahead of time. Cool completely, cover tightly, then refrigerate until ready to use. Bring to room temperature or warm on the stove/in the microwave, if desired, before serving. To freeze, cool sauce completely. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or warm on the stove/in the microwave before serving.
• Special Tools (affiliate links): Zester | Citrus Juicer | Saucepan | Wooden Spoon
• Cranberries: One 12 ounce bag is usually between 3 and 4 cups. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. No need to fully thaw. Rinse the cranberries with water in a colander before using. No need to pat dry—some water droplets are fine.
• Brown Sugar: I usually use 3/4 cup brown sugar, which makes a moderately sweet cranberry sauce. You can increase to 1 cup (200g) if you prefer your cranberry sauce extra sweet.