Bursting with Goodness, Cranberry Apple Sauce Stays a Staple

OK. So the holidays are over. But when this cranberry apple sauce is bubbling on your stove, you may feel like it’s the holidays again (minus the stress). I know it sounds corny, but there it is. The aroma of the cranberries melding with the apples and cinnamon and cloves, and the satisfying sound of the pop that the cranberries make as they simmer, brings a surprising spark of joy. I can only imagine that my brain (and probably yours, too) connects the aroma of the cranberry sauce with the holidays, and that ups the happy factor.

This recipe brought me joy on a cold winter afternoon in January. And I hope if and when you cook it, this absolutely delicious cranberry apple sauce will brighten up your day as well!

I was trying to keep warm inside the house on a freezing winter’s day when I thought, ‘I should make cranberry sauce.’ I had stashed a couple of bags of cranberries in my freezer a few weeks prior. Yes, I did buy them on that buy one, get one free deal at Publix! I had one Gala and one Granny Smith apple, one tangerine, and only orange juice in a carton. But these simple ingredients, some sugar and spices, made the most fabulous cranberry apple sauce I’ve ever tasted. The taste is simply addictive. Try adding cranberry sauce inside homemade muffins, or simply serve your cranberry sauce in a pretty dish at the dinner table, along with your pork or chicken entree. It’s so fantastic, I’d be surprised if it lasted three days in your refrigerator.

Cranberry Apple Sauce

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Ingredients

• 3 cups frozen or fresh cranberries
• 2 small apples, peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated orange or tangerine zest
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Put the cranberries, apples, sugar, orange zest, water, orange juice, and spices into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. The cranberries will burst and the mixture will thicken as it cooks. Refrigerate until chilled.

Tomorrow, I’ll share with you one of the best ways to use cranberry apple sauce after pairing it with an entree. Does your family enjoy cranberry sauce at the dinner table?