Sparkling Cranberries

Earlier this month I was searching for something festive to bring to my in-law's Christmas gathering. More specifically, I was on the look out for something that I hadn't had before and for something that would be fun and quick to put together so as not to add a bunch of extra stress to an already busy week. When I ran across these Sparkling Cranberries on the 101 Cookbooks blog they looked just perfect.

They were quick and easy to put together and look very pretty. They would be great as a dessert topping, but we enjoyed them along side a cheese and crackers spread.

One berry packs a LOT of flavor. I loved how the tangy, juicy little burst of cranberry were offset by the crunchy sweetness of the sugar. Everyone else seemed to enjoy them as well. Below is the recipe, I highly recommend.


Sparkling Cranberries Recipe

2 cups cranberries (be sure to pick the mushy and bruised ones out of the bunch)

Simple Syrup to cook, marinade, and coat the berries
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

Medium grained organic sugar to coat the berries

Pick through the cranberries and place them in a medium glass bowl.

Make a simple syrup to cook, marinade, and coat the berries. To do this, bring the 2 c water and 2 c sugar to a simmer. Allow the syrup to cool for a couple minutes before pouring over the cranberries otherwise you may overcook and burst the berries. Pour syrup over the berries, cover the bowl and set in the fridge overnight.

The next day, pour the simple syrup off the cranberries. Toss a handful of berries into a bag and throw a generous scoop of the medium grained sugar in. Shake the bag lightly to coat the berries then scoop the berries out with your fingers lightly and place onto a cookie sheet to dry for a few hours.

The 101 Cookbooks recipe called for a second toss in finer granulated sugar, but I found that mine were plenty coated already and didn't need the extra sugar.

Once the berries have dried long enough that you can pick them up without smearing the sugar off of them they're ready to be placed in a bowl and enjoyed.

Makes 2 cups of sparkling cranberries.