Beauty! Look at these cranberry gems! I’m turning them into cranberry sauce.
Super easy. Are you doing this too?
You’ll probably be cranking food out of your kitchen all weekend. Need a few more ideas? I’ve got everything! Everything but the turkey, stuffing, and cornbread… Yea, I know. But I have everything else!
1- Pumpkin Pie Pancakes. Super flavor for for breakfast.
2- Honey Roasted Acorn Squash. So easy and it makes me feel fancy.
3- Spiced Apple Cake. I love this creature.
4- Prosciutto Dijon Gruyere Puffs. How about an appetizer? I love the mustard in these.
5- Roasted Pumpkin and Leek Soup. That’s yummy. Fact.
Let’s finish this cranberry sauce.
There’s absolutely no reason you should by the canned stuff. It slinks out of the can and has weird ridges. It’s also waaaay too sweet.
I think you should boil cranberries with orange juice and zest… then add just a tiny touch of vanilla beans.
Cranberry sauce dream… I’m tellin ya.
Cranberry Sauce
makes about 4 cups
2 12-ounce bags fresh cranberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup water
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
scrapings from one quarter of a vanilla bean (optional if you don’t want to shell out the cash for a vanilla bean)
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the water, juice granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt. Stir until sugars have dissolved. Add the two bags of cranberries and stir until cranberries begin to pop. Cook cranberries, stirring occasionally for about 10 to 12 minutes. Sauce will thicken as cranberries cook down. Once thick, remove from heat and add orange zest and vanilla bean. Stir to incorporate. Cool to room temperature then store in the fridge until ready to eat. Lasts for up to three days in the fridge. Delicious.
6- Maple Pecan Muffins. Topped with pure maple syrup and baked to perfection.
7- Dad’s Perfect Sweet Potato Pie with No-Roll Pie Crust. Yes. I’m totally obsessed with this pie.
8- Cornmeal Cranberry Honey Bread. Sweet and crunchy. Like.
9- Vegan Pumpkin Walnut Bread. So moist you’ll never know it’s vegan. Promise.
10- Apple Pie Granita. Like pie…. but totally not!
11- Buttermilk Pie with Warm Blackberry Sauce. Ooooh man.
12- Apple Crisp. My key to one day tricking a man into marrying me.
13- All Purpose Holiday Bundt Cake. Bring a bib.
14- Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Frosting. Cupcakes for the holidays? I say ok!
15- Pear Walnut Bundt Cake. The praline alone is reason enough to make this happen.
16- Homemade Apple Pie. It’s worth the time. It really is.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
Happy Thanksgiving Joy!
Petit Filoux
I’m getting a food overdose just looking at all this hihi!!
Mama Maria
Joy,
I’d like to make your cranberry sauce.
My question: I purchased vanilla beans for your homemade vanilla extract recipe. They were “vanilla extract-grade”. Could I use these for the cranberry sauce recipe?
Here is the site I purchased my beans from:
http://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/store/organic/extraction_beans.asp
BTW, my vanilla extract looks AMAZING!
Thank you for all of your recipes, encouragement, time, and love of baking.
Jessica @ bake me away!
That cranberry sauce sounds just the way I like it. mmm…
By the way, I made that pumpkin bread and apple crisp last Thanksgiving (and the pumpkin/leek soup on a normal day) and they were perfection. Happy T-Day, Joy!
Ryan @ Ryan's Baking Blog
I’m making two loaves of that pumpkin bread for thanksgiving, it’s my absolute favorite.
Jenny
I admit it too. I love the canned cranberry stuff that’s permanently etched with the can ridges on the side. Mostly just for the nostalgia. I made my own cranberry sauce a few days ago with pear cinnamon cider (thank you Trader Joe’s), maple syrup, and brown sugar (and cranberries, duh). And towards the end I added some dried cranberries too. It’s amazing, especially on pancakes. Like your Single Lady Pancake recipe which is my go-to recipe now because I am in fact a single lady and enjoy a lovely pancake for dinner on occasion. At least I hope that’s your recipe because that’s how it’s written on my scrap of paper on the fridge.
Stephanie
Oh my… I think we all want to come over to your house for Thanksgiving this year! I’ll have a little of everything please!
Kocinera
What a lovely Thanksgiving-y feast! Even though I’m rather partial to the canned cranberry sauce (the ridges are guidelines for where to cut it!!!!), I promise to try making my own at least once in my life. Then I’ll probably be converted and never look back. :D
amelia
Hi Joy- totally loving the website design, and today’s post was great. Those glorious cranberries! I actually will be the first, and only probably, to admit I secretly look forward to the canned cranberry each Thanksgiving at my parents house- no frills, able to be sliced, and not overly sweet…even works on a leftover turkey sandwich perfectly! Besides the fact that I enjoy this product, I know my Mom lives in the kitchen all week creating the deliciousness we all look forward to every year at this time, so I could never lecture her about one item that is canned reaching the dinner table! However, that does not mean my mouth isn’t watering over the picture posted above of the cranberries in the pot! Homemade anything is always no-fail! You are inspiring!
Lisette
I made cranberry sauce tonight too!! Mine has white wine, sugar, crystalized ginger (just a touch), golden raisins and lemon zest!! I love it and yes it is sooo much better than the canned stuff!
joythebaker
that sounds delicious!!
amanda
your buttermilk pie looks so dreamy
The MuffinTin Post
Hi Joy! I’m celebrating Thanksgiving out of the country again so it’s impossible to find fresh cranberries. But – I’m making baked grapefruit for breakfast right now, and I’m buying ingredients for your pumpkin pie bars. Happy Thanksgiving, and have a lovely day!
Nadia
This makes me so happy! Canadian Thanksgiving was over it seems FOREVER ago and I’m in withdrawl already! I may freak out my hubby and throw some of these together this weekend – don’t know why I hadn’t thought about this sooner… two Thanksgivings!!
marissa
when i was a kid my mum always went to the states for black friday shopping so my dad always made a second thanksgiving while she was away. two thanksgivings = double win.
notyet100
such yummy recipes,..
The Boob Nazi
I was told I wasn’t allowed to make cranberry sauce with orange juice in it…. Unfortunately.
joythebaker
that seems weird.
Danielle M.
Dear Boob Nazi (I must say I never pictured myself starting a message that way),
Martha has a great recipe for Ginger Cranberry Sauce…is that allowed for you? I tried it last night, and it definitely has a very unique taste! If you think you might like the spice of the ginger, give it a shot! It’s very easy to make, and you could always just make a small batch to see if you like it. :)
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/cranberry-ginger-relish