Do something different with cranberries this holiday season! This collection of cranberry recipes includes 11 tasty ideas for using cranberries other than the old standbys of cranberry sauce and cranberry bread. Make a cake, bake chicken, top sweet potatoes or make a tasty drink.
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Cranberries are one of my favorite seasonal fall flavors. Everyone is all about pumpkin and pumpkin spice, but while I like pumpkin I love cranberries. Around here we only can buy fresh cranberries from about October to January, so my cranberry baking is limited. I try to remember to grab a couple bags to freeze in early January before they disappear so I can indulge a little bit during the spring or summer. For this collection of cranberry recipes I wanted to branch out from the recipes that you most often see made with cranberries – cranberry sauce and cranberry bread. So next time you make cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving get an extra bag and use some to make some cookies, a cake, bake chicken or whip up a delicious drink!
Cranberry Recipes for Dessert
1. Cranberry Orange Cookies
from Upstate Ramblings
Most cranberry cookie recipes use dried cranberries. In contrast this recipe takes whole fresh cranberries, chops them up finely and mixes them with pecans for a tasty cranberry cookie.
2. Sugared Cranberries
from Cinny Shopper
This is a super easy recipe in which fresh cranberries are soaked in sugar syrup and then rolled in more sugar. I love recipes with only a few ingredients, and this one creates tangy little cranberries that are almost like candy.
3. Mini Cranberry Fluff Cakes
from Home Made Interest
You can also use those sugared cranberries to top off a pretty cake like this one. The recipe is easier than it looks, because it uses a store bought cake mix as a base. Small round cakes are filled with a cranberry, marshmallow, grape and Cool Whip filling that is topped with sugared cranberries and a white chocolate snowflake.
4. Cranberry Upside Down Cake
from What the Fork
In this seasonal cake fresh or frozen cranberries are first caramelized with sugar. Then a cake is baked on top of them, so they soak down into the cake batter and spread tart sweetness throughout the cake.
Cranberry Recipes for Main Dishes and Side Dishes
5. Cranberry Orange Chicken
from Sweet & Savory
This dinner is my favorite kind – quick and easy. It is a one pan dinner that only takes about 30 minutes to cook, so it is perfect for serving on those busy days leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Chicken thighs are marinated with cranberries and oranges and then baked. Sounds delicious!
6. Cranberry Sweet Potato Casserole
from Homemade Interest
I have never been a fan of marshmallow covered sweet potato casseroles for the holidays. This sweet potato casserole still has some marshmallows, but it also has cranberries, pomegranates and pecans to make something that is still sweet but not overwhelmingly sugary. The flavors combine with the sweet potatoes for something that is different, yet still traditional.
7. Whipped Cranberry Butter
from Suburbia Unwrapped
This is another super easy recipe, where fresh cranberries are whipped with butter and maple syrup for a sweet and tangy spread. This is a perfect easy dish to make ahead for the Thanksgiving dinner table.
Cranberry Recipes for Beverages
8. Cranberry Sangria
8. Cranberry Sangriafrom Upstate Ramblings
This Cranberry Orange Sangria is another seasonal favorite that you can make before a party. Fresh cranberries are heated with sugar to make a cranberry sugar syrup that is combined with white wine. The resulting sangria makes a fun seasonal beverage.
9. Cranberry Lime Margaritas
This cranberry cocktail is a nice twist on the classic margarita. Frozen cranberries are pureed and added to the traditional margarita ingredients for a delicious drink on a cold winter night.
10. Cranberry Mango Layered Smoothie
from Pears and Crayons
Smoothies aren’t what you think of first around the holidays, but this red and green layered smoothie brings out the Christmas cheer. A green smoothie layer made from spinach is topped off by a red cranberry layer for a festive colored drink. You can enjoy this healthy fruit and veggie drink for breakfast before a busy day of holiday preparations and not feel guilty at all.
11. Crock Pot Cranberry Cider
from Kleinworth & Co.
Few things are more seasonal than a batch of warm apple cider, so why not add cranberry juice and cranberries into the recipe? This warm drink for cold winter days can be either alcoholic or not, and your house will smell delicious while it cooks slowly in the crock pot.
