Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire

With November upon us, it's that time of year to start thinking about those family Thanksgiving traditions. My personal favorite dish is actually just a side dish- cranberry sauce. I recently came across a twist to the original cranberry sauce or relish recipe. Surprising, even to me, this recipe held up to the approval of my taste buds! I highly recommend this cranberry sauce recipe if you're looking to spice up your recipes this year!!! (Original recipe can be found here!)

Cranberry Sauce Recipe:

Prep time: 10-20 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

(I promise. This recipe IS really quick and easy!!)

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1 12 oz package fresh cranberries

1 orange, peeled and pureed

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

1 pear, peeled, cored and diced

1 cup dried mixed fruit

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp ginger

Directions:

Prepare all fruits initially. Then, in a medium saucepan boil water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium/medium low and mix in all of the ingredients. Cover and allow mixture to simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Additional Comments:

For dried fruit I used cherries, cranberries, and apricots. Of note, I pureed the apricots into tiny bite-size chunks. And I ended up really enjoying the consistency that they added to the dish. I did try to puree the other dried fruit, but it just didn't work for me. In the end, the cherries and cranberries in whole form was also the perfect consistency; I loved it. I used a little more spices and less sugar than the original recipe called for, which I'm very pleased I did so. Also, this dish is great served both warm and cool. Therefore, it's great as leftovers too!! Happy cooking... and enjoy!

Simmering Cranberry Sauce