Two ingredient Sugared Cranberries will instantly up-level any holiday dessert decor!
A little sweet, a little tart, and just as delicious as they are pretty. Sugared cranberries can be served as a snack or used to decorate your favorite holiday desserts.
Top cakes, pies, cheesecakes, cupcakes, or cookies with sweet, colorful little cranberries that look like they are lightly frosted in snow. Add them to a dish or eat them alone for a sweet & tart snack.
Enjoy as a Snack or For Decorating
- No baking, no prep, and minimal clean-up means sugared cranberries can be ready within minutes. Or make sugared cranberries in advance and freeze them so they can go directly onto a dessert or a drink!
- Make sugared cranberries to garnish any holiday meal or beverage. Pop a few in clear glasses of hot homemade apple cider with slices of orange or add to Celebration Punch!
- Celebrate the New Year with a glass of bubbly & sugared cranberries!
- Use fresh sprigs of rosemary and sugared cranberries as a festive garnish on the top of a cheesecake.
- Or set along the side of a roast turkey like this Herb Roasted Turkey Breast Recipe.
Ingredients & Variations
CRANBERRIES Sugaring berries and fruits is super easy! Fresh or frozen cranberries are used in this recipe, but the same sugaring process can be used for other fruits like raspberries, blueberries, grapes, and orange slices.
SUGAR Any granulated sugar that’s on hand will do, including sugar-in-the-raw. Superfine sugar melts faster and will coat the cranberries more thoroughly, but larger, coarser grains of sugar will reflect the light better. I sometimes use a combination.
How to Make Sugared Cranberries
Cute and sweet cranberries are so easy to make!
- Boil sugar water to make simple syrup per the recipe below, add cranberries.
- Remove & place on a rack for a few minutes until they’re tacky or sticky.
- Toss in sugar and let dry completely.
PRO TIP: Save any remaining ‘simple syrup’ for coffee, sweet tea, or cocktails!
Got Cranberries?
- Creamy Cranberry Salad – side dish or dessert
- No Bake Cranberry Pie – so festive and flavorful
- Cranberry Apple Crisp – with a crunchy topping
- Cranberry Orange Scones – perfect for brunch
- Cranberry Trifle Recipe – with a homemade custard
What’s your favorite thing to top with Sugared Cranberries? Leave us a comment below!
Sugared Cranberries
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cranberries fresh or frozen
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- sugar for rolling; coarse or fine
Instructions
- Bring ¾ cup each water and sugar to a boil. Let boil about 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add cranberries in.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove cranberries and place on a rack letting them drip dry. Allow the cranberries to dry on the rack until they're tacky or sticky, about 5-7 minutes.
- Place the sugar in a plastic sandwich bag (we find this easiest) and add cranberries a few at a time.
- Shake the cranberries in the sugar and strain through a strainer or pick the cranberries out and let dry on a rack or parchment paper at least 1 hour before handling.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
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trying this with lingonberries for fancy fall drinks.
Delicious! I would love to hear how they turn out!
So you toss the cranberries into the sugar mixture after boiling. You don’t have to leave them in to boil for any length of time? Just coat and take right out to drip dry?
Yes, you don’t want to cook them, just to get them sugar coated so the sugar sticks.
Making these for the cranberry trifle. How do you store the sugar cranberries
I store them at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 3 days.