I love everything cranberry orange, cranberry orange bread, cranberry orange muffins, and cranberry orange scones, just to name a few! The flavors are SO good together, especially during the holiday months. I also love these Cranberry Orange Pistachio …
I love everything cranberry orange, cranberry orange bread, cranberry orange muffins, and cranberry orange scones, just to name a few! The flavors are SO good together, especially during the holiday months. I also love these Cranberry Orange Pistachio Shortbread Cookies. This recipe is from my friend Daniela, who took all of the cookie photos for…
Cranberry cream cheese dip is an easy appetizer everyone will love! Homemade sauce has bright, sweet tart flavor (add jalapeno if you like).
Need a simple appetizer to wow at parties? Try this easy cranberry cream cheese dip! The homemade sauce bursts with sweet and tart cranberries, orange juice, and if you’d like, a little jalapeno for a tang. Spoon it over cream cheese and it’s perfect for dipping crackers or even apple slices. It comes together in minutes with minimal effort. So ditch the store-bought dips and make a batch of this homemade cranberry appetizer for your next party! Everyone will gather around the bowl.
Components for cranberry cream cheese dip
Cranberry cream cheese dip is cranberry sauce served over room temperature cream cheese, which brings a sweet tart burst to each bite. We like serving with crunchy salted pecans over the top for a little texture. While you can make this dip with canned cranberry sauce, the flavor isn’t nearly as good. It takes just a few minutes to whip up homemade cranberry sauce and the flavor is beautifully developed, with notes of orange and cinnamon. Here’s what you’ll need for this easy dip:
Cranberry sauce: Cranberries (fresh or frozen), granulated sugar, orange juice (or water), jalapeno pepper (optional)
Cream cheese
Pecans
Green onion
Tips for making the cranberry sauce
This cranberry sauce is a half recipe of our homemade cranberry sauce, with some optional ingredients. It takes just 10 minutes to simmer, and the flavor comes out beautifully bright. Here’s what you need to know:
Simmer all ingredients over medium heat until a saucy texture forms. The timing will vary based on your pan and the exact heat level, but it should take about 10 minutes. We like to see most cranberries burst and dissolved, but there can be a few that are still whole.
Substitutes are welcome. Don’t have orange juice? You can use water instead if you like.
Add orange zest if desired. When you zest the orange, make sure to only get the orange part of the peel: not the white pith! The pith tastes very bitter and if you zest too aggressively, it makes the cranberry sauce taste bitter.
Use jalapeno if desired, but it’s not required. The jalapeno pepper adds just a hint of bright flavor without heat.
Jalapeno is optional (and not spicy!)
Cranberry and jalapeño pepper is a classic flavor combination. This cranberry cream cheese dip is not spicy with jalapeno: since you remove the seeds before dicing it, it simply adds a tangy, irresistible flavor to the dip. Make sure to protect your hands when cutting the pepper and wash them immediately afterwards.
Can you make it spicy? Absolutely! Simply add a few of the jalapeno seeds to the mix when making the cranberry sauce. Another classic way to enjoy cranberry and jalapeno? Try this Cranberry Salsa, another crowd favorite.
Ways to serve cranberry cream cheese dip
This cranberry cream cheese dip is a sure crowd pleaser at parties! Simply add crackers or bread and it’s perfect for dipping. It’s great for holiday parties like as a Christmas appetizer or Thanksgiving appetizer, but it works anytime using frozen cranberries when fresh aren’t in season. Here are a few of our favorite ways to dip:
Place the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, cinnamon stick, and optional orange zest and diced jalapeño pepper in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the cranberries pop and it becomes saucy, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving (place in the freezer to speed up the process if desired). You can also make the cranberry sauce in advance and reheat it until warm the stovetop before serving (stir in a little water if it is too thick).
Soften the cream cheese by microwaving the block for 10 seconds on High power. Or, allow the cream cheese to stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.
To serve, spoon the warm cranberry sauce over the cream cheese. Top with chopped pecans and green onions. Serve with crackers.
Notes
*The combination of cranberry and jalapeno is classic for this type of dip, but not required! Removing the seeds makes the pepper add flavor but not heat.
This Christmas Moscow mule cocktail is perfect for entertaining! It takes just minutes to pour it together in a mug.
Need a Christmas cocktail that’s quick and easy? Try the Christmas Moscow mule! This spin on the classic Moscow mule is a zingy, festive combination of cranberry juice, vodka, peppermint schnaps and ginger beer. It’s so simple you can build it right in the glass, no cocktail shakers required! Say hello to your new favorite holiday drink.
Ingredients in a Christmas Moscow mule
The classic Moscow Mule is one of the most popular cocktails of all time, invented in the 1940’s. This combination of vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer is always served in a copper mug. The Christmas spin on the classic has cranberry juice for a seasonal flavor and color, and peppermint for holiday flair. Though they’re an unexpected combination, the mint, berry and ginger all work incredibly well together! The ingredients you’ll need for a Christmas Moscow mule are:
Vodka
Peppermint schnapps
100% all natural cranberry juice (no sugar added)
Ginger beer
Simple syrup
Cranberry juice cocktail vs 100% cranberry juice
For cranberry cocktail recipes we prefer using 100% all natural cranberry juice instead of sweetened juice. This makes a pure, super tart berry flavor that you can then sweeten to taste. It also makes a brilliant red color (which is hard to see in a mule in a mug, but it’s there!). Here’s what to know about the difference between the two products:
100% all natural cranberry juice is all juice: it’s not sweetened like bottles labeled “cranberry juice” or “cranberry juice cocktail.” This gives it a pure, tart flavor and a dark red color. It’s preferable because then you can add sweetness to the drink to taste, while amping up the berry flavor.
Cranberry juice is typically sweetened, especially if it’s labeled as cranberry juice cocktail. It’s lighter in color and still tastes good, but the flavor isn’t as pure. Try to find 100% juice if at all possible.
How to make a Christmas mule (basic steps)
The Moscow mule is one of the easiest drinks for entertaining because you can build the drink right in the glass. There’s no need to dirty a cocktail shaker or a strainer: just pour each ingredient right in! Here’s how to make a Christmas mule:
Pour 1 ounce each vodka, cranberry juice,and peppermint schnapps, into a copper mug or serving glass of your choice. Add ½ tablespoon
Top with 4 ounces ginger beer.
Add ice and serve. If desired, garnish with a rosemary sprig and a peppermint stick.
Use copper mugs, or any type of mug
Traditionally, a Moscow Mule is always served in a copper mug. Placing the cold drink in a copper mug makes an ice cold rim, which makes the drink taste even colder. It’s so satisfying! Of course, you can use any type of mug for a Christmas mule.
Copper mugs make great gifts, so it’s a fun gift idea for the cocktail lover in your life. Here’s a link to some solid copper mugs on Amazon.
Garnishes for a Christmas mule
This Christmas Moscow mule is at its finest with a fun garnish or two! Here are a few ways to garnish this drink for best presentation:
Rosemary sprigs
Peppermint stick
Fresh cranberries
Cinnamon stick
More Christmas cocktails
Looking for more fun drinks for the season? Here are a few ideas for Christmas cocktails:
This Christmas Moscow mule cocktail is perfect for entertaining! It takes just minutes to pour it together in a mug.
Ingredients
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce peppermint schnapps
1 ounces 100% all natural cranberry juice
½ tablespoonsimple syrup (omit if using sweetened cranberry juice*)
4 ounces ginger beer
For the garnish: Rosemary sprig, peppermint stick (optional)
Instructions
In a copper mug or glass, pour in the vodka, cranberry juice, peppermint schnapps, and simple syrup. Add the ginger beer.
Add ice and garnish with a rosemary sprig and peppermint stick, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
*100% cranberry juice has no sugar added. If using cranberry juice cocktail, omit the simple syrup. You can also add the simple syrup to taste if you prefer a more tart drink.
**Tip: For advanced prep, pour together the 8x the recipe in a pitcher. Then pour a little over 3 ounces in each glass and top with 4 ounces ginger beer.
Growing up, my parents would occasionally take the whole family out to dinner on Friday night. My favorite spot had breakfast for dinner on the menu, which I always made sure to order, and pancakes were usually my item of choice. To my delight, syrup w…
Growing up, my parents would occasionally take the whole family out to dinner on Friday night. My favorite spot had breakfast for dinner on the menu, which I always made sure to order, and pancakes were usually my item of choice. To my delight, syrup was always delivered in a bundle of three: regular maple, apricot, and blueberry. I slathered my short-stack with the blueberry each and every time, and now as an adult, I find prefer the tartness of gently cooked berries mingled with my maple syrup. Raspberry Syrup is now a family favorite when we make our own breakfast-for-dinner (especially in the summer when they are fresh off our bushes), but this winter-y month was calling for cranberries, and they are also quite delicious in syrup. The beautiful red shade of the syrup is very holiday-esque, and served with some whipped cream and sugared cranberries on waffles would make for a lovely Christmas morning. But you don’t need any jingling bells to partake; a regular Wednesday night in February will also work just fine to serve this syrup. Cranberries do have a skin that takes a little longer to break down; I find pulsing them in the food […]
This apple cranberry crisp is a delightful and easy dessert, with a sweet tart spiced fruit layer and golden buttery crumble topping!
Apple crisp fans, here’s a dessert you might love even a little bit more: apple cranberry crisp! The tartness of fresh cranberries melds with sweet, comforting crisp apples in a cinnamon-spiced fruit layer. The berries add not just a zingy flavor but a beautiful bright red hue to the fruit, and it shines topped with golden buttery crisp crumbles. This is the perfect easy dessert to impress anyone in fall and winter, during the holidays or just a cozy dinner in.
Ingredients in apple cranberry crisp
This apple cranberry crisp is a spin on the classic apple dessert with a handful of fresh cranberries throw in the mix. In fact, it’s the perfect idea for using up leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving cranberry sauce (they last 3 to 4 weeks refrigerated). Or, buy a bag of fresh cranberries and use the rest of the bag in bread, muffins or a smoothie. Otherwise, you’ll need the typical cast of characters for a fruit crisp:
Sweet tart, crisp apples
Orange zest
Cornstarch
Granulated sugar and brown sugar
Cinnamon
All-purpose flour
Old Fashioned rolled oats
Vanilla extract
Salt
Butter
Make it into a crumble
You can also make this into an apple cranberry crumble recipe! Simply use the topping in this apple crumble recipe, which omits the oats for the classic crumble feel. Use the same cranberry apple fruit filling in the recipe below.
Best apples for cranberry apple crisp
The best type of apples to use in cooking any apple dessert from crisp to apple pie are firm, crisp sweet tart cooking apples. A sweet tart apple is important because the acidity makes the sweet flavor in a dessert pop, versus have only one flavor note of sweet. The firm texture is also helpful since it holds its shape when baking, instead of becoming mushy. Avoid varieties like Gala, Fuji or Red Delicious: they don’t perform well in crisps and crumbles. Here are a few of the varieties that shine in an apple cranberry crisp recipe:
Pink Lady
Honeycrisp
Golden Delicious
Granny Smith
Jonathon or Jonagold
Ida Red
Using fresh, frozen or dried cranberries
This cranberry apple crisp recipe is best made with fresh cranberries. However, you can also use frozen cranberries as a substitute! Frozen berries work especially well in baked desserts like crisps and crumbles, where the layer is designed to simply cook down into a compote-like texture. You can even use frozen apples if you have them on hand.
We don’t recommend using dried cranberries in a cranberry apple crisp since the color and flavor of the fresh berries are so beautiful. But you can use them if you like, noting that the texture will be slightly different. Use half the amount of dried cranberries as fresh.
How to serve apple cranberry crisp
Apple cranberry crisp is the perfect fall or winter dessert, ideal for serving as a Thanksgiving dessert, at Christmas, or for any meal. Like most crisps, the best topping is vanilla ice cream. The contrast of rich cream against the sweet tart cranberries is perfection! Or, use one of the following toppings:
A cranberry apple crisp is simple to make gluten-free or vegan, making it extremely versatile for serving guests with different dietary needs. Here are a few options:
Gluten-free: Swap out the all-purpose flour with almond flour: it works like a charm to make an irresistibly crunchy topping
Vegan / dairy-free: Use vegan butter or refined coconut oil in place of the butter, and use vegan vanilla ice cream as a topping.
Leftover storage
Cranberry apple crisp tastes best the day it is made, but it saves very well! The crisp texture holds up well over time. Here are best practices for how to store a crisp:
Keep it loosely covered at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. Keeping it loosely covered helps to maintain the crumble texture.
Refrigerate for up to 3 days. It holds up well in the fridge, and tastes even better when reheated.
Freeze up to 3 months. Freeze for up to 3 months in a sealed container. Reheat it in a 350°F oven until bubbly.
More cranberry recipes
Got fresh or frozen cranberries? Here are a few more cranberry recipes to try:
8 tablespoons cold unsalted or salted butter (or vegan butter**), cut into pieces
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Make the filling: Core, peel and cut the apples into 1/2-inch chunks. Combine the apples with cranberries, orange zest, granulated sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a large bowl and toss until well coated. Pour into a 7 x 11 baking dish.
Make the topping: In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, vanilla, and kosher salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and then use a fork to mix it into the oats until fully distributed and a crumbly dough forms. It may take a while so be patient; you can also use a fork or pastry cutter if you prefer. (If using coconut oil, it can be room temperature; use the same method to add it.) Pour the crumble on top and smooth it into an even layer with your fingers.
Bake: Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the top is evenly golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour, then serve warm. You can leave out your crisp on the counter for up to 1 day (covered, at night) so the crisp topping can stay crisp. After 1 day, refrigerate any leftovers. This crumble also freezes well for several months in a sealed container; reheat it in a 350°F oven until bubbly and the topping is crisp.
Notes
*Dried cranberries can also work, but use only ¾ cup of the dried berries.
**You can also substitute room temperature refined coconut oil for a vegan crisp.
Category:Dessert
Method:Baked
Cuisine:Baked
Diet:Vegetarian
Keywords: Apple cranberry crisp, cranberry apple crisp
This homemade cranberry sauce recipe is so fast and easy, there’s no need for canned! Whip it up fresh with orange and cinnamon.
It’s taken too many years for us to realize this, but we finally know the truth. Cranberry sauce is beyond easy to make homemade. Turns out, all you need is a handful of ingredients and 10 minutes to make this side dish. There’s really no need for canned, folks! This easy fresh cranberry sauce recipe comes together quickly with the flavors of brown sugar, orange, and cinnamon. It’s so simple: and we’re never buying canned again.
Ingredients for this cranberry sauce recipe
There are only a handful of recipes we can think of that are easier than homemade cranberry sauce. How did we go so long without this knowledge? It’s truly a matter of dumping together a few ingredients and simmering until a sauce forms. Everyone around the table will be impressed by your cooking prowess (and you don’t need to share your secrets!).
Fresh cranberries are intensely tart, so you’ll need a nice dose of sweetener to get that perfect sweet tart flavor. For this cranberry sauce recipe, we’ve tinkered with the flavors to get just the right mix of fruity, sweet tart, and spiced. Here’s what you’ll need:
Fresh cranberries
Granulated sugar and brown sugar
Orange juice, bottled or fresh
Orange zest (optional)
Cinnamon stick
Where did cranberry sauce come from, anyway?
Cranberries are a fruit that is native to North America, and Americans have been eating cranberry sauce for centuries. Original Native American cranberry sauce recipes date back to the late 17th century.
The first mention of this food in print was the 1796 cookbook called American Cookery cookbook, where author Amelia Simmons mentions to serve roast turkey with cranberry sauce (per The Washington Post). The canned version came along in much later, of course: it became available in the 1940s so people could enjoy cranberry sauce year-round!
Tips for how to make cranberry sauce
Making this homemade cranberry sauce recipe is simple and requires almost no cooking technique. Here are a few pointers to note:
Simmer all ingredients over medium heat until a saucy texture forms. The timing will vary based on your pan and the exact heat level, but it should take about 10 to 15 minutes. We like to see most cranberries burst and dissolved, but there can be a few that are still whole.
Substitutes are welcome. Don’t have both granulated and brown sugar? Use just one. Want to use all orange juice and not water? Go for it!
Add orange zest if desired. When you zest the orange, make sure to only get the orange part of the peel: not the white pith! The pith tastes very bitter and if you zest too aggressively, it makes the cranberry sauce taste bitter.
A cinnamon stick completes the flavors. Using a cinnamon stick infuses a cozy-spiced flavor that’s gentler and more elevated than the ground spice. But substitute ground cinnamon if it’s all you have!
Alternative natural sweeteners
If you like a more tart cranberry sauce, feel free to reduce the sugar level. We’ve found somewhere between ¾ cup and 1 cup sugar is best for 12 ounces of cranberries. Feel free to experiment to find your sweet spot.
If desired, you can use alternative natural sweeteners in cranberry sauce like honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup. Start with ¾ cup sweetener, then add more to taste if desired.
Storage for homemade cranberry sauce
How long does homemade cranberry sauce last? Store it for up to 10 days refrigerated. This makes it perfect for making ahead of a holiday gathering.
You can also freeze cranberry sauce: place it in a sealed container and store for up to 3 months. To defrost, place it in the refrigerator the night before you plan to serve it.
How to serve it
Cranberry sauce is an ideal side dish for fall and winter, perfect as a Thanksgiving side or for Christmas. You can also repurpose leftovers in so many ways! Here are a few ways to serve cranberry sauce:
This homemade cranberry sauce recipe is so fast and easy, there’s no need for canned! Whip it up fresh with orange and cinnamon.
Ingredients
12 ounces fresh cranberries
¾ cup granulated sugar*
¼ cup brown sugar
¾ cup fresh or bottled orange juice (2 large oranges; add the zest of 1/2 orange, if desired)
¼ cup water
1 cinnamon stick (or ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon)
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Simmer until the cranberries pop and it becomes saucy, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Leftovers last refrigerated for up to 10 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
*If desired, you can use honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup in this cranberry sauce. Start with ¾ cup and add more sweetener to taste.
Category:Side dish
Method:Stovetop
Cuisine:American
Diet:Vegan
Keywords: Cranberry sauce, cranberry sauce recipe, homemade cranberry sauce, how to make cranberry sauce
These vegan orange cranberry muffins are a delicious combination of citrusy, sweet, and tart flavors. Bursting with flavor and color, they are perfect for the holidays or any other day when you want to add a little variety to your breakfast, snack, or …
These vegan orange cranberry muffins are a delicious combination of citrusy, sweet, and tart flavors. Bursting with flavor and color, they are perfect for the holidays or any other day when you want to add a little variety to your breakfast, snack, or dessert menu! The combination of citrusy flavors and fresh berries is like...
I love everything cranberry orange, cranberry orange bread, cranberry orange muffins, and cranberry orange scones, just to name a few! The flavors are SO good together, especially during the holiday months. I also love these Cranberry Orange Pistachio Shortbread Cookies. This recipe is from my friend Daniela, who took all of the cookie photos for… 
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