Homemade cranberry sauce

 

I told you in my post yesterday that I made my entire Thanksgiving dinner from scratch this year. Most years I take shortcuts like buying premade pie shells and canned cranberry sauce, but not this year. I decided to go all out! Let me tell you, the extra work was well worth the effort! Everything was simply delicious. I even heard the phrase "this is the best everything ever!" That puts a smile on a cook's face...I promise you that!

Today's recipe is the one I followed to make homemade cranberry sauce. It's so simple & so much better than canned!

What you'll need:

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 lb (4 cups) fresh cranberries, rinsed

Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Boil 5 minutes. (This creates a "simple syrup" and is what sweetens your sauce.) Add cranberries and cook and stir for an additional 5 minutes or until skins pop. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Serve warm or cold.*

*To mold sauce, cook 10 minutes longer, or until a drop jells on a cold plate. Pour into a 4-cup mold. Chill until firm. To unmold, set mold into a large bowl of hot water to loosen from edge, invert onto serving plate.

Makes 4 cups.

Cost:

sugar - $3.29/lb

cranberries - $2.56/lb

Total - $2.85