Two ingredients come together with ease for a stunning holiday dessert decoration or cheese plate garnish. The leftover syrup is delicious in cocktails, mocktails, and lemonade!
What holiday spread wouldn’t be perked up by something colorful and sparkly?
These sweet-tart jewels are simple to make and can be used to decorate cakes and pies, sprinkled over a variety of salads in place of dried cranberries, or scooped into a small bowl as a pretty complement to a cheese board.
I first saw these little gems when a friend proudly shared a photo of the cake her daughter baked for their family’s Thanksgiving dinner several years ago. The cranberries shined like glistening red beads against the white icing and made the cake look truly impressive.
In addition to the uses mentioned, the cranberries can be threaded on a toothpick and used as a holiday cocktail or mulled cider garnish. As an added perk, the leftover cranberry-flavored syrup makes some of the best lemonade I’ve tasted!
An experiment:
Sparkling Cranberries
Ingredients
- 2 cups or one (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
- 1 cup (192g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227g) water
- ¾ cup (144g) superfine or sanding sugar for rolling (see notes for granulated sugar option)
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the cranberries, and discard any damaged or squishy ones. Place in a bowl and set aside.
- Combine the 1 cup granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and allow the simple syrup to cool for 5-10 minutes. Pour the mixture over the cranberries in the bowl. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
- Drain the cranberries in a colander over a bowl, reserving the steeping liquid, if desired. (The syrup will be infused with cranberry flavor and is delicious in lemonade, cocktails, etc.) Spread them out on a cooling rack (placed over a baking sheet or foil to catch the drips), and let dry for an hour. You want the cranberries to be tacky but not wet. (This helps the sugar to stick to the berries without clumping.)
- Place the ¾ cup superfine sugar in a zip-top plastic bag—a paper bag works well too. Add the cranberries, and gently shake to coat them with the sugar. Spread the sugared cranberries in a single layer on a baking sheet or the cleaned and dried cooling rack, and let stand at room temperature for one hour or until dry.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to a week. If stored in the refrigerator, the cranberries will likely keep for an extra week or two. Use as a garnish for cakes, pies, and cockails, in salads instead of dried cranberries, or on a charcuterie board. (Taste-wise, they are tart-sweet and still have a crunch to them. They are meant to keep their structure rather than soften during the soaking process.)
Notes
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