Sparkling Cranberries

By Ann Fulton

Jump to Recipe

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!

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!

The cranberries are first soaked in the simple syrup for 8 hours or overnight. Then they are drained and spread over a cooling rack (placed over a baking sheet or foil to catch the drips), and let dry for an hour…

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!

At this point, you want the cranberries to be tacky but not wet. This helps the sugar to stick to the berries without clumping.

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!

The sugar is then placed in a zip-top plastic bag—a paper bag works well too. The cranberries are then added and gently shaken to coat them with the sugar. Once coated, 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.

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!

Once dried, the sparkling cranberries can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to a week. If stored in the refrigerator, they will likely keep for an extra week or two.

An experiment:

How to make the perfect sparkling cranberries.

The photo, above, shows the cranberries tossed in a variety of sugars. From left to right: confectioner’s sugar, granulated sugar, and superfine sugar. Confectioner’s sugar results in cranberries that look like little snowballs, while superfine or sanding sugar is better for achieving an evenly coated, glistening cranberry. Plain old granulated sugar worked well, albeit with a more crusted look.

Two ingredients come together with ease for a stunning holiday dessert decoration or cheese plate garnish. The leftover syrup is amazing in cocktails, mocktails, and lemonade!

The cranberries’ tartness is mitigated by the sugar coating and they have a nice pop to them. Although there are many ways to enjoy them in desserts, cocktails, salads, etc, a simple bowlful of the sparkling beauties makes a rather pretty decoration.

Sparkling Cranberries
Yield: 2 cups
Two simple ingredients create a stunning garnish for holiday desserts, cheese plates, or cocktails. For an unusual sweet-tart snack, these glimmering cranberries may be eaten as is. For a unique salad addition, use them in place of dried cranberries—especially a salad that includes blue cheese!
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)
Directions

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

Superfine or sanding sugar is better for achieving an evenly coated, glistening cranberry. Plain old granulated sugar will work, albeit with a more crusted look.

You can create your own sanding or superfine sugar by briefly processing or blending granulated sugar. Don’t blend too long, however, or you will end up with powdered sugar.

More On YouTube More on Instagram
Tried this recipe?Post a picture on instagram and we will repost it! Mention @fountainavenuekitchen or tag #fountainavenuekitchen!
The Fountain Avenue Kitchen https://fountainavenuekitchen.com/

Two ingredients come together with ease for a stunning holiday dessert decoration or cheese plate garnish. The leftover syrup is amazing in cocktails, mocktails, and lemonade!

 

Leave a Reply

Make it? Rate the recipe:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Angie

    Hi Ann,
    I plan on making these to decorate a gingerbread cake for a dinner club -breakfast for dinner – we are hosting. Are these edible or are they just for decoration?

    We always enjoy your recipes and glad to see your recipie contributions to the YMCA email.

    Reply
    1. Ann Post author

      Hi Angie, The sparkling cranberries will look beautiful on a gingerbread cake! They are edible. In terms of taste and texture, they are crisp and tart but the sugar does soften the natural tartness. I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes and hope these make your cake extra special!

      Reply
  2. Serenity

    Help!
    I want to make these to top my cranberry cheesecakes, but I’ll be preparing them the DAY BEFORE. Will they stay sugared on top or will they melt into some sugary mess?
    Thank you!

    Reply
    1. Ann Post author

      Hi Serenity, You can store these in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to a week, so you should be just fine!

      Reply
  3. Karen

    These look great, but my dietary restrictions don’t include much sugar. Have you tried them with zylitol, or coconut sugar?

    Reply
    1. Ann Post author

      I haven’t, Karen, but wouldn’t hesitate to try. You will likely be successful with a substitute that is most similar to basic granulated or fine sugar. You could even try a mix of both. Offhand, I’m thinking the color of coconut sugar is a little less white, so the xylitol may be my first choice. If you try, I’d love to know how you make out!

      Reply