Two Ingredient Sugared Cranberries
Easy two ingredient sugared cranberries are the perfect accompaniment to fancy desserts, charcuterie and cheese boards, or holiday snacking – the ultimate sweet-tart combination.
This right here is going to be the easiest post ever on Bunsen Burner Bakery. The easiest. Two ingredients.
Three, if you count water, which technically is an ingredient, but it probably flows freely from your kitchen faucet so you don’t have to obtain it separately. So we’ll go with two ingredients.
Sugar. Fresh cranberries. That’s it. One, two. And really, you get not just sugared cranberries, but also cranberry-flavored simple syrup and cranberry sugar out of the deal. So two ingredients, three recipes.
Now that is some math I can really support.
I originally made these with grand visions of fancy desserts, topped with heaping piles of sugared cranberries. But instead… we ate them.
Okay, not all of them, and I have a few recipes headed your way with starring some of these beauties, but far more went right into my mouth than I originally anticipated.
There is something so addictive about that sugary sweet, sour tart, “pop!” from each bite. So, so, delicious.
My best friend Mark nailed the sugared cranberry dilemma: do you go for the big cranberries or the little ones? The big ones have more of a juicy pop and the delicious cranberry tartiness. The little ones have more sugary coating.
Personally, I like the big ones (tart for LIFE over here).
I also served this on our charcuterie board, and they were a huge hit. Cured meats, fancy cheeses, some black lava cashews, and a sprinkle of sparkling sugared cranberries. A little sweet to pair with all that savory.
Someone likened these sugared cranberries to gourmet sour patch kids. I dig it.
Most importantly, save the simple syrup after tossing the cranberries and save the sugar you use to coat the cranberries. Hello – cranberry flavored simple syrup, perfect for drinks. And cranberry flavored sugar, perfect for baking. Win-win!
Delicious Uses for Sugared Cranberries:
- as a topping on Lemon Pie Bars
- on top of a Soft Pretzel French Toast Casserole
- in Cranberry Lime Bars
- as a garnish for Cranberry Cider Champagne Punch
Two Ingredient Sugared Cranberries
Easy two ingredient sugared cranberries are the perfect accompaniment to fancy desserts, charcuterie and cheese boards, or holiday snacking – the ultimate sweet-tart combination.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add in the cranberries and gently stir until completely coated with the simple syrup. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cranberries to a sheet of parchment paper. Allow cranberries to dry, 1 to 2 hours. {Save the cranberry simple syrup for another use!}
- Place the remaining sugar in a bowl. Roll the cranberries, a handful at a time, in the sugar until well coated. Place the sugar-coated cranberries on a clean piece of parchment paper and allow to dry for at least another hour. {Save the remaining cranberry-flavored sugar for another use!}
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How abouttttttt using the sugar to dip the rim of a glass into?! Yes. I think that sounds fabulous.
Yes! I had that thought, except I used the sugar in some lime bars — which I wanted to share this week but probably won’t get to do, since a certain someone requires that I hold him all night. I wonder who that might be….? 😉
ssooo easy…I love cranberries..İ can eat them as my snack only though 🙂
Could I use frozen cranberries? I buy them in bulk from the farm during cranberry season and freeze them.
Hi Sue – I’ve never tried with frozen cranberries, but I imagine it will work. I’d thaw the cranberries fully first, and dry them off with a paper towel before tossing them with the simple syrup. If you give it a try, please let me know how they turn out!
How easy! I love cranberries and having a cranberry simple syrup for cocktails is a treat!
I made these to go into the middle and around the edge of a cranberry-orange bundt cake. Delish!! And pretty too!
A cranberry orange bundt cake sounds delicious!! So glad you liked the candied cranberries – such an easy way to really spruce up a cake. I’m planning a clementine cinnamon bundt cake for New Years and going to try making candied clementines – no idea if it will work.
Do you think powdered sugar could be substituted for the regular sugar?
Hi Melody — powdered sugar will dissolve into the simple syrup when you roll them in it, so you won’t get the sugar coating on top. The cranberries will still be sweet, but they’ll just have a shiny glaze, rather than the sugary, crunchy coating on the outside.
I do not have access to fresh cranberries . Is it possible to use frozen successfully? I would like to sugar the cranberry and use for a garnish on a Buch de Noel.
Hi Bill — I haven’t tried this with frozen cranberries, so I don’t actually know if it will work — I don’t think they’ll hold up as well, since the freeze and thaw process will leave them a little mushier.