Happy Friday! I hope you are surviving the week in relative good cheer. My parents arrive for a week-long visit tonight, and Mr Official Taster's side arrives tomorrow. We'll be feeding eight people for the Christmas holiday (we're having these for breakfast). I think it'll be fun!
If you are one of the people still scrounging around for gift ideas, here are a few gift worthy sweets and welcome additions to any party:
Peanut Butter Dog Treats (for your furry friend)
Freezer Burritos (especially for new parents or any other caretaker)
These cranberries are perfect for holiday gatherings. Not only are they vegan and gluten free, but they are free of just about everything, including fat. They also have a nice, refreshing "pop"when you bite into them, and aren't as sweet as almost everything else this time of year. The other handy thing about them is how little attention you can pay to them (mine actually soaked almost two days) and they stay good for a bit.
I think this will be my last post for several days (or a week). Best wishes to you and yours!
adapted from MyRecipes
2 C granulated sugar *
2 C water
2 C fresh cranberries**
3/4 C superfine sugar***
Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over low or medium heat. Stir mixture until sugar dissolves and water is steaming. Remove from heat. (Do not boil or the cranberries may pop when added.) Add in cranberries. Here you can either pour mixture into a bowl or simply leave it in the pot. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
2 C granulated sugar *
2 C water
2 C fresh cranberries**
3/4 C superfine sugar***
Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over low or medium heat. Stir mixture until sugar dissolves and water is steaming. Remove from heat. (Do not boil or the cranberries may pop when added.) Add in cranberries. Here you can either pour mixture into a bowl or simply leave it in the pot. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Drain cranberries in a colander over a bowl (don't shake off excess liquid, as it helps the sugar adhere), reserving sugar water, if desired (I didn't know what to do with mine, so if you have ideas, please share!). Place some superfine sugar in a small zip top plastic bag. Add the cranberries, maybe 10 at a time, and shake them to coat with sugar. Spread sugared cranberries in a single layer on a baking sheet (no need to grease or line sheet). Let stand at room temperature 1 hour or until dry.
Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week.
*I used superfine sugar here because, well, I had it,
**I used the what I had leftover from making these cookies, which was about 1/2 a bag. If you froze them, like I did, allow them to defrost before using them in this recipe.
***My there are a lot of stars for so short an ingredient list. Superfine sugar is available in the grocery store, and it usually hiding among the other sugars in what looks like a milk carton. I don't honestly know exactly how much I used, since I just dumped some in my plastic bag and added a little more when I was running out. But it wasn't very much
The berries look so darling !
ReplyDeleteratedkb.blogspot.com
Thank you! They are festive to have on the table around Christmas, assuming, of course, that you can avoid eating the whole bowl!
DeleteI absolutely love cranberries. Are these tart or do they come out sweet?
ReplyDeletehmmm I think I have to say they are kind of between the two. They're certainly not sweet like dried cranberries, but they aren't pucker-inducing either. Maybe just sweet enough that you can enjoy the cranberry? When you try them, let me know what you think!
DeleteThese have to be my new favorite sweet. I used the leftover sugar liquid (after making a second batch) as a base for orange KoolAide but I suspect lemon juice would also make an interesting lemonade.
ReplyDelete