Cranberry Sauce Three Ways: Traditional, Orange Zest, and Brandied

I may have mentioned once or twice how cranberry crazed I've been this winter season. Well, I'm not the only one. For Thanksgiving we went to my parents' house and my mom made two different types of cranberry sauces--orange (at my prompting, I love the cranberry-orange combination) and brandied. Both were phenomenal and of course I had to ask for the recipes. Then for Christmas I made traditional cranberry sauce with the recipe found on the back of the bag of fresh cranberries.

Traditional Cranberry Sauce

Traditional Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
12-ounce bag fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup cold water

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan, bring water and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved, add cranberries. Bring the mixture back to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until sauce has thicken and the majority of cranberries have popped, approximately 10 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.

Orange Zest Cranberry Sauce

Orange Zest Cranberry Sauce
Recipe from here.
Ingredients:
1 12-ounce bag of cranberries, rinsed
1/4 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed is best)
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water

Directions:
Combine orange juice, orange zest, sugar, and water in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved, add cranberries and bring mixture back to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until sauce thickens and most of the cranberries pop, about 10 minutes.

Serve warm or chilled.

Brandied cranberry sauce

Brandy Cranberry Sauce
Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup brandy

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Pour cranberries into a 13x9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the berries evenly with the sugar. Bake for 1 hours, stirring the berries halfway through.

Add brandy to the baking dish and stir until well combined. Serve warm or chilled.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cranberry Recipes:
Chocolate Cover Cranberries
Cranberry Brownies
Sugared Cranberries