Easy Sugared Cranberries (Holiday Garnish)
Easy vanilla sugared cranberries are an essential holiday garnish for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The simple yet stunning seasonal berries are sweet and tart, candied in simple syrup and coated in vanilla bean infused granulated sugar, for a subtile twist. Taking under 30 minutes from start to finish, the berries come together right in time to elevate seasonal appetizer plates, desserts and cocktails! And for a little extra festive sparkle, dust the sugar coated cranberries with edible gold or silver glitter!
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Easy Sugared Cranberries
Tart fresh cranberries, soaked in simple syrup and coated in vanilla bean sugar. Enjoy as a sweet and tart treat, or top your favorite holiday desserts and cocktails.
Each year for the holiday season, I make a batch of these sugared cranberries to have on hand for gatherings. They are a go-to garnish and look stunning atop just about any Fall or winter dessert and are the an essential topper for merry cocktails!
How they taste
Raw cranberries are naturally bitter and also quite sour, so candying them in simple syrup is a wonderful and beautiful way to mellow the bite. Coat them in the granulated sugar for a sweet and textured exterior, with a tart and juicy center. Infusing the sugar with a bit of vanilla bean balances the sweet and tart flavors adding a slight creaminess to the seasonal berries.
Sugared cranberry ingredients
This recipe only requires a few simple ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make them at home this holiday season.
Water, granulated sugar, vanilla bean (optional) fresh cranberries, rinsed and sorted, edible glitter or luster dust.
How to make the sugared cranberries
This recipe is super easy to make with the cranberries ready in under 30 minutes. Some recipe methods suggest soaking cranberries in the syrup or even resting the soaked berries for up to 2 hours before coating, but here’s how I’ve gotten the best results.
Rinse and discard of any soft or mushy cranberries and set aside.
Pour equal parts water and sugar together in a pot and heat to a light simmer.
Avoid boiling the simple syrup as the temperature will be cook the cranberries, causing them to break down.
Once the syrup is simmering, pour the fresh cranberries into the pot and stir. The cranberries may pop a bit while in the syrup, but should maintain their shape. Keep them in the warm syrup, stirring occasionally while prepping the sugar for coating.
Next pour granulated sugar into a shallow dish. Mix the vanilla bean seeds into the sugar if using them.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop the cranberries out of the syrup, making sure to drain off all the syrup before placing on a sheet of parchment.
Next put a few of the soaked cranberries into the vanilla sugar, using a spoon to scoop the sugar over the soaked cranberries. Once fully coated, remove the berries from sugar and place on a clean sheet of parchment.
Repeat steps for soaked all cranberries until all have been coated in the vanilla bean sugar.
Dust with luster dust or glitter for an extra sparky finish (optional,) then store in an airtight container until ready to enjoy!
They will keep for a few days in the fridge but have at tendency to weep and lose some sugar coating over time. For this reason, I recommend storing the cranberries in a container with granulated sugar at the bottom. This will prevent moisture and can be used for easy re-coating.
Substitutions and infusions
You can easily infuse the syrup that the cranberries are soaked in, with herbs and spices. From rosemary and sage, to vanilla, star anise, cinnamon, orange and lemon zest. Substitute vanilla bean in the coating sugar for cinnamon or any other herb of choice for an added holiday touch.
Easy Sugared Cranberries (Holiday Garnish)
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Garnish
- Method: Sugared Cranberries
- Cuisine: Holiday
Description
Tart fresh cranberries, soaked in simple syrup and coated in vanilla bean sugar. Enjoy as a sweet and tart treat, or to top your favorite holiday desserts and cocktails.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of granulated sugar (simple syrup)
- 1 cup of water (simple syrup)
- 1 12 oz bag of cranberries, rinsed and sorted
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
- Silver or gold edible glitter/luster dust for sparkle (optional)
Instructions
Sugared Cranberries:
- Rinse and discard any soft or mushy cranberries and set aside.
- Pour equal parts water and sugar together in a pot and heat to a light simmer.
- Avoid boiling the simple syrup as the temperature will cook the cranberries, causing them to break down.
- Once the syrup is simmering, pour the fresh cranberries into the pot and stir.
- The cranberries may pop a bit while in the syrup, but should maintain their shape.
- Keep them in the warm syrup, stirring occasionally while prepping the sugar for coating.
- Next pour granulated sugar into a shallow dish. Mix the vanilla bean seeds into the sugar if using them.
- Use a slotted spoon to scoop the cranberries out of the syrup, draining off all liquid from the berries.
- Place them on parchment.
- Place a few of the cranberries into the vanilla bean sugar at a time, using a spoon to scoop the sugar over the cranberries.
- Once fully coated, remove the berries from sugar and place on a clean sheet of parchment. Repeat steps for soaked cranberries until all have been coated in the vanilla bean sugar.
- Dust with luster dust or glitter for an extra sparky finish (optional,) then store in an airtight container until ready to enjoy!
- The cranberries will keep in the fridge for a few days but have at tendency to weep and lose some sugar coating over time. For this reason, I recommend storing the cranberries in a container with granulated sugar at the bottom. This will prevent excess moisture and can be used for easy re-coating.
Notes
The cranberries can be made a day or two in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use. Best when used in 3 days.
Preserve the leftover cranberry simple syrup and sugar for cocktails! The cranberries naturally color the syrup and sugar pink which can be used in your festive drink recipes. Think, cranberry French 75, or even a cranberry margarita!
Now you have the perfect edible garnish for all your holiday celebrations!
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