Made with only three ingredients, these sugared cranberries are so festive for the holiday season. Garnish your cheese boards with them; decorate your tables with them; wrap them up in jars and gift them to your friends. So easy, so pretty!

About this time last year, I demoed how to make cheese sticks and candied pepitas, at the Vischer Ferry General Store. It was “Charcuterie Night,” and during the class, with our freshly made cheese sticks and pepitas, we assembled a small charcuterie board together.

This was just after Thanksgiving and visions of the holiday were still on my mind, namely a stunning photo of a pumpkin pie, which had been garnished with sugared cranberries. Arranged sparingly but artfully over the pie, the frosted berries not only added a pop of color so complementary to the pie’s burnt orange hue but also (perhaps) covered any unsightly cracks in the pie’s surface.

I hadn’t had time to make the cranberries before Thanksgiving so I decided to make them for the event, thinking they would be a festive addition to the store’s large communal table where the charcuterie boards would be assembled before everyone arrived. Louise, the owner of the store, and Genny, the events coordinator, worked their magic, placing the cranberries in pretty bowls, nestling in sprigs of rosemary, and distributing the bowls among the platters and empty spaces along the table.

Once class began, I couldn’t help but notice the attendees’ enthusiasm for the cranberries. They were dropping them in their glasses of prosecco and sparkling water, and they were loading their little plates with them to enjoy with their cheese, meats, and crackers.

After the demo ended, no one cared about the cheese sticks or the pepitas. They wanted to know about the cranberries. How did you make these? Can you share the recipe?

I thought this was so interesting because the cranberries, despite being coated with sugar, are still so tart! You can eat them, of course, but their purpose is primarily decorative, a festive flourish for the entertaining season, something, as noted, to set on your cheese boards or holiday table or to wrap up in pretty jars to gift to your friends and family.

Having made these several times now, I’ve adapted the various recipes I’ve followed slightly. Let’s start from the top:

Sugared Cranberries: A Two-Step Process

Making sugared cranberries is a two-step process:

  1. Make a simple syrup. Coat the berries in the syrup. Let drain for 1 hour.
  2. Transfer the berries to a bowl and coat with more sugar.

What I’ve found works better is this: rather than make a traditional simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water, I make a thicker one with a slightly higher ratio of sugar to water. I find this more concentrated syrup coats the berries a little bit better which in turn allows the final sprinkling of sugar to better adhere to the surface of the berries.

Finally, I use less sugar for the final sprinkling. With several of the recipes I used, I found I had so much leftover sugar in the bowl. That’s it! As always, I hope you love them 🎉

How to Make Sugared Cranberries, Step by Step

First gather your ingredients: 1 bag (12 ounces) of cranberries and 1/2 cup sugar.

Place the sugar in a small saucepan with 1/4 cup of water:

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir with a spatula just until the sugar dissolves, then…

… remove from the heat:

Pour this sugary hot syrup over the cranberries in a large bowl and stir with a spatula until all of the berries are coated:

Transfer the berries to a rack set over a sheet pan (or a parchment-lined sheet pan) to drain, and let drain for 1 hour:

After the hour, transfer the berries to a large bowl or a 9×13-inch pan, then…

… toss with more sugar …

… to coat:

Transfer to storage jars …

… and store at room temperature for four to five days or…

… use immediately as a garnish on a cheese board or holiday table:

A cheese board loaded with cheese, crackers, grapes, and sugared cranberries.
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3-Ingredient Sugared Cranberries

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Description

Made with only three ingredients, these sugared cranberries are so festive for the holiday season. Garnish your cheese boards with them; decorate your tables with them; wrap them up in jars and gift them to your friends. So easy, so pretty!

Adapted from these two recipes: Sally’s Baking Addiction and Natasha’s Kitchen

The changes I’ve made to the process include:

  • making a slightly thicker/more concentrated sugar syrup by using a higher ratio of sugar to water as opposed to equal parts
  • using less sugar for the final sprinkling

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup sugar + more as needed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan, combine the 1/2 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and stir with a spatula carefully until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat.
  2. Place the cranberries in a large bowl. Pour the hot sugar syrup over the cranberries and stir with a spatula until the berries are coated in the syrup. Transfer the sugar-coated cranberries to a rack set in a sheet pan (or to a parchment-lined sheet pan) to drain for 1 hour.
  3. Transfer the berries to large clean bowl and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Toss with your hands until the berries are evenly coated, using more sugar if needed.
  4. Transfer the berries to storage jars and store at room temperature for four to five days.
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Category: garnish
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: American