Sugared cranberries or frosted cranberries are one of the easiest recipes you can make. They make a great addition to so many things and they look really beautiful.
The ingredients for these cranberries are very simple.
You will need:
- sugar
- fresh cranberries
- water
That is it! Three simple items to make these festive looking cranberries.
In making these cranberries, you will end up with a wonderful simple syrup. This gives you a bonus homemade item that you can use in cocktails, desserts or drinks.
The process in making these is also as simple as the ingredient list. It is 5 minutes of your hands on time and the rest is drying time.
The process to make these sugar frosted cranberries:
- Make a simple syrup
- Roll cranberries in syrup then dry them
- Take dried cranberries and roll in sugar.
- Let the cranberries dry.
- Done!
simple syrup 
cranberries in syrup 
cranberries drying before being rolled in sugar
I love using these sugar frosted cranberries in lots of my holiday recipes. From cocktails to side dishes or just as a snack on their own, they are delicious.
When you make these, it creates a crunch outer sugar coating and leaves the sour cranberry intact beneath this layer. It really is like a great homemade candy.
My favorite ways to use these sugar frosted cranberries are:
- In my homemade sugared cranberry sauce. Here the sugared cranberries are added right before serving and that burst of fresh cranberry flavor really tastes amazing in the sauce.
- Im my citrusy cranberry gin martini.
- On its own as a snack to nibble on throughout the day.
Give these a try and see just how easy it is to add a beautiful festive and delicious touch to so many dishes.
For ideas on how to use up that simple syrup you might like these cocktail recipes:
Sugared Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 bag of fresh cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup for the simple syrup and 1/2 cup for rolling the cranberries in.
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water.
- Bring to a simmer and simmer until the sugar is fully dissolved in the water.
- Once the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat and add your fresh cranberries.
- Turn the cranberries to coat them evenly then with a slotted spoon, remove the cranberries and place on a drying rack.
- Allow cranberries to dry for at least 30 minutes.
- Place 1/2 cup of sugar on a large plate.
- Once the cranberries are dry, they should be very sticky.
- Take the sticky cranberries and begin to roll them in the sugar on your plate until they are coated evenly on all sides.
- Remove the sugared cranberries from the plate and place them on a drying rack to dry, about 30 minutes.
- Once they are set and dry you can use them right away or place them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
These were addictive! We made them for a festive decoration but we ended up eating all of them they were so good.