If you are a fan of cranberry sauce, apples and fall spices, this is definitely the sauce for you. Growing up, I would only eat the whole cranberry sauce from the can because it was sweet, had chunks of cranberries and, to me, was the greatest thing ever. Then, several years ago, I found an idea for an apple cranberry sauce and decided my apple-loving self had to give it a try.
And here we are. Due to its overwhelming approval by my family, this apple cranberry sauce is now the only one for us and has been for the past 4 years. The combination of apple, cranberry and spices is absolutely fabulous and the sauce explodes with flavor. As mentioned in a previous post, I am simply not a gravy girl, so cranberry sauce is basically my gravy. It gets loaded onto my turkey and stuffing and sometimes even eaten by the spoonful on its own.
This sauce can be made well in advance so it doesn’t have to be one more thing on the list for Thanksgiving day. The last couple of years, I’ve made it the Sunday before Thanksgiving and it tastes just as wonderful on Thanksgiving day. I simply throw it in a pan on the stove (but you could even use the microwave) to heat it up a bit before serving and voila!
I know it can be tricky messing with traditions and trying new recipes. Whenever I try a new recipe for Thanksgiving, I usually have the new recipe as well as the more traditional variety – at least for the first year – so that if the new kind doesn’t go over well, at least people still have the traditional option. Luckily, now my family is at the point where this is our one true cranberry sauce love, so I don’t have to make 2 kinds anymore.
In a post yesterday I said that would probably be my last post before Thanksgiving, but now this really is the final post before the big feast. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday spent with their loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving!
Spiced Apple Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 (12oz) bag of fresh cranberries
- 1+1/4 cups of granulated sugar (plus more to taste, if desired/needed)
- 2-3 medium-sized Apple (diced) - I think ginger gold are the best for this sauce
- 1+1/3 cups fresh apple cider (divided)
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Place cranberries, sugar and 1 cup of water into a large saucepan/dutch oven
- Place diced apples, nutmeg, cinnamon and 1 cup of the apple cider in a medium-sized saucepan.
- Cook the cranberry mixture over medium-high heat until water boils and cranberries burst open. Simultaneously, cook the apple mixture on a separate burner over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are softened.
- Add the cooked apple mixture into the cooked cranberry mixture and leave the burner on medium-high heat.
- Mix the cornstarch with the remaining 1/3 cup of apple cider until completely dissolved. Then, add the mixture in gradually, stirring after each addition, until sauce reaches the desired consistency.
***See Recipe Notes below regarding how cooking/stirring the sauce will affect the texture and consistency.*** - Taste test the sauce and add additional sugar, if desired/needed. Serve the sauce however you'd like - hot, room temperature or cold. It's delicious all ways! Store leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- For my sauce above, I used the entire cornstarch/cider mixture. While it was hot, it still seemed rather liquidy, but once it reaches room temperature it's quite thick.
- The longer you stir and cook the sauce, the more the cranberries and apples will break down, which will also add thickness. Plus, if you want the texture to be more like an applesauce (which is AMAZING), keep cooking and stirring until apples and cranberries fully breakdown. For my sauce above, I didn't do this but I have done it that way before and it's delicious, just with a different texture.
