Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Homemade Cranberry Sauce. Making that Holiday staple has never been more easy. Whether you choose to make it on top of the stove or in your electric pressure cooker, you have chosen the easy way. Bright flavors of fresh cranberries, orange, sweet honey and a smidge of bourbon are sure to please all of your Holiday guests.

Why is homemade cranberry sauce better than store bought?

Well, the answer is quite simple. It just is. Hahaha, I know, that isn’t a real answer. Truthfully, any time you can make something from real, whole ingredients, also when you can monitor those ingredients, knowing what is in it, that makes anything better. One huge factor in making things at home is that you insure that all of the ingredients are edible on their own. When you have that, you are in complete control of what you are eating. And as the saying goes, you are what you eat. Personally, I don’t care to eat things that I can’t pronounce or even have a clue what they are.

Therefore, Cranberry sauce made at home is better. See, it is simple!

Speaking of simple, making it is too. There may be a few more than 5 ingredients but they all add a depth of flavor you won’t get if you leave them out. Also, I will show you two ways to make it. Either on the stove or in your trusty electric pressure cooker!

How to make cranberry sauce.

Cranberry sauce is a complex blend of flavor. But the ingredients are not complex at all. You will see the ingredient list is simple yet diverse. And lawdy, the bourbon DOES add so much flavor. Feel free to leave it out. It’s not a must but if you can, keep it in to see what it does!

~ Ingredients ~

• 12 oz bag of fresh Cranberries

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 strip of orange peel

• ¼ cup orange juice

• ¼ cup water
• 1 whole cinnamon stick
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon bourbon
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Pinch of fresh ground pepper

~ Stove top Method ~

1. In a heavy sauce pot add, Cranberries, sugar, orange peel, orange juice, water, cinnamon stick, salt and bourbon(optional). Bring to a boil at medium heat. Lower heat to a simmer or gentle boil. Simmer until Cranberries start to burst (3-5 minutes) and mash easy with a spoon. Reduce heat to low and mash cranberries with two spoons. * You can press thru a siv if need be to remove skins.

2. Remove from heat and add a pinch of black pepper and honey. Allow to cool. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools. Transfer to a glass jar store in the refrigerator for two weeks or freeze for up to a month.

~ Electric Pressure Cooker Method~

1. Add all ingredients except for honey in the Pot insert of the pressure cooker. Using Saute function bring to a gentle boil. Boil for 2 minutes stirring and mashing berries once they are softened. Turn off saute and place top on and turn the vent to seal.

2. Cook on manual or pressure cook for 6 minutes. Once cook time is up, switch unit to off and allow pressure to naturally release 10-12 minutes. Unseal vent to allow any additional pressure to escape and carefully remove lid. Add in Honey. Allow Cranberry sauce to cool and pack in a jar and store in refrigerator for 2 weeks or freeze for up to a month.

Helpful tips to make homemade cranberry sauce

Once your sauce cools a bit, you can do the old wooden spoon test to see if it is thick enough to your liking. I like to get a smidge on the back of my wooden spoon and run my finger down it. Just like candy or gravy, if it doesn’t bleed into the bare spot, all is good!

Also, it is important to note that adding the honey at the end preserves the good stuff that honey has in it. Adding it last makes sure its taste is top notch as well as the benefits of the honey as a whole.

Lots of people say, why pepper? It’s not enough to taste. Pepper, like salt, in small amounts adds depth and a small spot of something extra. You know, that something you can’t quite put your finger on. Trust me you will see what I mean.

Home Made cranberry goodness for the holidays

So if you want to make your Thanksgiving or Christmas meals even more special, this Cranberry sauce will be what you are looking for. Pair it with this delicious Cornbread Dressing and its a beautiful thing! This is so easy and sure to be what I like to call a Heirloom recipe. One you can pass down to future generations. One that becomes a staple at the holiday table. One that your kids will always look back on with fondness. Love from your kitchen.

As always, we would love it if you shared this recipe with your family and friends. Over to the side on this post and all of the others are handy dandy share buttons. We would sure be grateful if you shared the love!

Stuff we used!