Frosted Cranberries (Candied Cranberries)

Are you ready for the holidays?  I can’t wait to spend some time with my family and friends.  We all need some time off, I guess.  Today, I wanted to share this easy recipe with you that will make your holiday treats a lot more festive! Say hello to these Frosted Cranberries!  They are gorgeous, festive, edible jewels, in my opinion.  Best of all, they are quite easy to make.  Be sure to check out my YouTube video above for the step-by-step instructions.   

These Frosted Cranberries are made with the fresh ones, not frozen.  If you’ve tried a fresh cranberry without anything else, you know they taste super sour.  That’s why you usually see them dried or turned into sauces.  For the same reason, these frosted edible jewels are perfect with the sugar coating!  The sweet and tart taste balance each other out really well.  I used some vanilla sugar in the soaking syrup (click here to see the vanilla sugar recipe).  Or, you can simply use regular sugar.

So besides eating these candied cranberries as is, you can also use them as a festive holiday garnish for your cakes and treats. 

They turn a regular bundt cake into a festive holiday centerpieces!  The Frosted Cranberries are also great in punches and cocktails!  I’ll post the Classic Bundt Cake (picture above) recipe on my next post.  So please stay tuned!

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you enjoy the post and the recipe.  Until next time, please take care and stay warm!

Frosted Cranberries:
6 ounce fresh cranberries
3/4 cup sugar, divided**
1/2 cup water

Rinse and pick through the cranberries, discard the not so perfect or mushy ones.  In a small saucepan over medium heat, add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar.  Stir and cook syrup until all sugar dissolved.  Remove from heat and let it cool. 

Place drained and dried cranberries in a large bowl, add cooled syrup.  Give it a quick stir to make sure all cranberries are covered in syrup.  Let them soak for 30 minutes.

Place a wiring rack on top of a sheet pan to catch excess sugar/syrup.  With a slotted spoon, transfer cranberries onto the wiring rack in a single layer.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar onto the cranberries and let them dried for 30 minutes.

Transfer the cranberries to a paper towel and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar on top.  Gently move the cranberries around to evenly distribute the sugar.  Let them dry completely before use, about 1 hour.  Garnish your holiday cakes, cocktail, or any treat you like with these gorgeous Frosted Cranberries.  Enjoy!

**I used vanilla sugar in the syrup (please click here for the recipe).  Or you can use regular sugar instead.