Tis the season...

...to be baking! And eating, and Cranberry Sauce making! Specifically, one of my absolute favorite recipes for the holiday season, my Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce. Its been a popular recipe with Thanksgiving guests, clients, and friends, and now I'm sharing it with you (maybe it will keep me from having to make so many batches this year lol). This is the perfect recipe to go with that Thanksgiving turkey or ham. The orange juice is the perfect partner for the fresh cranberries, the brown sugar gives it depth, and the spices add a lovely little twist. You use the same concept you would for making any other kind of fruit jam, and if you're really being ambitious, you can even can it (I don't, because it doesn't last long enough to matter lol) So here it is, and to make this post even better, I have pictures! Yay pictures!

Kara's Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

24oz fresh cranberries (2 of the little bags, or 2/3 of the big one)
2c orange juice (I personally like the high pulp)
2c brown sugar (by the time I finish the recipe, its more like 3c, but to each his/her own)
spices (I use pumpkin pie spice, but cinnamon will work too)

You'll also need a large pot and some Kerr jars to keep everything. So now you're ready. Awesome. Dump everything into the pot and turn it on medium-high heat.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. As the berries start to heat up, they'll burst, which is exactly what you want. The sugar and juice mixture should be nice and bubbly, and it should all look like this:

Take the back of your spoon and crust the berries against the side of the pot. You can even use a potato masher if you'd like, to make sure you don't have whole berries left in the sauce.

Let the mixture continue to bubble and thicken, and let it turn a pretty red color like this:

Let the sauce cool for a few minutes. This is the time to do your taste testing (be careful, its hot). Add some more brown sugar if you don't like it that tart, or some nuts, orange zest, etc. I don't, personally, but feel free to make it your own and add something special. When you get it just like you want it, use a ladle to transfer the sauce from the pot to the sterilized Kerr jars.

Make sure you leave a little space at the top of the jar, and take a clean rag and wipe the edges and rim of it before putting the lid on. If you're canning the sauce, now is the time to start processing and you should follow the general canning rules.

All done! See, that wasn't so hard. I promise, it will be a million times better than having the gelled stuff from the can. Just a few more steps, but its sooo worth it. Give it a try this Thanksgiving, and stay tuned for more Turkey Day recipes from Kara's Kitchen.

As always, happy baking!