Favorite Cranberry Recipes | Holiday Dishes

During the holidays cranberries are often thought to come in one form – sauce. Whether it be made from scratch or out of a can, cranberry sauce is a staple side dish of many Thanksgiving meals. But the small, delectable berries can be the star ingredient of sweet and savory dishes alike – from sauce to cookies. These are some of Yankee’s favorite recipes featuring cranberries.

Favorite Cranberry Recipes

Cranberry Surprise Pie

A quick, company’s-coming pie that makes its own crust and tastes like a macaroon cookie with cranberries. Serve this Cranberry Surprise Pie during the holidays, when cranberries are most available, with a dollop of whipped cream.

Chai-Spiced Orange-Cranberry Sauce

A gentle hint of chai tea lends warm spice flavors to this sweetly aromatic, simple sauce. Pay close attention to the timing, though: Too much steeping will bring out the tea’s bitter notes.

Glazed Cranberry Tea Cakes

Cranberry Nut Pie

More like a cake than a pie, this cranberry nut pie is packed with fresh, tart cranberries and crunchy nuts.

Cranberry Onion Jam

In November 1991, Jasper White produced a menu of Thanksgiving sides, which he did with serious attention to historical record. Knowing that cranberries and onions were widely eaten in colonial America, he combined them into this sweet-savory Cranberry–Onion Jam. Be sure to let the onions caramelize fully—their sweetness makes the dish.

Whole Wheat Maple Cranberry Scones

Maple syrup adds sweetness, cranberries bring welcome tartness, and whole-wheat flour lends a nutty flavor and a pleasing heartiness to these maple cranberry scones.

Apple-Pear-Cranberry Crostata

Apple-Pear-Cranberry Crostata — a  free-form tart filled with sliced apples, pears, and cranberries — is sweet and tangy, doesn’t require any fussiness on your part, and makes an impressive holiday centerpiece. It’s best served with vanilla ice cream.

Cranberry Bread

This easy recipe for cranberry bread produces a very moist cake-like texture that’s delicious any time of year.

Cranberry Parfait

As long as your cranberry sauce is firm and doesn’t have too many spicy ingredients, your favorite recipe should work. Same goes for the granola–use your own recipe, or a good store-bought one will do fine.

Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies

What goes along with the holiday season better than a plate of cookies? Not only are these buttery and chock full of dried fruit and nuts, but the green from the pistachios and red from the cranberries makes them look especially festive.

Which of these cranberry recipes is your favorite?

This post was first published in 2017 and has been updated. 

Cathryn McCann

While on staff as digital assistant editor, Cathryn wrote and promoted content for NewEngland.com and its social media channels. Prior to this role, she lived and worked on Martha’s Vineyard as a newspaper reporter, covering everything from environmental issues and education to crime and politics.

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