Favorite Cranberry Recipes

In a season three episode of Weekends with Yankee, we met up with the Gilmore family of South Carver, Massachusetts, to experience the annual colorful cranberry harvest.

During the holidays cranberries are often thought to come in one form only – 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 cranberry recipes.

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 Crumble Bars

These Cranberry Crumble Bars from Vermont baker Gesine Bullock-Prado are a great use for those cans of cranberry sauce in the back of your cupboard: Stir them into a fruit filling for these sweet-tart-buttery bars. We love their bright ruby color and ease of preparation.

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 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.