Do you want to turn a ho-hum Thanksgiving garnish into a show stopping side that you eat all year round? This spiced cranberry sauce with pears and pecans gives you step by step direction for How To Make Cranberry Sauce From Dried Cranberries.
Moving to Portugal taught me a great deal about cooking. One of my earliest lessons was that the rest of the world isn't quite as enamored with cranberry sauce as Americans are...at least in late November.
So our first holiday season across the pond I made this dreamy dish.
Chewy dried cranberries rehydrate in orange and cranberry juice and mix with the pectins in the pears and spices to create a citrusy, warmly-spiced chutney. The crunch of the pecans pair beautifully with the slightly chewy texture of the cranberries and the stewed sweetness of the pears.
Happy holidays, cranberry fans! Our moment has arrived.
What you'll need to make this sauce:
Before we get to the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Cranberry juice: if using unsweetened juice, taste and adjust the sweetness in the final dish. Substitute apple or cherry juice, or any fruity juice you have in the fridge.
Sugar: brown sugar is my preference, but substitute brown sugar substitute or your favorite granulated sugar substitute.
Ground ginger: substitute a few slices of fresh ginger (remove before serving) or omit, if you must.
Fresh pear: a sweet-tart apple would be a good substitute for pear here.
Pecans: the perfect holiday nut to add to the cranberry sauce. Sub toasted walnuts or almonds.
Full ingredient list measurements included in the printable recipe card below.
Step by step instructions:
1. Combine and simmer
Add dried cranberries, cranberry juice, zest and juice of 1 clementine, brown sugar, ground ginger, pinch of salt and 2 cinnamon sticks in a medium saucepan.
Stir to combine the ingredients, then bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture simmer for 6-8 minutes to rehydrate the cranberries.
2. Cook pears
Next, add the diced pear. Continue to simmer the cranberry sauce until the pear is tender and cranberries are soft, but retain a little chewiness - about 6-8 more minutes.
3. Stir in pecans
Remove from heat. If you want a smooth sauce (or smoother sauce) you can use a food processor or mini-chopper to grind the cranberry mixture at this point. I've made it both ways, and prefer leaving the cranberry sauce in this rustic form. Stir in the chopped pecans. Taste and adjust seasoning.
This recipe presents some variables - how sweet are the cranberries? How tangy is the cranberry juice? How ripe is the pear? Given the variables, you may want to add an extra tablespoon of sugar, or a squeeze of orange juice, or an extra pinch of ginger. Follow your heart.
4. Store and serve
Transfer to a serving dish and cover tightly. Refrigerate until service. The liquid in the sauce will thicken as the sauce cools. Serve with a sprinkle of diced pecans and orange zest.
Looking for more holiday recipes?
FAQ's and Serving Suggestions:
You can! Have the cranberry juice on standby, but you likely won't need it, as the fresh cranberries will burst as you cook them and produce their own juices. You will likely need at least twice as much brown sugar, since dried fruit has a higher sugar content than fresh. So start with a half cup sugar, then taste and adjust, as needed. Your holiday table will be just as impressed with the fresh cranberry sauce as the dried one.
Brown sugar adds a little bit of deep molasses flavor, which is the perfect compliment to the warm spices in this dish. But white sugar will add the sweetness you need to balance out the other flavors - if you have molasses or maple syrup in the pantry, add an extra drip or two to the pot.
A granny smith apple (or any apple in your refrigerator) will add some natural pectin and texture to the dish and balance the tartness of the cranberries.
Using a little additional orange / clementine fruit juice is a good option, or an equal amount of apple juice. I would not substitute the same amount of lemon juice - if you're looking for more tartness, add a teaspoon at a time.
To store leftover cranberry sauce, wrap tightly with plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight covered container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Spiced Cranberry Sauce Recipe {From Dried Cranberries}
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
1 ¼ cups dried cranberries
1 ¼ cups cranberry juice
1 clementine, zest and juice
¼ cup brown sugar or maple syrup
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
Pinch salt
1 pear, peeled and diced
½ cup pecans
Instructions
- To begin, combine dried cranberries, cranberry juice, zest and juice of 1 clementine, brown sugar, ground ginger, pinch of salt and 2 cinnamon sticks in a medium saucepan. Stir to combine the ingredients, then bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture simmer for 6-8 minutes to rehydrate the cranberries.
- Add diced pear. Continue to simmer the cranberry sauce until the pear is tender and cranberries are soft, but retain a little chewiness - about 6-8 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chopped pecans. Taste and adjust seasoning. (see note, below)
- Transfer to a serving dish and cover tightly. Refrigerate until service. The liquid in the sauce will thicken as the sauce cools.
- Serve with a sprinkle of diced pecans and orange zest.
Notes
This recipe presents some variables - how sweet are the cranberries? How tangy is the cranberry juice? How ripe is the pear? Given the variables, you may want to add an extra tablespoon of sugar, or a squeeze of orange juice, or an extra pinch of ginger. Follow your heart.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Easy Recipes
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
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