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18 January 2016

Welcome friends. Happy New Year! I've been thinking about the things that help me traverse the winter months. Most of the seasons I embrace, but winter is something that I just try to endure. Today I want to share my recipe for cranberry liqueur. It doesn't take long to prepare this, but it takes about four weeks in the bottle for the flavor of the cranberries to infuse into the liquid. I discovered this recipe in a Cooking Light magazine back in 2003, and I have been making it ever since. I've modified the amount of sugar that I use for the syrup and the amount of vodka. I use this as a base recipe to make other liqueurs like raspberry and cherry. Unlike limoncello, you can add the simple syrup at the start.

I usually make this before Thanksgiving so that it is ready around Christmas time. Sometimes I make extra and give it to friends as a holiday gift. It is delicious. It has a beautiful, festive, red jewel-toned color. You can use it to make cosmopolitans or serve it chilled as an after dinner drink. I like to use it to make a cranberry fizz. I combine the liqueur with prosecco in a ratio of 1 part cranberry liqueur and 2 parts prosecco.

Use a stainless steel, fine-mesh, strainer to remove the cranberries from the liqueur. I save the cranberry bits and use them on ice cream and salads. They will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.

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Cranberry Liqueur

50 min. prep time | 4 weeks aging time

cranberry liqueur

Ingredients

makes 2 bottles

  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 package of cranberries, 12 oz.
  • 2 cups vodka
  • 2 large swing-top bottles, 750mL

Directions

soak the berries in cold water and sort out the bad ones.

clean the swing-top bottles and sanitize them by filling them with boiling water. Discard the water after 5 minutes.

combine the sugar and water in a medium sauce pan and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen the sugar from the bottom of the pan. Bring the syrup to a gentle boil over medium heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow the syrup to cool for 20 minutes.

place the berries in a blender, add the syrup, and puree for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of vodka and blend for 30 seconds. Repeat with the second cup of vodka.

pour the mixture into the swing-top bottles. Store in a cool place for 4 weeks.

strain the pulp from the liqueur using a stainless steel fine-mesh strainer. Clean the swing-top bottles and return the liqueur to the bottles.