For holiday dinners, a bowl of cranberry sauce is the must have side dish. Some would argue that it is actually a condiment for the turkey which I can’t blame them for since they go so well together! Every year I like experimenting with a new variation of the traditional recipe and this year I went with an orange amaretto sauce. Amaretto liqueur’s cherry flavor lends itself well to the tart cranberries and provides depth and complexity to the flavor. I used fresh squeezed oranges and orange zest which gives it a tangier citrusy flavor. I like to scale back the sugar by as much as a 1/4 of a cup and it still winds up being pretty sweet but with an extra kick to it. I did always love sour candy as a kid. Feel free to add as much or more sugar, orange or amaretto as you like–cranberry sauce recipes are easily customizable!
Amaretto Orange Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 24 oz fresh cranberries washed
- 1 cup granulated sugar can be reduced to 3/4 cup
- 1 cup orange juice
- 3 or 4 tbsp amaretto liqueur
- 1 tbsp orange zest
Instructions
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Add the washed cranberries to a large sauce pan.
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Add the sugar, orange juice and orange zest.
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Turn up the heat to medium high and bring to a low boil, covered.
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Once the cranberries get hot and the skins start popping, mash the cranberries with a potato masher.
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Add the amaretto liqueur and cook on low for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.