Saturday, November 21, 2009

Cranberry Liqueur for the Holidays

I love cranberries! It's not just the beautiful shades of my favorite color, it's the delicious sweet-tart flavor of them in relishes, sauces, juices, and cocktails that I enjoy. When I saw the recipe for Cranberry Liqueur at Inn Cuisine I knew I would be making it for the holidays - either to enjoy with the family or to give as hostess gifts. Both good ideas~

You start with fresh, whole cranberries, zested orange rind, simple syrup and vodka and you're just about ready to start your own liqueur. You could use frozen cranberries but, at this time of year when fresh cranberries are so readily available, why not use fresh berries?

My freshly-made batch of cranberry liqueur:

Today is day three, and the red color of the cranberries is already turning the liqueur a beautiful, ruby color:

By the way, I found this big, beautiful glass jar at Target for about $5.00. It holds a double recipe of the liqueur which I made.

I decided to add some long strips of lemon rind to my batch. The original recipe also calls for adding orange juice concentrate which I omitted as I had bought orange-infused vodka rather than plain vodka. I can't wait to taste the final result in about 3 more weeks!

If you also love cranberries and would like to try making your own Cranberry Liqueur, please visit Inn Cuisine to see the original recipe and there's still time to make your own Cranberry Liqueur for the holidays!

My adaptations:

~I doubled the recipe
~In addition to the grated orange zest, I also added the zest of one lemon (in long strips, making sure there is no white pith that could make it bitter)
~I used orange-infused vodka and omitted the orange juice concentrate
~I'm keeping my jar in the refrigerator while it's 'brewing'

27 comments:

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Sounds wonderful! I love citrus flavors. Thanks for sharing.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Chocolate Shavings said...

That's a great way to use cranberries a little differently - sounds delicious!

Unknown said...

So beautifull and tasty
Have a good day

Haden News said...

What a great recipe! I am making it today :)

Carol said...

Sounds fabulous, Susan! bet that makes a better cocktail than an Ocean Spray Cocktail!

Looks delicious already!

Joanne said...

I am a total cranberry addict. I have stockpiled bags of them (I have six bags in my freezer and two in my fridge, ready to go at a moment's notice).

THis liqueur sounds awesome! I bet it would go really well mixed into frostings for cupcakes or cakes!

Debbie@Mountain Breaths said...

Susan, let's have a toast soon! I'll let you know when mine is ready.

Cynthia said...

Susan, what an interesting post ... Love all the ruby red. :) Your photos are all excellent, but I love the detail of the cranberries in the photo after the orange zest.

Foley said...

Looks fantastic! Reminded me I need to make my lemoncello!

Can't wait to see the first toast....

Mary said...

Wow, what a great gift idea! LOVE the mosaic too. thanks for sharing your beautiful images at MM. :)

The Fajdich Times said...

That looks wonderful. Come check out my Italian Mellocello:)

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

Love this mosaic. I love cranberries also and look forward to them every fall.

Carol said...

Wonderful mosaic! Your cranberry photos are beautiful!

Teresa @ Grammy Girlfriend said...

I love cranberries....Your pictures are great...blessings

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful mosaic . The cranberries look very colorful. Great gift idea. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Joyce said...

Nice mosaic and it is all so colorful. Enjoy your turkey dinner this week.
Joyce

Claudia said...

Perfect combo! The lemon really makes them pop!

Thanks so much for sharing.

Here is wishing you and your family a very blessed thanksgiving day-- stop by and share a TG story you might have!!

TTFN~~ Claudia ♥ ♥

Suzy said...

What a great recipe and such a beautiful post. I love that jar! Need to find myself a couple. My grandmother used to have something like it.

Wildflowerhouse said...

Oh now that sounds delicious. Love your photos especially the cranberries. Thanks for sharing. Sharon

Cathy said...

I made rhubarb liqueur last summer for holiday gifts. A little bottle of this would be perfect with it in my gift baskets. This is so very festive and special.

Unknown said...

Great post! I am really loving cranberry mixed with lime...I'm going to have to give this a try ;)

Blessings!
Gail

Lori E said...

This sounds delicious. Vodka is such a natural base to work with. Do you like coffee? It makes a great coffee liquor too. Take a bottle of vodka (40 oz) 44 sugar cubes and 44 coffee beans and blend them together. Shake gently every day for 44 days.
Voila.

Barbara said...

That looks fabulous, Susan! A couple years ago we infused a lovely decanter of vodka with cranberries, (mainly for decoration actually) but did not chop up the cranberries or add orange and lemon rinds. Can't wait to try this. The color is magnificent!
Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Michelle said...

Love to infuse stuff...vinegars, oils or vodka and even brandy at times. So much fun and the color is always wonderful.

Looks so good and I bet it tasted even better!

Velva said...

This is a wonderful idea to give as a hostess gift-Just beautiful!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

pigpigscorner said...

This sounds great! You know what, I've never actually seen fresh cranberries sold at my local supermarket...

A Grain of Salt said...

How did I miss this post? (Well, I was on vacation then, but still can't believe I missed it altogether!). That looks so good, Susan... I have a couple of bags of cranberries in the freezer, so this is a possibility.