Whenever I think of cranberry sauce, I think of the gross stuff in the can some people serve. Sometimes they don’t even mash it up enough, and you can still see the ridges from can imprinted on it. I don’t even know how they call that stuff sauce. Its more like cranberry jelly or something. Its so gross, yet fascinating, like cheez whiz. Its fascinating, but I don’t want to put that stuff in my mouth. Thanksgiving is for eating real food, and good food. My friend Miki is wearing parachute pants to my Thanksgiving, and I think I am going to pick up a new pair of slacks in the maternity section of Target. So lets all go get our stomachs on and make real food and eat it, and make this Cinnamon and Star Anise infused Cranberry Sauce and put it on everything!
♥ Teri
Cinnamon and Star Anise Infused Cranberry
Makes 1½ to 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 (12 ounce) bag cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 orange zested and juiced
3 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir.
2. Once mixture has come to a boil, turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cranberries have cooked down and the sauce has thickened. Stir frequently.
2. Remove from heat and allow the cranberry sauce to cool. The sauce will thicken more as it cools. Serve as a condiment with your favorite thanksgiving dish.
I LOVE PARACHUTE PANTS!
Oh, that wasn’t the point, was it?
We just traded rolls for this cranberry sauce. I’m so making this in a few weeks. Orange juice in cranberry sauce is a must. I’m so pumped for the anise and cinnamon. BIG TIME EXCITED! CANYOUTELL?! JENNY, I LOVE YOU!!
Those cans break my heart..Mostly because it is so ridiculously easy to make GOOD cran sauce! It’s like, an insult to Thanksgiving. I’m all about maternity clothes for t-day. Bring it!
WHAAAAAAAAAAT! IMMA EAT THAT ON THANKSGIVING!
cranberries + orange = awesome. cranberries + star anise = MAJORRRR! this is awesome & i’m so glad someone else has discovered that cranberries & star anise are meant to be :)
This sounds like heaven.
You’re hilarious. And I’m making this. FACT.
I cook with these spices and I know of the awesomeness of which you speak! Dang, this will definitely be a star at the table anytime of the year.
Your recipe and your blog reminded me of a Thanksgiving I cannot forget. My parents were away and I was staying with my grannies during my college years. My siblings were far away too, and my grandparents had to go somewhere else…So it was basically just me all alone that Thanksgiving. I was not sad though, I went to join my friend’s family for Thanksgiving dinner, and since I don’t know what to bring, I passed by the grocery shop and bought the canned cranberry sauce. It was not something grand but that is the only thing I can come up with. Turned out they have loads of food prepared and it would never be the same without my canned contribution. Now that I am much older I have a better Cranberrry sauce contribution but with this post you made it even better…Thanks for a nice post! Happy Holidays!
a few days ago i did a MASSIVE clean out of my closet and tried on my maternity pants. (cuz i was curious to see what they felt like after not wearing them for 3 years). THEY FELT GOOD. And it made me think that I might have to wear them on thanksgiving. Don’t tell anyone.
I was thinking of canning a bunch of jars of this for Thanksgiving presents(lucky coworkers)…I’m thinking I should take the star anise and cinnamon bits out before canning, as the flavors might be too strong after a few weeks, what do you think?
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I made this over the weekend and it is the best cranberry sauce I’ve EVER had (and cranberry sauce is my favorite part of thanksgiving dinner). THANK YOU!
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In Uk, we eat turkey christmas time, I love cranberry sauce, and I usually buy ready made one. I would like to try this this christmas time!
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After the sauce has boiled what do you do with the cinnamon sticks and the star anise? Also could you use ground anise and cinnamon? If so how much?
Made this yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was great! It was my first time having homemade cranberry sauce at the table, and I was really glad I tried! The only thing that went amiss was that I think I cooked it for just a few minutes too long because it became almost like a jelly after a bit. It was still super delicious though, thanks for the recipe!
I would love to send this to my family for Thanksgiving. How would I go about making it safe for shipping?