If you’re going to make your own cranberry sauce, you might as well make it worth the effort. We’re always trying something different for our annual Thanksgiving feast. This time, I was inspired by one of my favourite fall cocktails: Apple Cider & Fireball Canadian Whisky [Cinnamon Whisky]. We just went apple picking, so there’s plenty of cider on hand. And I always seem to have some sort of whisky in the cabinet…Of course, the booze cooks off, so it’s family friendly. This recipe can be canned using a boiling water bath and given as a gift around the holidays. If you use green figs, it looks kind of Christmassy, too.
Whiskey Fig Cranberry Sauce
For Grandma GeraldineThis recipe makes 1 1/4 pints. But it can easily be doubled or tripled.
Ingredients
- 12 oz bag cranberries
- 1/4 c whiskey [We used Fireball Cinnamon Canadian Whisky, but any Whiskey will do!]
- 3/4 c apple cider [juice or water can be substituted here]
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup [50 g] diced dried apricots [OPTIONAL]
- 1 cup [8 oz] quartered fresh figs tips and tails removed, green or purple
- 1/2 lime, both zest and juice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cloves
Instructions
- Heat liquid, sugar and [optional] dried apricots in a pot and bring to a boil.
- Add the cranberries.
- [If your cranberries are frozen, wait a minute or two before continuing.]
- Add the quartered fresh figs and return to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium low.
- Add lime zest, lime juice, and spices.
- Boil on low, stirring frequently, until the sauce comes to an almost jam-like consistency.
- [This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.]
- Sauce may be canned using a boiling water bath, leaving 1/4-in headspace in jars and processing for 15 minutes.
Notes
If you would like to make this into a “compote,” add 1/4-1/2 c shredded sweetened coconut and/or 1/4 c sliced almonds per batch to your sauce before serving. Alternatively, you could use coconut and/or almonds as a garnish on the day of your gathering. This is going overboard, of course…..but we like to go overboard around the holidays.
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