Go Back

Vanilla Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

Vanilla bourbon cranberry sauce made with fresh cranberries, simmered until berries burst and the sauce turns glossy and thick. Finished with bourbon for a deep, warming flavor and chilled until spoonable.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 210
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

12 ounces fresh cranberries
  • 12 oz fresh cranberries
brown sugar and granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar packed
  • 0.25 cup granulated sugar
liquid ingredients
  • 0.5 cup water
  • 0.25 cup orange juice
  • 0.33 cup bourbon divided
vanilla
  • 1 vanilla bean split and seeds scraped
salt
  • 1 salt pinch

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook the cranberry base
  1. Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, water, orange juice, 1/4 cup bourbon, vanilla bean and seeds, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugars dissolve. Bring to a boil—look for rolling bubbles that cover the surface.
  2. Add fresh cranberries to the boiling mixture and return to a boil. Keep it at a full boil so the berries begin to pop.
  3. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the berries burst and the sauce thickens. It should coat the back of a spoon and look glossy and dark red.
Finish and chill
  1. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the remaining bourbon. The sauce should loosen slightly, then look evenly glossy.
  2. Remove the vanilla pod, then cool the cranberry sauce before serving. Chill until set and spoonable.

Notes

For the thickest, jelly-like texture, simmer until the sauce clearly coats the spoon and the berries have burst; it will continue to thicken as it cools. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freezing is not recommended because the texture can loosen after thawing. For a lower-sugar option, replace some of the sugars with a 1:1 baking sweetener and keep the simmer time the same to reach the burst-and-thicken stage.