Cranberry Liqueur, easy, festive and delicious!

Cranberry Liqueur, a beautiful yet easy-to-make liqueur to enjoy and gift to friends and family. You will want to make this right away to have it ready for the holidays! Don't forget to make enough for you, too!

The first time I made this delicious Cranberry Liqueur I only made one batch. Needless to say, with only one batch, you have a choice to make. Enjoy with friends, or give as gifts. Such a tough spot to be in. Now I make two batches, one to serve guests and one to bottle and offer as gifts. 

Cranberry Liqueur is delicious when served as a liqueur or mixed with sparkling water for a lighter beverage. And for those special occasions, try mixing with a touch of champagne when you celebrate. You too will find that next year you will be making two batches...this is one of the recipes on my list to make as soon as I see fresh cranberries in the market.

But I would be remiss if I did not alert you to the following information. As it turns out, the leftover spent cranberries, are also delicious, just stir them into muffins, or a coffee cake, or just about anything really. And I can tell you from experience they add a particular deliciousness to homemade brownies. Chocolate and cranberry are a happy flavor couple.

There is no special equipment needed to make homemade Cranberry Liqueur. I have no doubt your kitchen has the tools needed. The hardest part is the three-week wait! So you might want to get started, fresh cranberries are in the marketplace now...and soon you will be enjoying this lovely liqueur with friends and family.

Some thoughts on this recipe:

It is just as easy to grab a large jar and make a double batch, or you can do like we do, use two jars!

Feel free to chop the cranberries by hand. A food processor is not mandatory. But you do want to chop them, to allow all the wonderful flavor and color to dance in the simple syrup. 

Unless you have a guaranteed leak-proof lid, you will want to stir and not shake each day. It can be a sticky mess to clean up, so stir, stir. stir. Yes, I did learn this the hard way...

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• cranberries
• orange
• sugar
• vodka

You will also need the following:

• medium-sized saucepan
• measuring cups
• kitchen knife
• cutting board
• citrus juicer
• citrus zester
• food processor
• large jar with lid for aging
• large jar with lid for finished liqueur
• fine mesh strainer

Now we are ready to begin!

Cranberry Liqueur
adapted from:  Creative Culinary

1 c water
2 c sugar
2 c (10 oz bag) cranberries
1 orange to make: 1 T grated zest and 3 T juice
2 c vodka (does not have to be top shelf)

Using a citrus zester, cut off enough of the outside skin to equal 1 tablespoon of orange zest, set aside.

Cut that same orange in half, squeeze out the juice using a citrus juicer. Measure out 3 tablespoons of orange juice, set aside. 

In the saucepan, bring 1 c water and sugar to a boil, boil for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Pick through the cranberries, removing any that are shriveled or soft. Rinse and let drain. Slice or chop the cranberries. 

In the large jar, combine the simple syrup, cranberries, orange zest, and juice.

Stir in the vodka.

Cap and store in a cool dry area. Stir each day. Age for three weeks. 

When the aging time is over, using another storage jar, strain the solid fruit from the liqueur mixture. Cap the strained liqueur and store it in a cool dry area or the refrigerator. 

If desired, place the strained out berries in a container with a lid, and store them in the refrigerator to use in cooking and baking. 

Storage options for Cranberry Liqueur. Due to the alcohol content, you may store it at room temperature until gone, but we preferred storing it in the refrigerator for a chilled beverage. 

UPDATE:  For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Cranberry Liqueur has been included below. 

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Printable "copy and paste" version:

Cranberry Liqueur
adapted from:  Creative Culinary

1 c water
2 c sugar
2 c (10 oz bag) cranberries
1 orange to make: 1 T grated zest and 3 T juice
2 c vodka (does not have to be top shelf)

Using a citrus zester, cut off enough of the outside skin to equal 1 tablespoon of orange zest, set aside.

Cut that same orange in half, squeeze out the juice using a citrus juicer. Measure out 3 tablespoons of orange juice, set aside. 

In the saucepan, bring 1 c water and sugar to a boil, boil for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Pick through the cranberries, removing any that are shriveled or soft. Rinse and let drain. Slice or chop the cranberries. 

In the large jar, combine the simple syrup, cranberries, orange zest, and juice.

Stir in the vodka.

Cap and store in a cool dry area. Stir each day. Age for three weeks. 

When the aging time is over, using another storage jar, strain the solid fruit from the liqueur mixture. Cap the strained liqueur and store it in a cool dry area or the refrigerator. 

If desired, place the strained out berries in a container with a lid, and store them in the refrigerator to use in cooking and baking. 

Storage options for Cranberry Liqueur. Due to the alcohol content, you may store it at room temperature until gone, but we preferred storing it in the refrigerator for a chilled beverage. 

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