Sparkling Sugared Cranberries with Red Wine

Sparkling sugared cranberries dipped in a red wine syrup - such an easy treat that pops in your mouth! Fresh cranberries coated in red wine and sugar are the perfect balance of tart and sweet. They are delicious on their own, but also spectacular as a cocktail garnish or as cake decorations! 

 

 

Bring on the Holiday cheer with these sparkling red berries. For a lot of us, alcohol is a big part of the Christmas Holidays. It makes life a little more festive and fun. That is why these red wine cranberries will be extra Christmassy and special.

 

We love to sneak in alcohol where we can right? I can also recommend these Guinness coffee brownies with Guinness coffee salted caramel, boozy eggnog white Russian, cranberry sauce with orange liqueur, or Baileys cupcakes!

 

 

What to serve with these red wine sugared cranberries

 

Sugared cranberries are great to simply eat on their own, in between the big meals during the Holidays. Keep a bowl at the table, and I'm sure people would love to snack on them throughout the day. 

 

However, they are also great as a cocktail garnish, especially for creamy cocktails like an eggnog white Russian or perhaps a mulled wine or even a dalgona to keep it lower on the alcohol. 

 

They are also really pretty as decorations for cakes and cupcakes. Pictured further below is a gingerbread cupcake with eggnog frosting! However, other cakes that would love some frosted cranberries are of course carrot cake cupcakes, this cherry eggnog pavlova, a cranberry coconut trifle, a simple orange chocolate cake, or these cute apricot and rum pastry cream cakes. 

 

From other bloggers, I'd love to try them with this cranberry orange brown sugar cake or cranberry brie puff pastry squares.

 

Red wine or cranberry sangria for the ultimate treat

 

These sugared cranberries are in reality just a great leftover idea for the cranberries in your orange cranberry sangria. That is exactly what my cranberries are, and let me tell you, the flavor the cranberries get from being soaked in this sangria is unbelievably delicious. 

 

You get most of the same effect by simply letting them sit in red wine overnight as well. Just use enough to cover the cranberries, and then cover that again with a lid or foil to keep in the refrigerator. And since you've already opened the bottle, go ahead and drink the rest. 

 

 

So really, these cranberries are a great excuse for red wine in general - and I'll take it!

 

How to Store Frosted Cranberries

 

Honestly, don't listen to all the tips online, take it from me! (However, should you listen to my tips?) I read online that frosted cranberries should be stored in the refrigerator, and just for a few days, and so I assumed that the cranberries I had on my counter were all gone bad. 

 

I figured I could still use them as decorations on these gingerbread cupcakes below, and just tossed the cranberries out after. And so all the cranberries I had left over after decorating, I simply trashed. When I served the cupcakes, one person was so eager to try the cupcakes I didn't get to tell her to throw the cranberry away (thank you!), and she ate it and it was delicious and hadn't gone bad at all. 

 

 

And now I feel bad for all the sugared cranberries I did throw away. I still think of them today. 

 

My point is, I would prefer to store them on the counter, because storing them in the refrigerator melts the sugar away, making them first of all ugly looking and gooey. Perhaps they will last incrementally longer, but I don't think it's worth it. Store them on the counter for about 1 week, or until you can see they have gone bad, lost their springy texture, and have become super soft. 

 

They may harden a little on the counter, but I prefer them that way. That just means they pop extra in your mouth - like fireworks!

 

 

How to Make Sugared Cranberries

 

Best of all, these treats are so easy to make! After they have been soaked overnight, set aside and take ½ cup of the red wine and pour it into a saucepan. Add in ½ cup of sugar and on medium-low heat, let the sugar dissolve while stirring. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes, then add in the cranberries again.

 

 

At this point, you can also add in fresh rosemary if you want to make sugared rosemary (just don't soak it overnight), and do the same with them as with the cranberries.

 

Now let them drain before placing them on parchment paper or a plate, in a single layer without touching each other. Let them sit like that for about 20 minutes, or until they are dry but sticky. 

 

 

In a shallow bowl or a plate, pour in superfine caster sugar. Dip a few cranberries at a time, roll them in the sugar and let them dry again in a single layer. About 20-30 minutes, and then they can be placed together in a bowl, or used as a garnish on a cake or in a cocktail! 

 

For a next-level trail mix, use these frosted cranberries with my sweet fall trail mix in this post with 5 trail mix recipes.

 

 

Did you like this recipe? Here are more simple Holiday treats:

 

• Homemade Peppermint Patties
• Nordic Gløgg - Mulled Wine
• Almond Crunch Milk Chocolates
• Dasher's Creamy Eggnog
• Spiced Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting
• Prancer's Eggnog White Russian

 

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