Name: Cranberry-Orange Butter
Total time: 3 h
Ingredients: 1½ pounds cranberries; 4 (2-inch) strips orange zest plus ¾ cup juice (2 oranges); ½ cup sugar; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ½ teaspoon salt

Why This Recipe Works

To keep this recipe quick and simple, we first cooked the cranberries in water until they softened and burst. We gave them a spin in the food processor and passed the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. Just ½ cup of sugar helped to sweeten and thicken the mixture, while cinnamon and nutmeg gave it warmth. However, tasters found this version of cranberry butter a bit one-dimensional—a little too close to canned cranberry sauce. To complement the cranberry, we replaced the water with orange juice, which added more sweetness as it cooked. This version was much closer to something tasters would want to use as a spread. To enhance the orange flavor we used whole strips of orange zest, which were easy to remove from the finished product so as to not distract from the smooth texture. We also found that ½ teaspoon of salt tempered the tartness of the cranberries and brought out the warm, sweet flavors.

Before You Begin

This recipe works with fresh or frozen cranberries, but if you use frozen cranberries be sure that there are no added ingredients. Both freshly squeezed and store-bought orange juice will work in this recipe. This cranberry-orange butter can be processed for long-term storage; see the instructions in this article.

Instructions

Bring cranberries and orange juice to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries are very soft, about 15 minutes.

Transfer mixture to food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Strain processed mixture through fine-mesh strainer into clean large saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.

Stir in orange zest, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until mixture is thickened and rubber spatula leaves distinct trail when dragged across bottom of pot, 15 to 20 minutes.

Discard orange zest and let cranberry-orange butter cool slightly. Using funnel and spoon, portion cranberry-orange butter into two 1-cup jars, then let cool to room temperature. Cover, refrigerate, and serve. (Cranberry-orange butter can be refrigerated for up to 1 month.)