Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce

Jazz up your homemade cranberry sauce with a splash of Grand Marnier! Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce is a wonderfully-flavorful, nicely-balanced sauce that's the perfect cranberry accompaniment to your holiday meal.
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Are you a cranberry sauce fan?

I must admit that for quite some time, I viewed cranberry sauce as kind of an afterthought. -- As something that was just plopped in a little serving dish and popped on the Thanksgiving or Christmas table because it was just supposed to be there.

But I also must admit that, once I discovered homemade cranberry sauce, with more interesting flavor twists like cabernet cranberry sauce and this version with Grand Marnier, my whole view of cranberry sauce changed. For me now, it's no longer an afterthought, but the flavorful accompaniment it was always intended to be.

Fresh-made homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries - it's the only way to go!

But I truly wondered what other people thought of cranberry sauce. So I asked on The Kitchen is My Playground's Facebook page whether cranberry sauce was a "yay" or "nay."  And you know what? I was truly quite surprised by the results!

As it turns out, the majority of readers are on the "yay" side with cranberry sauce. Which was not what I expected at all.

Many readers did comment, however, that they only take their cranberry sauce in homemade form. -- Which, as I said, is how it's got to be for me, too. Fresh-made homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries ... it's the only way to go! Especially if that homemade cranberry sauce just happens to have a splash of Grand Marnier in it, too.

In this Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce, fresh cranberries are simmered with orange juice and orange zest. A touch of Grand Marnier orange liqueur is then stirred in off the heat once the cranberries are finished cooking.

The Grand Marnier gives a slightly-sweet taste to the cranberry sauce, and gives it a balanced finish, nicely "smoothing out" the tart bite that sometimes comes along with cranberries. On the flip side, the orange flavor isn't super overpowering, which is great.

What's to Love About this Recipe:

• Homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries - Homemade cranberry sauce made with fresh cranberries is the only way to go!! The texture and flavor result is so worth the (truly minimal) effort.
• Grand Marnier! - Need we say more? A splash of Grand Marnier liqueur deliciously jazzes up this sauce, giving it a nice balanced finish.
• Fabulous flavor - Orange juice, orange zest, Grand Marnier liqueur, and cloves combine to create fabulous flavor in this spiked version of homemade cranberry sauce. -- But don't worry, it delivers up fabulous orange flavor without it being overpowering. 
• Super easy to make - Think homemade Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce would be hard to make? -- It's not! Simply stir together the ingredients in a saucepan, simmer for about 15 minutes, and chill to thicken. That's truly all there is to it.

  

Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce Ingredients:

It takes just 6 ingredients (+ some water) to make this tasty Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce. To whip up a batch, you'll need:

• Fresh cranberries - A 12-ounce package, or about 4 cups, serves as the foundation of the sauce.

• Sugar - Sweetens the cranberries. Regular granulated sugar works beautifully.

• Orange juice - Along with some water, orange juice serves as the simmering liquid for the cranberry sauce. Using a mixture of water + orange juice creates richer flavor than using just water alone, and also creates a milder orange flavor than using just orange juice alone. Any type of orange juice -- fresh squeezed, bottled with pulp, no pulp, etc. -- works just fine. Choose your favorite.

• Orange zest - Further develops the background orange flavor of the sauce. When removing zest from an orange, be sure to get only the orange-colored layer of the orange peel, avoiding the bitter white pith layer below.

• Grand Marnier - A French orange-flavored liqueur. Grand Marnier gives a slightly-sweet taste and balanced finish to the cranberry sauce, nicely "smoothing out" the tart bite that sometimes comes along with cranberries.

• Whole cloves - While an optional ingredient, cloves give a nice richness and hint of spice to the flavor of the cranberry sauce.

How to Make Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce:

It's truly easy to make a batch of Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce. The fabulously delicious result is well worth the (minimal) effort!

To get a batch started, place some sugar, orange juice, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, stirring it frequently. Then add in fresh cranberries, some orange zest, and a couple of whole cloves (if you're using them -- which I highly recommend you do). 

Return the mixture to a boil, stirring it constantly this time. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer the cranberries, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes until the cranberry skins have popped. -- You definitely want to make sure to keep that pot partially covered. As the cranberries "pop," they're very prone to splattering all over the place.

Once the cranberries have simmered, remove the pot from the heat and discard the orange zest and cloves from the cranberry sauce mixture. Allow the sauce to cool for about 10 minutes, and then stir in some Grand Marnier.

Allow the sauce to cool completely at room temperature, then chill it for at least 2 hours. -- The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

So if you're a fan of homemade cranberry sauce, I highly recommend giving this Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce a try. I think you'll find it to be a wonderfully-flavorful, nicely balanced accompaniment to your holiday meal.

And if you're not a fan of homemade cranberry sauce? I still highly recommend giving this Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce a try. -- Because it may just change your mind!

Check out these other tasty cranberry recipes:

• 7-Up Cranberry Jello Salad
• White Chocolate Cranberry Fluff Salad
• Cabernet Cranberry Sauce
• Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs
• Cranberry Baked Buttermilk Pancakes
• Cranberry Apple Crunch
• More side dishes

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!

cranberry sauce recipe, homemade cranberry sauce, cranberry sauce made with Grand Marnier, Thanksgiving recipes

Side Dishes

American

Yield: 8-10 Servings

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce

Jazz up your homemade cranberry sauce with a splash of Grand Marnier! Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce is a wonderfully-flavorful, nicely-balanced sauce that's the perfect cranberry accompaniment to your holiday meal.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min

Ingredients

• 1 (12 oz.) package fresh cranberries (about 4 c.)
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. orange juice
• 1/2 c. water
• 3 large strips orange zest
• 2 T. Grand Marnier
• 2 or 3 whole cloves (optional)

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring sugar, orange juice, and water to a gentle boil, stirring frequently.
2. Add cranberries, orange zest, and cloves (if using). Return to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes until cranberry skins have popped. Remove from heat.
3. Remove and discard orange zest and cloves. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes; then stir in Grand Marnier.
4. Cool completely at room temperature. Chill at least 2 hours, or store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

Similar Recipes

7-Up Cranberry Jello Salad

Cabernet Cranberry Sauce

No-Bake Cranberry Yum Yum

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