Love and Olive Oil

Jellied Cranberry Sauce with Grand Marnier

Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Last year’s cranberry sauce was such a success I thought I’d do it again. Only this time I’d make more than enough for dinner and then preserve the rest. Cranberry sauce shouldn’t be limited to the month of November, I tell you! And I plan to enjoy it all year round.

I used the same pomegranate-cranberry juice as I did last year, in place of the water. However I opted out of the added pectin, and simply cooked the sauce a bit longer to bring out the natural pectin in the berries. Amazing how thick and jellied it gets, no pectin or gelatin needed; you just have to have the patience to let it come into its own.

And the booze, well, I figured it couldn’t hurt, and threw in a splash of Grand Marnier to half of the batch. Because orange and cranberry go so well together, and booze and the holidays also follow suit. Leave it out if you must, but it really puts the ing in Thanksgiving. Or something like that.

Jellied Cranberry Sauce with Grand Marnier

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Ingredients:

2 12-ounce bags fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed if frozen, about 7 cups
2 3/4 cups water or juice (I used pomegranate-cranberry juice)
3 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional)

Directions:

Prepare canner and wash/sterilize 7 or 8 half-pint mason jars. Keep jars in hot (not boiling) water until ready to use.

Rinse cranberries and discard any unripe or bruised berries. Place berries and juice in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until skins burst and berries soften, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer cranberry mixture to a food mill, blender, or a food processor and puree until smooth. If using a food mill, discard solids.

Return puree to saucepan. Add sugar and bring to a boil over medium-heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil hard for 10 to 15 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken. You can test the gel of the sauce by placing a spoonfull on a chilled plate. Return to the freezer for 1 to 2 minutes, then check for doneness. If you want a firmer gel, cook for a few minutes longer. For a looser sauce, do not cook it quite as long. When sauce has reached the desired consistency, remove from heat and skim off foam. Stir in Grand Marnier (if using).

Ladle hot sauce into jars, leaving 1/4-inch of headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads. Screw on lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from water and let cool completely, 12 to 24 hours. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 weeks. This sauce can also be made and enjoyed fresh, without canning. Simply transfer to serving dish, cover, and chill until ready to use.

Adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

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Printable Cranberry Sauce LabelsSpecial holiday freebie just for you! Pretty cranberry jelly labels, both plain and Grand Marnier variations. Can your creation and enjoy it all year-round (or give it away – homemade cranberry sauce makes a fabulous gift).

To use: View and download the label PDF by clicking the thumbnail to the right. Print out the labels onto full-sheet sticker paper. Cut out and adhere to your jar lids. They are perfectly sized for standard narrow-mouth canning jars. Need label paper? Try here or here.

Disclaimer: Copyright Love & Olive Oil. For personal use only. If you post about or share these labels, please credit appropriately and do not link directly to the downloadable file but rather to this post. Please do not distribute these downloadable files. Thank you much!

There may be affiliate links in this post. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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21 Comments

  1. I liked you on Facebook! I’m a fan!

  2. We’re giving my mom Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal – something she’s wanted for a long time!

  3. Wonderful post! Thank you for sharing. Cranberry sauce from scratch with Grand Marnier? Can’t get better than that. Plus I love to use Grand Marnier in a recipe whenever I can, so that is an extra plus. Great work!

  4. Oooh, making cranberry sauce a little naughty. I love it!

  5. We always put orange peel and some juice into our cranberry sauce. But I love the Grand Marnier idea – think I’ll have to give it a try this year. Plus I’ve never used juice, just water to make my sauce. Am going to try that too. I bet the depth of flavour is intensified immensely. And thanks for the labels, they are so cute.

  6. You got me with grand marnier! looks so good

  7. Sounds good! I bet that would go wonderful with a nice poultry dish! Yum!

  8. Love this!! So umm, where can I sign up for the L&OL jar of the month club? Hehe ;) you’re seriously peaking my interest in canning.

  9. Very cute spoon! Where did you get it? If you don’t mind me asking.

  10. As you know, our family loves grand mariner. Your mom asked me to make the grand mariner stuffing which seems to have become a family standard. I ‘ll send to you via email, melissa and Brooke making it up in Truckee!!! I think the grand mariner cranberry sauce is the perfect way to use up the extra G M… And I love. the labels!

    • Sally, your GM stuffing is the best stuffing EVER (and that coming from someone who doesn’t usually like stuffing). One of these years we’ll have to suck it up and buy the entire $$ bottle to actually make it! This sauce only uses a splash, so we could use the airplane sized bottle. :)

  11. This is a hit!

  12. Love the idea of canning/preserving — why didn’t I think of this?! Cute printables too :) I love love the spoon in the picture!!

  13. Grand manier makes everything better ;) Fantastic recipe!

  14. I’ve never thought of spiking cranberry sauce, but it sounds like an excellent idea!

  15. Grand Marnier is really one of those spirits that comes into its own during the holidays. The combination with cranberries is just perfect.

  16. I think I love you Lindsay! -scratch that- I would totally love you if you sent me a jar of this Lindsay! :-)

  17. We put Grand Marnier in our cranberry sauce last TG. This year, we added figs, oranges, ginger and pistachios! I just uploaded our recipe… and I’m having a tough time deciding what year was better! I love the taste of a little Grand Marnier in my cranberries!

  18. Just found your site and I love it. Gorgeous pictures. Lovely recipes. I’m going to be perusing for a while tonight. Thank you.

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