Ingredients

340g (12oz) fresh cranberries
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 small or 1 large cinnamon stick(s)
1-2 peels of orange zest (or zest from 1/4 orange), avoiding bitter white peel
+ juice from 1 whole orange
pinch of salt
optional: 1 top half of thumb sized piece ginger, peeled; 5-10 grates fresh nutmeg

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a sauce pan or a medium skillet.
2. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a bubble.
3. Turn heat down to medium, place a fitted lid on top, and cook for 12-15 minutes. The lid helps to cook everything with residual steam and keeps the sauce from drying out by trapping in moisture.
4. Remove lid and use a spatula or spoon (sauce will stain wooden utensils) to mash cranberries further. If the sauce is too thick for your liking add a splash of water and stir. If the sauce is too thin, continue to cook with the lid off, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness.
5. When your sauce has reached your desired thickness, carefully remove cinnamon sticks, orange peels (if you didn’t use fine zest), and ginger if you used it.
6. Serve immediately or place into an airtight container and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Notes:

1. Coconut sugar can be substituted for sweetener of choice. I love using maple syrup instead or as half of the sweetener as it is a very traditional holiday flavour for my family.
2. Orange is substituted well with grapefruit zest and juice in this recipe. If you only have lemons or limes as citrus, use zest from half and juice from half and add in 1/2-1 cup of water.