These Viral Candied Cranberries are a holiday hit! Sugared cranberries or Candied Cranberries are easily one of the most beautiful treats, made with only 3 ingredients! They are a sweet-tart snack that you’ll be popping into your mouth all throughout the party!

Last winter we went on a night hike to a Christmas star that’s lit up on a mountainside in Davis County, Utah. It was so much fun and the perfect way to bring a little magic to a mundane week. Afterwards we enjoyed a little birthday cake with a friend that was delicately decorated by their teenage daughter with candied cranberries!

Instantly I realized that I’d never shared our own recipe for the Viral Candied Cranberries!

Ingredients for Candied Cranberries

• Fresh Cranberries: These are the star of the recipe. Their natural tartness balances the sweet coating, and their firm skin helps them hold their shape during the candying process.
• Sprite: The soda acts as a sweet, citrusy soaking liquid that lightly infuses the cranberries with flavor and helps the sugar adhere. Its sugars also contribute to the sticky coating that allows the powdered sugar to cling.
  • NOTE: Any lemon lime soda works great — 7 Up, Starry, Fresca, even Mtn Dew would work. Just don’t use diet soda!
• Powdered Sugar: This provides the delicate, frosty coating. Its fine texture clings easily to the cranberries, creating that pretty snowy finish while adding a sweet counterpoint to the tart berries.

How to Make Sugared Cranberries

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 200℉ and the cranberries and remove any shriveled ones.
2. Soak in Sprite: Place in a bowl and cover with sprite. Allow to sit for 20 minutes and drain in a colander then pour back in a large bowl.
3. Coat in Sugar: Add the powdered sugar. Shake vigorously to evenly coat all berries evenly without clumps.
   • NOTE: If they look slimy, add more powdered sugar. They should look dry.
4. Bake: Using a slotted spoon, scoop the cranberries onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 200℉ for 3-5 minutes.

What to Do With Candied Cranberries (Besides Just Snacking!)

I love to put a bowl of these out during the holidays for the family or friends to snack on but they can be used for many things. They make a great topping for oatmeal or yogurt, and they add a delicious tart bite to a salad.

I’ve seen them used as a decorative garnish for holiday cakes or cupcakes as well just the one we had for my friend’s birthday. The

Get into the holiday spirit with these delicious cranberry crumb bars. It is my favorite way to use up leftover cranberry sauce. Follow our step-by-step instructions and video to create a festive and tasty dessert that is perfect for any holiday gathering.

I got fed up last year with leftover cranberry sauce so for months after Thanksgiving I was testing it in all sorts of recipes to find ways to use it. This is how our cranberry sauce muffins came to be! And it’s the same story for this cranberry crumble bars recipe. I’ve been experimenting with this one and this is finally the winning recipe. They are to die for!

They are the most wonderful combination of creamy cranberry sauce and a chewy sugar cookie, tart shortbread crust!

Ingredients for Cranberry Sauce Bars

We will actually make one crust recipe and we will use it for both the base of the bars and the crumble on top! Then we will make a filling to go in the middle. I’ll include the ingredients for an optional glaze too. Here is everything you will need for each component:

Crust and Topping

• Wet Ingredients: Butter (softened), Cream Cheese (softened), Brown Sugar, White Sugar, Egg, Vanilla and Almond Extract
• Dry Ingredients: All Purpose Flour, Cornstarch, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt

Filling

• Sour Cream: full fat cream cheese
• Eggs: binds the filling together
• Cornstarch: helps thicken the filling
• Vanilla and Ground Cinnamon: add flavor
• Cranberry Sauce: homemade is preferred, but store-bought would work fine too, just don’t use the canned cranberry jelly
• Whole Fresh Cranberries: adds more flavor and texture

Glaze

• Powdered Sugar: acts as the base of the glaze and adds all the sweetness
• Milk: adds richness and creates the glaze
• Vanilla: adds flavor

The measurements for each ingredient can be found down below in the recipe card. This is meant to just be an overview of the ingredients you will need.

How to Make Cranberry Crumb Bars

Let me walk you through each step of this recipe! It might seem like a lot of steps, but it’s super easy.

Crust

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×13 inch baking dish with a piece of parchment. Spray everything with cooking

Rich chocolate brownies with cranberries and pecans are one of my favorite easy-to-make desserts this time of year – it is an unexpected and fun holiday flavor combination.

Served plain or topped with ice cream and hot fudge sauce, I’ve been making cranberry brownies at least a few times every holiday season for years. And without exception, everyone who has tasted them has raved over them.

Cranberry Brownies

The brownie base for this recipe has been my favorite for years. It’s a simple saucepan recipe that comes together in under 10 minutes, making it perfect for snacking any time of day.

The cranberries are a tart counterpart to the rich chocolate fudgy brownies. It’s a fun surprise flavor and they’re always a guaranteed hit on a dessert table. If you haven’t already fallen in love with the pairing of fruit and chocolate, these brownies may convince you to try it soon.

Who doesn’t love a rich, fudge brownie for a sweet snack? The cranberries that have a home in my freezer all year for the Cranberry Christmas Cake have to do double duty for these brownies now too.

Fresh Cranberry Recipes

There’s so much more to fresh cranberries than th

Cranberry Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This cranberry orange cake with cream cheese frosting is bursting with holiday flavors. Perfectly moist with the softest cake crumb – the combination of sweet oranges and tart cranberries makes it perfect for Christmas.

It’s not even Christmas until you’ve had some sort of orange cranberry baked good. Am I right? The flavors and scent of those two fruits together just sings! Have you tried our orange cranberry bliss bars?? Or our cranberry orange bubble bread (perfect for Christmas morning!)?? Now you can try this orange cranberry cake too!

Oh hi there! My name’s Fiona and I’m so excited to meet you! I blog over at Just So Tasty, and today’s my first guest post on Oh Sweet Basil.

I love baking, eating cake, and listening to country music. (Is that embarrassing? The country music part I mean???) And making tasty treats for the people I love is one of my absolute favorite things.

I was so excited when Carrian asked me to share recipes on Oh Sweet Basil, so today I’m starting off with this easy Cranberry Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s a perfectly moist vanilla sheet cake infused with fresh oranges and dotted with tart cranberries. Then it’s frosted with tangy cream cheese icing and decorated with sugared cranberries and orange zest.

What Do I Need to Make Cranberry Orange Cake?

Here is just a quick list of the ingredients so you can get an overview of what you will need. All the measurements and details can be found in the recipe card down below.

Sugared Cranberries

• Granulated Sugar
• Water
• Fresh Cranberries

Cranberry Orange Cake

• Dry Ingredients: Cake Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt
• Wet Ingredients: Unsalted Butter, Granulated Sugar, Egg Whites, Vanilla Extract, Milk, Sour Cream
• Cranberries tossed in Flour to keep them from sinking in the cake
• Orange Zest and Juice (fresh)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Unsalted Butter
• Cream Cheese
• Powdered Sugar
• Whipping Cream or Milk
• Orange Zest

How to Make Cranberry Orange Cake

There are three different parts to this recipe – the sugared cranberries (used for aesthetic reason and are optional), the cake and the frosting. Here are the basic steps for making this cake:

Sugared Cranberries

1. Dissolve some of the sugar into the water in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat to create a simple syrup.
2. Stir in the fresh cranberries until they are well coated and then remove the berries with a slotted s

Orange Cranberry Bliss Bars