Kentucky Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

Author Notes

Aged Kentucky bourbon, citrus and spice make this recipe a winner at our holiday table. Watery cranberry sauce is not too appealing on one's plate. So, I use cornstarch mixed with a little water to thicken it a bit. Another gluten-free thickener is potato starch mixed with water. Either one will work here. It's my tried and true favorite holiday cranberry sauce....deep, ruby-red, tangy and sweet. My uncle once ate an entire bowl full. He kept quietly spooning it onto his plate, hoping no one would notice. But of course, I did. I think you'll have a hard time resisting it too.

An orange-lime combo, along with the bourbon, complement the cranberries in a deliciously festive way. This is a pleasantly tart and tangy cranberry sauce. If you'd like it sweeter, add more sugar.

One reader commented that she made this sauce, warmed it, and served it over vanilla ice cream. Her family loved it as a dessert sauce. It's delicious over cheesecake and pound cake too. Mix some leftover cranberry sauce with maple syrup and warm it up. Pour it over pancakes and waffles for a festive breakfast. Put your own spin on it by adding nuts, more spices or whatever you fancy. It's very adaptable. For instance, on occasion, I've omitted the orange and bourbon and used lime juice and Chambord raspberry liqueur instead.

I use Penzey's Vietnamese Cinnamon in this recipe. Intense and spicy, this cinnamon makes everything better. Stir it into the simmering cranberries and add a little bit of it at the end of cooking to bump up the spice. Use whatever cinnamon you like. Vietnamese cinnamon is strong and rich, so I use less of it.

I bought a nip of Jim Beam Black Label Kentucky Bourbon for this recipe. Two tablespoons of it, gives a pleasant, but not overpowering, bourbon flavor. If you'd like less of a bourbon flavor, use one tablespoon.

This sauce a keeps for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge. It can be frozen a week in advance too. Thaw it in the fridge. In a pinch, you can even thaw it in the microwave. A real time saver!

Double this recipe if serving more than 4 or if you want leftovers for sandwiches.
—Jilly Inspired