Not Your Mama's Cranberry Sauce ~ Spiked With Kentucky Bourbon, Citrus and Spice

This ain't your mama's cranberry sauce. It's spiked with aged Kentucky bourbon, citrus and spice making it a winner. 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 discretely spooning it on his plate, hoping no one would notice. But of course, I did. I think you'll have a hard time resisting it too.

Bourbon Citrus Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Some notes:
An orange-lime combo, along with the bourbon, complement the cranberries in a deliciously festive way.
I use Vietnamese cinnamon from Penzeys Spices. http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysvietnamesecinnamon.html?id=mEhugaah  Intense and spicy, this cinnamon makes everything better. Ohhhh how I love it! I stir cinnamon into the simmering berries 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, so I use less of it.

I bought a nip of Jim Beam Black Label Kentucky Bourbon for this recipe. I use two tablespoons of it, giving a pleasant, but not overpowering, bourbon flavor. But 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!

This is a pleasantly tart and tangy cranberry sauce. If you'd like it sweeter, add more sugar.

Put your own spin on it by adding nuts, more spices or whatever you fancy. It's very adaptable. For instance, raspberry liquor/lemon or orange liquor/lime would also be nice combos in this sauce.

One reader commented that she made this sauce, warmed it and served it over vanilla ice cream. 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.

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

You'll Need

• 1 12oz bag of whole cranberries, rinsed and drained
• 2 medium oranges, zested and juiced 
• 1 small lime, zested and juiced
• 2 tablespoons of bourbon (see notes) 
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, divided
• 1 cup of sugar (if you like it sweeter, add more sugar)
• 1 cup of water
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water. This will thicken the sauce and make it more glossy. An alternative, gluten-free thickener is one teaspoon potato starch mixed with one teaspoon of cold water. 

The Rundown:
Place the cranberries, sugar, water, salt, orange juice, orange zest, lime zest, half of the lime juice and one teaspoon of cinnamon in a pot and bring to a gentle boil over medium-medium high heat. Cover and cook until the cranberries have popped and formed a sauce. Turn off the heat and add the bourbon, away from the heat source. Be careful when adding alcohol to any hot sauce. Return the pot to the stove and bring to a boil to burn off the alcohol. Keep it on a gentle boil and add the cornstarch/water mixture or potato starch/water mixture. Let it cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Stir in the rest of the lime juice and the 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Enjoy!  


Looking for more sweet treats from Jilly? Try my Espresso Hot Chocolate with Coconut Milk Whipped Cream? http://jillyinspired.blogspot.com/2013/01/melt-in-your-mouth-mini-dark-chocolate.html