Versatile Cranberry Orange Filling Recipe

Cranberries and Oranges are popular fruits around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. It’s only natural, then, that both be paired as ingredients in traditional holiday dishes. Rather than just serving cranberries in traditional cranberry sauce or cranberry orange relish at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, this Basic Cranberry Orange Filling can be used in cakes, pies, puddings, cheesecakes, cookies, and pastries. It’s convenient, too, since it can be made a week ahead and refrigerated, or can be made months ahead and frozen.

While nutrition is not usually the primary factor when choosing holiday desserts, it’s nice to know that cranberries are good for you. In fact, cranberries have enjoyed a surge of popularity recently due to the fact that they have been found to contain significant amounts of antioxidants and other phytonutrients which help prevent heart disease and cancer; cranberries are also loaded with Vitamin C.

Fresh cranberries are only available September through early January; once they’re gone, no more will be available until the next year. At the end of the season, they often go on sale, and it’s a good idea to stock up and store a few bags in the freezer since there are so many great dishes that can be made with them.

Basic Cranberry Orange Filling

Makes about 5 cups

1 medium orange
1 12 oz. package fresh or frozen cranberries (3 cups)
2 cups sugar
1 cup orange juice

Cut the orange into eights, place the pieces in the food processor, and process, scraping the sides once, until very finely chopped.

Transfer the orange to a medium saucepan.

Add the cranberries, sugar, and orange juice.

Stir to mix.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
When the mixture is at a full boil, turn the heat to low.

Simmer, mashing the berries with a potato masher, and stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat; let cool thoroughly.

The filling will thicken upon cooling.