Cranberry-Apple Sauce

I love to be able to cook a traditional turkey dinner at Christmas, with all the fixings... some kind of dressing for The Captain, potatoes, gravy, veggies and cranberry sauce.  It just doesn't seem like a traditional turkey dinner without cranberry sauce... but we are eating less sugar these days, and almost no artificial sweeteners, so I needed to come up with a new recipe to accompany our Christmas turkey dinner this year.

I didn't want to use any Splenda and I sure didn't want to use a whole cup of sugar... both of which I have used in the past.  Cranberries are so tart that they really do need some kind of sweetening to make them edible!

I decided to cut up a couple of apples to add a sweetness to the tart cranberries, and it worked really well.  The natural sugar in the apples allowed me to put just a few tablespoons of added sugar into the mixture, and the natural pectin from the apples helped firm up the sauce when it cooled, too.  If you like it a bit sweeter, then you can certainly add more sugar. 

At first I thought I would use applesauce but opted to go for the cut up apples instead. I think it was a better choice because I like a firm cranberry jelly, and the applesauce may have made it a bit too runny.

This is my plate, without dressing...



Cranberry-Apple Sauce
Makes about 2-1/2 cups

• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed
• 2 apples, cored and cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbs sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg

1. Place everything in a medium saucepan over HIGH heat.
2. Bring to boil and then turn down to simmer.
3. Stir continuously as the cranberries split open while they cook.
4. After about 8 or 9 minutes, turn off the heat and cover with a lid.
5. Allow to rest and cool for 15 or 20 minutes.
6. Remove to a covered storage container and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Per 1/4 cup serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 1.
Calories 40; Protein 0g; Carbohydrate 10g; Fat 0g; Fibre 2g.

 

 



Printable Recipe
 

 

Do you like cranberry sauce with turkey?  Tart or sweet?