I’m always looking for ways to use the berries I collect all summer and store in the freezer. This cranberry sauce combines frozen blackberries for a Thanksgiving side dish that has a little taste of summer and fall!
It wasn’t my original intention to bombard you with cranberries during this special Thanksgiving week, but I do love them. This past Saturday we were able to catch Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network. Not just any Throwdown, mind you, but the episode where he took on none other than the Pioneer Woman in a competition of Thanksgiving Feasts!
Did you happen to catch it? I thought it was so much fun!
In the episode, Bobby made a cranberry sauce that also included blackberries. Until I saw it, I had never really thought of adding another berry to my favorite Thanksgiving condiment. Orange or orange zest is always my go-to addition, but I thought the blackberry flavor was too brilliant to pass up.
Lucky me, I still had some blackberries from my Dad’s garden in the freezer.
This cranberry sauce could not be easier. I used demerara sugar to sweeten it and bumped up the amount a bit just because the variety of blackberries I used and the cranberries are tart. Once it thickened, I stirred in some vanilla to add a little something extra and then some cinnamon to spice it up. The pecans are optional of course, but they give the sauce a little something extra in appearance, taste and texture.
Blackberry Cranberry Sauce with Cinnamon
Makes: 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
1 cup fresh or defrosted cranberries
1 cup fresh or defrosted blackberries
¾ cup demerara sugar
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp pecans, chopped
Prep
Combine the berries in a saucepan and add the sugar and water. Cook on medium-high heat to a boil. Continue to boil hard for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently and then constantly as it thickens. (The sauce will thicken by boiling and also when it cools.)
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.
Allow to cool to the temperature you desire. I like my cranberry sauce warm. Transfer to the serving dish and top with pecans.
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