by notlazy.rustic.
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1/3 cup, plus 2-3 tablespoon
brandy, divided
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water
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2
cinnamon sticks, each broken in half
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8
black peppercorns
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12 ounces
fresh cranberries, picked over
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3/4 cups
packed light brown sugar
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2
medium bartlett pears, peeled
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1/2 cup
chopped walnuts, toasted and divided
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Pour 1/3 cup brandy into liquid measuring cup; add enough water to reach 1/2 cup liquid total. Set aside. Place broken cinnamon sticks and peppercorns in center of small piece of cheesecloth or large tea bag and tie closed using kitchen twine.
Ask the hotline about this step!In medium saucepot, combine cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon-pepper bundle. Using large holes on a box grater, grate pears into saucepot. Stir in brandy-water mixture.
Ask the hotline about this step!Over high heat, bring cranberry mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium and cook 10-12 minutes, or until cranberries have burst and the mixture has combined, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Ask the hotline about this step!Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons brandy. Let cool. Remove and discard cinnamon bundle. Stir in 7 tablespoons toasted walnuts. Transfer mixture to small serving bowl; sprinkle with remaining walnuts.
Ask the hotline about this step!Made this for yesterday's Thanksgiving and it might be the best cranberry sauce I've ever had. I can't eat nuts, so I had to leave them out, but it was still just wonderful. I had some apple cider on hand that I had reduced by 1/2 with chopped up pears and then strained. I added a couple tablespoons at the end with that instead of the additional brandy - soooo good.
If making in advance I would hold the walnuts until just before serving.
They can become soggy after a couple of days, losing their crunch.
Loved this recipe! Made it today for Thanksgiving. I didn't have cheese cloth, so I just put the cinnamon sticks in the pan and ground some fresh black pepper in the sauce. Excellent! This is a keeper.
I made it last night and did the exact same thing! And it is really delicious. I might have a hard time not eating a few big spoonfuls of it before Thursday.
I put the whole peppercorns in a mesh tea strainer, which worked well.
I actually made this with 2 medium beets instead of pears - I diced them and boiled them for about ten minutes before adding the cranberries, but next time I would shred the raw beets in a food processor. I adjusted sugar down to 1/4 c. + 1 or 2 tablespoons of honey.
I followed the suggestions of several other posters & used orange juice, 2 tablespoons of cognac and added a bit of lemon zest to the mix and it's the most elegant, simple and bright tasting cranberry sauce I've ever had. Thanks for the recipe & all the tips.
Orange juice substitutes well for brandy. This cranberry recipe is now a healthy family favorite.
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! I also made the pear shavings bigger and they were lovely in the relish.
this is amazing!
I had some pear brandy around the house that I wanted to get rid of so this recipe was perfect. A nice twist on cranberry sauce.
Next time I'll halve the walnuts though.
Great recipe! I used a peeler to add pear bigger pear shavings and i loved the boom of pear taste with each bite. Perfect addition to a holiday feast!
This is the cranberry sauce that will convert any self-professed hater of cranberry sauce into a lover. So simple and elegant. I subbed Arkansas Black apples in lieu of pears & used a lovely cognac since I had them on hand. Cannot wait to serve it with the bird tomorrow.
excellent! the pear is just perfect. thanks for the great recipe.
I don't have any cheesecloth...any suggestions for how much cinnamon and pepper to add?
I just threw in two whole cinnamon sticks (remove after cooking) and a fresh grind of pepper from the mill, it worked perfectly!
This looks fantastic! Can it be canned and saved for a rainy day?
I made this exactly as in the recipe for Thanksgiving and my whole family loved it, so I thought I'd do it again for Christmas. I tried it with pecans instead of walnuts this time, and I also added a lemon peel to the tea bag (actually I used a tied coffee filter) and a bit of orange and lemon zest. I actually liked the contrast of the walnuts better than the pecans, but the lemon peel and zest added a really nice zing to the mix.
Fantastic...I think pecans would rock...I'm a pecan fan!
I ran out of brandy after the initial 1/3 cup (how did that happen?) but did have 2 bottles of Cassis on hand (and how did THAT happen?) of which I used 2 Tbsp. for the final finish. Not a bad sub.
Thx for a wonderful recipe!
Made it this evening - thank you!
I just made this recipe and it is great. Definitely making this again on Thanksgiving day!
i'm glad you enjoyed it! and thank you - i will remember this on thanksgiving.
Congratulations, it's an amazing simple recipe but the combination of flavours is brilliant. Made the recipe and tastes absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing and congratulations once more.
thank you! i'm glad it worked well for you.
I made this using kirschwasser (cherry brandy) and substituting toasted pecans for the walnuts. I let it sit for about a day and half (to let it mellow) before folding in the pecans. Tasted it this evening. Very nice . . . . this recipe is a real keeper!!!
thanks! i'm glad you enjoyed it - i think i'm going to try the recipe with pecans, myself. it's been a popular addition.
Looks yummy!
this sounds fantastic! will definitely be trying this for thanksgiving. can it be made a day in advance?
thank you, that's so nice to hear! absolutely - you could make it 2-3 days early if that helps your planning.
This recipe looks delicious! I can't wait to make it for my family this Thanksgiving! Thanks notlazy.rustic!
This looks great! I love the idea of the cranberries, pear and brandy playing together. I plan to try it this weekend. I'm allergic to nuts, always a problem during the holidays, but am thinking it would work without the walnuts although without the texture contrast.
ChezSuzanne, while I think the nuts offer a contrast of texture, this recipe can absolutely be made without them, without suffering. Enjoy!
thank you everyone for your kind words!
Pears -- of course! Why did I think of that? Brilliant.
This looks very delicate, maybe I try it!
This cranberry recipe looks wonderful. It will be a new addition to my Thanksgiving table.
Thank you notlazy.rustic
I love this and I'm going to vote for it, but . . . I've never seen any recipe calling for walnuts that isn't improved by using pecans instead.
Collin, thank you. I agree about the pecans. I do also think that pecans are a bit sweeter and I was trying to keep the nuts a bit savory to balance the brown sugar and cinnamon. But, pecans would be delicious, too.
This looks delicious.
Dan is the founder of Kitchen Options
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As Amanda finds breaking cinnamon sticks in half exceedingly difficult, she chose to use her meat pounder. She loves her meat pounder.
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Making the spice sachet. If you don't have cheesecloth or little bags, a coffee filter will also work.
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Watch your fingers!
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After the sauce cooks, you stir in the walnuts and the brandy. The recipe said to use 2-3T of brandy. Surprisingly we showed some restratint, and used 2. It was delicious.
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made for thanksgiving - sooo good everyone was eating it just by itself! the toasted walnuts really make it. didn't have cheesecloth so used large coffee filters & twine. this is now my go-to cranberry sauce!