Hot Cranberry Tea
Why I Love This Recipe
I've made this "Cranberry Tea" for my cookie party the past several years and now people make sure I'm going to have it again when they RSVP! I served it un-spiked and let people spike their own with Maker's Mark or Rum if they are so inclined. This recipe was adapted from one in "365 Foods Kids Love to Eat!"
Ingredients You'll Need
2 (12 oz) bags of cranberries
6 cups of orange juice (frozen prepared or packaged)
1/4 tsp of allspice
1 1/2 cups sugar or honey.
Directions
Take 2 (12 oz) bags of cranberries. Put in a pot with water to cover them and 2 cinnamon sticks. Boil gently until cranberries are soft. Don't throw out the water, but take out the cinnamon sticks and throw them away.
Then, strain the cranberries through a collander, pressing the berries into pulp, into a container so that you save the juice. S
et the chunky pulp aside. You don't need it for this recipe, but you can cook it on the stove with some sugar for a cranberry dressing.
Okay. Add the cranberry juice that came out of the berries to the water that the cranberries boiled in. Add more water to make a gallon (2 liters) or so. Now add 6 cups of orange juice (frozen prepared or packaged). Stir.
Add 1/4 tsp of allspice, some cinnamon (and I used a pinch of cardamom for fun) and some sugar or honey. You can use any combination of sugar or honey. It should equal about 1 1/2 cups. For instance, I used 1/2 c. light honey and 1 c. white granulated sugar. Stir until sugar/honey is dissolved. Taste. If it's not sweet enough (it should be a little tangy), add some more sugar or honey.
Bring slowly to a boil. Serve hot. Wow!
And it makes the house smell delicious.
