The Charmed Kitchen

I love cooking and baking with dried cranberries, especially around the holidays. I seem to be adding them to all sorts of dishes. They can be pricey and I seem to always be running out. I decided it was time for me to make my own.

I must mention that I had been burned in the past. I had dehydrated cranberries before, but they came out too sour and dry. The missing factor in the equation was sweetener. I had just dried plain cranberries before and they didn’t have the right texture.

I started exploring options online to sweeten them. Most recipes included sugar, which as fine. Then I started finding a few recipes that used honey. Oh, that sounded even better. Armed with a few bags of cranberries and a jar of honey I went ahead and made a batch. They worked, but they were a bit of work. Do I think they were worth the time? I finished a second batch yesterday, so I guess so. I certainly liked the idea of sweetening them with honey, so that was a plus. I had found these cranberries on sale at Aldi for 99 cents for a 12 oz bag. Looking forward to stocking up and making more after Thanksgiving when prices drop.

So here are the directions. You might want to give them a try, especially if you use them as much as I do.

Homemade Sweetened Cranberries “Craisins”

24 oz. cranberries, 2 bags

¾ c. water

½ c. honey

Pinch salt, optional

Rinse the cranberries and cut them in half, discarding any bad berries. This is kind of tedious, but you really don’t want to skip this step. Definitely try to buy larger berries, if you can. Fewer of them to slice that way. Once the berries are cut in half, place in a food dehydrator. Set around 150 degrees F and dry for 4-6 hours. You want them partially dried. Now you are going to rehydrate them in a honey syrup. In a saucepan, combine the water and honey. Add a pinch of salt, if you like. Add the cranberries. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer 3 minutes, then turn the heat off. Let the berries steep another 15 minutes. You’ll need to drain the berries well, before returning them to the dehydrator. Save any syrup that you drain off. It tastes great and can be used for cocktails and “mocktails”. Store syrup in the fridge. Another important thing. Don’t place these honey soaked cranberries right on the dehydrator racks. It will make a mess. Cut out parchment paper to line the trays and place the berries on that. You’ll thank me later. Try to separate them as much as possible. You don’t want a solid blob of dried cranberries. Return to the dehydrator at around 150 degrees again for 6-8 hours. When done, the berries will be soft and pliable, but not sticky. They can be stored at room temp, refrigerated of even stored in the freezer. Your choice. Some of mine were still a bit sticky, so I put them in small containers and froze them.  

Note: All dehydrators vary. Yours might take longer, or even less time. Because of the parchment paper, they take longer, too. Less air circulation. You can, of course, place them directly on your trays for a quicker finish, but then you’ll have very messy trays to clean, even if you oiled them first.