Cranberry Sorbet
There is a local frozen custard stand that people in our area have been flocking to since I was a little kid. For the longest time, they only had one location, but opened a second one a handful of years ago. The custard is phenomenal, but what I really love is that they don’t close up shop after Labor Day; they stay open until Thanksgiving, which means I can continue to get my frozen custard fix right up until the holidays. Last year, my Chief Culinary Consultant and I stopped for a little dessert right before Thanksgiving and they were out of his beloved orange sherbet, but they did have a cranberry sherbet, which he tried and absolutely loved. He talked about that sherbet for months, so once cranberries were in the stores again, I snatched some up so I could make a frozen cranberry treat perfect for this time of year.
I chose to go with a sorbet instead of a sherbet for this recipe, as I find sorbets to be much lighter. While a sherbet isn’t as heavy as ice cream, it’s certainly more on the creamy side. Thanksgiving dinner is basically the king of all meals, right? I feel like no matter how little I take of any one thing, I walk away from the table totally stuffed. However, I absolutely, positively cannot turn down Thanksgiving dessert. With that in mind, I made this cranberry sorbet as a light and refreshing option to cap off Thanksgiving dinner, in case guests find the traditional pies to be a bit too much after already loosening the good ol’ belt buckle.
The combination of fresh cranberries and orange juice give this sorbet a slightly tart and incredibly refreshing flavor. My tongue did a little jig when I tasted my first spoonful. It’s definitely a perfect light alternative for dessert; the cranberries feel right at home next to the pumpkin, apple and pecan pies!
Two year ago: Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcakes and Sweet Potato Gratin with Gruyère
Three years ago: Fresh Green Bean Casserole
Four years ago: Thick and Hearty Chili
Cranberry Sorbet
Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (125 ml) water
- 12 ounces (340.2 g) fresh cranberries
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup (124 ml) orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Cointreau or Grand Marnier liquor, optional, this keeps the sorbet from getting icy
Instructions
- Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Add the cranberries and salt, and bring to a low boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes (the cranberries should be completely soft at this point). Remove the pan from heat (leaving the lid on) and cool the cranberry mixture to room temperature.
- Once cool, using a blender or food processor, puree together the cranberry mixture (including any juices), orange juice and Cointreau until completely smooth. Press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (or overnight) to chill completely.
- Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I love that you shared the adding liquor tip to keep sorbet from getting icy. We have a lot of fruit trees and I have been on a sorbet kick – the freezer is full of peach sorbet and banana sorbet. I’m thinking that Grand Marnier is perfect for any stone fruit, but what about banana sortbet – what liquor do you think is best there?
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Much yum! I added a dash of orange flower water. Rosewater would probably be nice, too.
Recipe is very simple and thanks for sharing.It looks amazing.Surely I will try. midnight cake delivery in pune
I want to know if I can use cranberry juice to make this sorbet? Fresh cranberries are not available and could not find frozen cranberries. What do you think?
Hi Mary, I would not recommend using juice for this recipe. It’s hard for me to find cranberries (fresh or frozen) here unless it’s during the fall, too.
Oh my gosh, this looks absolutely fantastic! My two favourite things, sorbet & cranberries :)
Sounds and looks delicious, I have dried cranberries which should work but would like to know how long I can keep frozen (in freezer container) before it is spoilt please. Just been given an ice cream maker machine (Cuisinart) and need to start somewhere! Love the look of your ice cream recipes too…watch out waistline!!
Hi Rhona, If you use dried cranberries, you will need to reconstitute them (plump them up) in a liquid. I would soak them in warm water overnight. I do recommend fresh cranberries if you can get them, though. This should keep well in the freezer for 1-2 months.
Cranberries are one of my most favorite fruit so I tried this recipe as soon as I could. It is definitely tart, which I like, and it has a fantastic flavor. This is my second favorite cranberry recipe from your site. Thanks!
Can I use fresh squeezed oranges or do you think it has to be orange juice? I know that orange juice has more tang than just plain squeezed oranges so I wanted to check! Thanks.
You could use store-bought orange juice or fresh-squeezed, both would work.
I just made the sorbet this evening. Not sure if I did something wrong.
It was very smooth and initially, had a nice tart flavor. After a few seconds, I got a really bad bitter taste. Maybe it was the cranberries?
Hi Tom, It definitely has a tart flavor, but if it tastes bitter, it might be the cranberries.
This sorbet looks wonderfully smooth and creamy! I bet the flavor is super refreshing too. Perfect for Thanksgiving!