Cranberry Maple Syrup

Growing up, my parents would occasionally take the whole family out to dinner on Friday night. My favorite spot had breakfast for dinner on the menu, which I always made sure to order, and pancakes were usually my item of choice. To my delight, syrup was always delivered in a bundle of three: regular maple, apricot, and blueberry. I slathered my short-stack with the blueberry each and every time, and now as an adult, I find prefer the tartness of gently cooked berries mingled with my maple syrup.

Raspberry Syrup is now a family favorite when we make our own breakfast-for-dinner (especially in the summer when they are fresh off our bushes), but this winter-y month was calling for cranberries, and they are also quite delicious in syrup.

The beautiful red shade of the syrup is very holiday-esque, and served with some whipped cream and sugared cranberries on waffles would make for a lovely Christmas morning. But you don’t need any jingling bells to partake; a regular Wednesday night in February will also work just fine to serve this syrup.

Cranberries do have a skin that takes a little longer to break down; I find pulsing them in the food processor after cooking (and then again with maple syrup) makes a smooth syrup that I prefer.

The waffles you see here are the yeasted waffles from my 100 Morning Treats cookbook.

More Cranberry Recipes:

• White Cake with Cranberries and White Chocolate Buttercream
• Cranberry Cream Cheese Danish Braid
• (Almost) No-Bake Cheesecake Bars with Cranberry Red Wine Swirl

Cranberry Maple Syrup

Servings: 2 cups

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 8 hours hours

Adding cranberries to maple syrup not only makes for a beautiful ruby hue, but the sour berries balance the syrup, making for a bright, sweet-tart burst of flavor with each bite. Very easy to make and creates an extra delicious waffle, pancake, or slice of french toast.

Sarah Kieffer

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

• 6 oz [170 g] fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2 tablespoons water
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 cups [510 g] maple syrup

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, water, and salt, and heat over medium-low heat until the cranberries are broken down, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, pour in the maple syrup, and stir to combine. Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to a container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using. The syrup will keep, in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week.
• For a smoother syrup: Place the warm, broken down cranberries into a food processor and pulse until smooth, 6 to 8 one-second pulses. Add the maple syrup and pulse again to combine, 3 to 4 one-second pulses.

Notes

Variation: Raspberry, Blueberry, or Blackberry Syrup – replace the cranberries with equal parts berry and follow the directions for cooking. I don’t use the food processor when making the berry version, but you could for a very smooth syrup.