I’m at Bakerella‘s book signing in Austin! We’re about to embark on a fun Girl Hunter Weekend to celebrate outdoorsyness, togetherness and my upcoming Girl Hunter book release. Amazon just named it a “best book of the month,” which is pretty exciting.
But I want to talk about cranberries and another homemade holiday gift idea. I love homemade gifts, they’re so satisfying and thrifty and pioneering.
This one I call “cranberry chews.”
It’s super simple, you start with a bowl of cranberries and some sugar.
Toss the cranberries in a pot with water and turn on the flame.
Let them stew, giving them a stir every so often. They’ll start to burst and that’s A-Ok.
You’ll spread them out on a silpat or parchment….
There will be some jelly goo surrounding it but that’s okay. It will turn into the fruit roll-up type bites. But bite sizes.
Separate the cranberries as best you can with a fork so they have space to dry. You’ll dry these on low heat for a lot of hours.
They’re done when they’re just slightly tacky.
Peel them off a bit at a time and put them in festive gift bags.
I used simple plastic bags, but I bet you could find some better ones at a good craft store.
Sprinkle a little sugar in there too to help keep them from sticking together.
Then throw a bow on there to finish it off!
These are wonderfully delicious… they have a great tartness to them which make them rather addictive… like sour patch kids. And they make a great hostess gift.
Enjoy!
Ingredients Instructions
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I am kind of loving this idea. I love to do homemade gifts for the holidays and it is kind of what I am known for! I need to add these to the holiday gift-giving list!
Do you have any ideas for other organic or natural sweeteners? We are trying to stay away from added sugar. Thank you so much!
Oh yes. I’m a big fan of agave, honey and my grandmother swears by Stevia. And of course if you do this with a sweet fruit unlike cranberries, you don’t need to add any sugar at all.
Yum! It’s like fruit roll-ups for everyone. I love it.
Awesome idea!
And I saw an instagram pic of you with my dear friend, Marla.
Hope you girls are having FUN!!!
I’ll bet even my picky eater would like these.
Congrats on Best Book of the month!! That is HUGE Georgia! Have fun this weekend!
I have never heard of cranberry chews, but they look like a healthy and yummy snack! I’ll have to try these.
so festive – LOVE!
Congrats on having the book of the month, that is so exciting!!
Your cranberry chews look perfect for Christmas!
I LOVE it! Not just a home made present, but healthy too. I’ve got a bag of cranberries in the fridge just waiting to get all chewy. Thanks so much for the recipe…and hope you have a wonderful weekend!
That’s a fun and unique gift idea! I’ve got a bog of cranberries just waiting to be used too.
These are beautiful Georgia! I love the tartness of Cranberry- I bet these are delicious!
Pretty, like rose petals! I just found you through Amazon’s Best Books list. I have a lot of catching up to do
Oh my word! I can’t wait to make these, Georgia. I know my family will adore them!
Congratulations on being named Best Book of the Month!!! I’m sure it’s just the first of many kudos and awards your book will receive!
what a great idea, georgia! congrats on the amazon recognition — it’s very well deserved!
Such a great gift idea!
And congratulations on your book! Well deserved.
I need to dash home and make these chews. After my massage. And the travel back to the OC.
Sooooo proud of the Amazon “best book”
You ROCK!!
xxoo
This sounds delicious, and since I still have a couple pounds of fresh organic cranberries in the freezer I’m in! I’m guessing frozen shouldn’t be a problem since they boil down anyway?
Not a problem at all!
Book of the month? Dayum! Bet you’re pretty chuffed about that! This gift idea is quite genius. Simple and delicious, too!
I really love this. I love natural, old fashioned foods. This seems like one to me. Sounds heavenly, too.