This Spiced Orange & Cranberry Simple Syrup is the holiday season DREAM! It's got the best (in my humble opinion) flavors of the season all in one jar. Homemade simple syrups are surprisingly easy and are a great way to spruce up the flavors for cocktails & mocktails of all kinds!
Pre-made simple syrups from the store are great options for times when you just need a dash of sweetness to add to a drink, but the best part about making your own is you control the flavors and the ingredients. For example, this Spiced Orange & Cranberry Simple Syrup has all that: orange zest, cranberries, cinnamon, and cloves. No worrying about artificial flavoring or quality of your products.
Making your own simple syrup is, well, SIMPLE. It's equal parts sugar and water with whatever flavor you want! For this simple syrup, I wanted fall flavors and specifically chose fruits and spices to compliment. If you want to get creative, simply add fruit peels, fruit chunks, herbs, or spices into the sugar water and dissolve in the water. If you let it sit for a while it just infuses in flavor and becomes stronger. Then strain into an air-tight jar. I found this one on Amazon to make sure my simple syrups are sealed properly.
What can I even do with a simple syrup?
- COCKTAILS - A great way to sweeten cocktails of many kinds. Many drinks require ½ OZ to 2 OZ of sweetener.
- MOCKTAILS - You can easily make a fun drink with simple syrup. Try mixing with soda, iced tea or lemonade.
- DESSERTS - Have a slightly dry piece of dessert cake or cupcakes? Try a drizzle of simple syrup for an added punch of flavor.
- FRUIT - Drizzle over fruit for a delicious fruit salad.
- SORBET - This is my next adventure! Blend with frozen fruit to create a sorbet.
What to make with this Spiced Orange & Cranberry Simple Syrup
Spiced Orange & Cranberry Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 1 Cup Fresh Cranberries
- 1 Orange peel only
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 6 Cloves
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into a small pot on the stove. Bring to a simmer on medium-low heat.
- Simmer for about 10-minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and almost all cranberries have popped (you'll know because they will crack and make a "POP" sound!).
- Remove from heat and strain into an air-tight container or jar. The simple syrup will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
I made a cranberry tart, had extra cranberries in the house and was hoping not to waste them. The Spiced Orange and Cranberry Simple Syrup was just the recipe I needed! We made Elise's Winter Spritz and also added this to a number of other classic cocktails. It has been a great addition to our winter cocktail line up. I can't wait to explore more of your recipes!
This simple syrup is perfect for being creative with lots of cocktails! Thanks so much for trying, Danielle!