Cranberry Curd

With so many fresh cranberries leftover from the holidays that needed to be used, I didn’t just want to settle for another jam or pie. It’s been some time since I’ve made a curd, and being a lover of this one, I knew I had to transform this classic winter fruit into a tangy sweet curd. This is the best stuff to have on hand for just about anything, from spreading on tea cookies, stirring into yogurt, topping off vanilla ice cream, waffles, the possibilities are deliciously endless! The temptation was far too much, because even though I’m staying clear of processed sugars, I couldn’t stop myself from licking a spoonful of curd, savoring every moment of it.

Ingredients

4 cups – Fresh Cranberries

3/4 cup – Water

1/3 cup – Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Orange zest from one orange

5 tablespoons – Unsalted Butter {room temperature, cut into pieces}

1¾ cups – Granulated Sugar

Pinch of coarse salt

3 large – Egg yolks {plus 1 large whole egg}

Recipe {Adapted from Annie’s Eats}

In a medium saucepan, cook the cranberries, water, orange juice and zest over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst {about 35 minutes}. Press the cranberries through a fine strainer, scraping the bottom to get as much pulp as possible, and discard the solids {about 2 cups of pulp will be leftover}.

Return the pulp to your saucepan, and combine with the butter, sugar, and salt, cooking over medium heat, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved {about 6 to 7 minutes}. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and whole egg until combined. While whisking the egg mixture add in 2 tablespoons of the cranberry mixture stirring constantly, so the eggs don’t curdle. Return mixture to saucepan, cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon {about 6-8 minutes}. Remove pan from the heat and strain through a fine strainer into a clean bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of curd, and refrigerate until cold {at least 30-60 minutes}.

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