Cranberry-Orange Jelly Recipe (2024)

Which kind of Lillet are you folks using?

I made this three days in advance of Thanksgiving dinner. What a mistake! I don’t know how I am going to wait... I cooked it exactly to the recipe (simmered the cranberries for about 35 minutes), poured it into the mold (chunks and all), placed it in the refrigerator overnight. When I woke up this morning (with two entire days left), my curiosity got the best of me... Oh my. This is good. Very. Very. Good.

Don’t shy away from this recipe just because you can’t find all the ingredients! I couldn’t find juniper berries so I used a cinnamon stick, 20 whole cloves and about 30 green cardamom pods. The cardamom flavor is such a nice complement, I really recommend it. I also used Cabernet Sauvignon because I couldn’t find Lillet and it still came out amazing. This is my new go-to cranberry sauce method!

I make the same thing but with orange supremes (no skin) and a packet of plain gelatin. I don't strain the solids. It ends up a as a chunky and delicious side dish.

The video shows that it's Lillet Blanc. But you're absolutely right -- it should be made clear in the list of ingredients.

I made two batches, one with red wine and one with orange juice. I used 1.5 c wine/juice 0.5 c grand marnier. I included juniper berries in both. My husband and I both preferred the OJ version. The wine jelly is a deep garnet color and has a very rich, traditional—but excellent—cranberry jelly flavor. The one with OJ is a beautiful ruby color and has a brighter, tangier flavor. You really get the orange, but it is nicely balanced with the cranberry. So good! Tip: Use a big pot—it foams a lot.

Used Grand Marnier no lillet, a little water and some whole cloves. Put it through the food mill. It made a stiff, flavorful jelly. It won't make a pretty mold on Thanksgiving though because someone sliced off an edge and it has divots in it from the spoonful sneaks.

Which Lillet, please??

Like all cooking, this Cranberry Jelly is an exercise in molecular interactions. When boiling a mixture of alcohol and water, the alcohol boils off first, which keeps the temp. down until it is nearly all gone. And then there is the interaction between sugar and water: as the % water goes down, the temp goes up and so does the hardness of the resulting 'candy' once cooled.Use a thermometer. 210F min. 30 minits, min. I poured my excess into a cup; jelled well before it hit the 'fridge!

The recipe makes enough for a 6-cup Bundt pan. The jelly came just as in the photograph. Served on a white plate, it looked stunning on our Thanksgiving table. It was delicious as well, with a little bit of welcome texture as I purposefully did not strain the mixture.

I’ve made this twice now, except with 1 cup red wine 1 cup fresh OJ. I also add a cinnamon stick, star anise, a few cloves and black peppercorns since I don’t have juniper berries. Both times it didn’t form after the first overnight fridge. But both times I reheated cold cranberry jelly soup to a rolling boil for like 8 min, poured it into a mold chilling in freezer, then freezer for 1.5 hours then fridge. It solidified. It was a huge hit (why I made it twice despite the hassle).

Can you store it in a metal mold for a few days or does that ruin the taste?

Why discard the solids! They are also perfectly delicious on their own or mixed into yogurt or ice cream!

This didn’t go over well last year. I should try again bc I love the idea of it.

Very good and easy especially with Cabernet Sauvignon. Would need to triple the recipe to fill out my smallest cake mold. The recipe fills 1/3 of my mold so I Hope it doesn’t fall apart when I mold it.

This was really good. I don't usually like cranberry sauce but loved this. It was perfect with other traditional TG food like mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy. I used grand mariner and orange juice. I will definitely make this again and again.

What a disappointment. Followed recipe to a T, even watched the video twice. Used a candy thermometer to get to precisely 215. Now on Thanksgiving morning as I went to unmold this I found that it barely gelled. No way it will hold its shape. So we're just going to have to spoon it out of a bowl and use it as a liquidy sauce. I used the same Lillet as in the video and Grand Marnier. Kept it in the fridge overnight. What the heck went wrong, NYT?

For my European pals: 354 ml Lillet118 ml Grand Marnier (I used Cointreau)400g Sugar680 g Cranberries (only used 500 and reduced the sugar to 320)I also added cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and I didn't discard the solids.Turned out great!

Made a couple substitutions to reduce sweetness and lower glycemic index and it’s turned out great.- replace 2 cups sugar with 1 cup agave. -for liquid, use 1 cup fresh squeezed OJ (2 large oranges), 1/2 cup tawny port and 1/2 cup Grand Marnier. Using the agave meant i had to simmer the mixture longer to bring it to 210 and thicken it, but it seems to be setting up fine. So good!

Mine didn't gel the first time, so I put it back in the saucepan and reheated on medium heat stirring constantly for about ten minutes and it worked perfectly.

To answer a frequent question: after aggressive pushing at the solids to get all the cranberry guts, I had just under 4 cups of really stiff cranberry jelly. And take your time in cooking. Temp is much more important than time... 210F is magic. I poured my leftovers into a cup... within 10 minutes it was so stiff I could stand the cup on its side and the jelly didn't move! Tomorrow will tell, but I think mine will put Oceanspray to shame, at least in terms of stiffness!

Like all cooking, this Cranberry Jelly is an exercise in molecular interactions. When boiling a mixture of alcohol and water, the alcohol boils off first, which keeps the temp. down until it is nearly all gone. And then there is the interaction between sugar and water: as the % water goes down, the temp goes up and so does the hardness of the resulting 'candy' once cooled.Use a thermometer. 210F min. 30 minits, min. I poured my excess into a cup; jelled well before it hit the 'fridge!

Wow!! As a not so secret lover of the canned stuff, I’m happy to say this elevated alternative is enough to make me a believer!! Quick and easy. Made as written and chilled in a pretty glass Pyrex. Easy-peasy and oh so tasty. Crowd pleaser for our friends giving. Will make again. Thinking about adding half a cinnamon stick, some clove, and a sprig of rosemary! Happy turkey day!!

This was such a fun recipe! I used Lillet blanc and Grand Marnier and followed the recipe exactly. For molds I used a mini loaf cake pan with Thanksgiving themed indents to make turkey shaped jelly loaves. Made the day before, but recommend a few more days in advance for a firmer texture. Benefit of several smaller molds is that you can make an extra for testing (snacking) purposes.