cocktails

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Easy Candied Cranberries

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Easy Candied Cranberries

Cranberry season makes me happy.

I love cranberry everything and these pretty little jeweled or candied cranberries are no exception.

These little beauties are so easy to make and add a little fancy sparkle and burst of flavor to so many holiday recipes. You can add them garnish cocktails, top desserts, or just snack on them.

They are sweet, and super tart, and pretty to look at. They store well in the fridge so if you are like me, once you make a batch, you will find as many ways as you can to use them. They are too pretty, and too tasty to let go to waste!

And if you are concerned about white sugar being vegan, just give the brand you use a quick google, or check this list . I use Florida Crystals brand and know they are for sure vegan but give the list a look and check your brand!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 12 oz fresh cranberries

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1 1/2 cup sugar divided

  • optional, 2 large pieces of orange peel

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Bring 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and orange peel to a boil in a medium pot over medium heat, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in the cranberries.

  2. Place a wire cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet. Transfer cranberries to the wire rack to dry for about an hour. Fill a large bowl with 1/2 to 1 cups of sugar and toss the cranberries in the sugar to coat. Transfer the cranberries back to to the cooling rack to dry for another half hour before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. You can optionally add half 1/2 orange worth of zest to the sugar for an extra citrus pop.

  3. Use cranberries as a garnish for cocktails, or desserts, or just as a tasty snack!

If you like this recipe, try these:

 
Easy Candied Cranberries

Vegan Lime Mojito Cupcakes

An array of vegan mojito cupcakes garnished with mint and a lime

One of my all time favorite cocktails is a minty lime mojito.

They are truly the perfect refreshing summertime drink! So we decided why not turn our favorite drink into a deliciously fresh cupcake, no booze required.

It’s the best of both worlds, and even those who do not drink alcohol can enjoy these perfectly soft lime cupcakes toped with minty lime buttercream.

These vegan mojito cupcakes are so tasty, and pretty cute too! They would be perfect for a wedding or baby shower, or a summer BBQ served with a nice tall, ice cold mojito!

I mean I can totally get behind eating a delicious mojito cupcake while sipping my favorite cocktail or mocktail. Seems like a no brainer, really. So cheers to summer, and cheers to mojitos making not only a delicious drink, but darn good cupcake, too!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 cups all purpose flour

  • 2 cups white sugar

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 2/3 cups lime juice

  • zest from 2 limes

  • 2 cups plant milk (we like to bake with oat milk)

  • 1/2 cup melted vegan butter

  • 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • extra lime wedges, and mint leaves for garnish.

  • optional: paper straws for decoration

MINTY LIME BUTTERCREAM:

  • 1/2 cup vegan butter

  • 1/2 cup shortening

  • 5-6 cups powdered sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • zest from 1 lime

  • juice from 1/2 lime

  • 1-2 tablespoons finely diced mint leaves.

An overhead look of vegan mojito cupcakes.

INSTRUCTIONS:

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together dry cake ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.

  2. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well combined.

  3. Line a muffin tin with 24 cupcake liners. We actually have a tin that holds 2 dozen cupcakes, but if yours holds 1 dozen, you will need to bake in batches.

  4. Fill the cups 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.

  5. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely.

  6. In a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and shortening. Add in the vanilla, lime zest, juice, and mint. Begin adding the powdered sugar a little at a time and beat it in until the frosting is the desired stiffness.

  7. Pipe or spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes and garnish with a wedge of fresh lime, and mint leaves. We also quartered paper straws and used these for decoration.

Serves 24.

If you like this recipe, try these:

Vegan Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Vegan Chocolate Mint Cookie Cake

Southern Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

A closeup of vegan mojito cupcakes

Vegan minty lime mojito cupcakes. Soft lime cake topped with minty lime vanlla vegan buttercream.