Recipe: Candied Cranberries

CANDIED CRANBERRIES

1 1/2 cups large cranberries, picked over
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus additional for coating
1 1/4 cups water

Rinse the berries and drain them; prick each with a needle and dry on a towel.

Combine water and sugar in a large skillet, bring to a boil, and boil to the soft ball stage (234 degrees on a candy thermometer).

Add the berries and boil rapidly until the hard ball stage is reached (250 degrees), about 5-10 minutes. It doesn't matter if the skins burst.

Immediately lift the berries out of the sugar syrup with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and scatter on a nonstick surface or lightly oiled baking sheet. They will be in clumps; as soon as they've cooled enough to handle, separate them into individual berries again.

Put about 1/2 cup additional sugar in a bowl. Pick up each berry in turn and roll it in the hardened syrup surrounding it, and reshape it quickly into a ball: drop into the sugar and roll until well coated. Placed sugared berries on a clean baking sheet to dry for a few hours, or until they are no longer sticky.

These keep well in an air-tight jar.

Source: Fancy Pantry by Helen Witty