The holidays are a perfect time to make this homemade Cranberry Orange Liqueur recipe
You can enjoy it as an after-dinner sip, or mix it with Champagne to make a Cranberry Orange Champagne cocktail
This homemade cranberry liqueur is quick to make because it takes just about 30 minutes to prepare and only needs 2 weeks to “marinate” in the refrigerator.
Cranberry Orange Liqueur is gorgeous to look at and even better to drink! It has a hint of cinnamon so it’s perfect for the holidays.
If you have some beautiful old sherry or cordial glasses hiding in the back of your china cabinet now is the time to get those out and serve this liqueur!
Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Liqueur:
- Vodka
- Cranberries
- Orange Juice and zest
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
How to make Cranberry Orange Liqueur:
Cooking instructions:
Step-by-step instructions are below to make this recipe really easy. You will strain this recipe twice when you make it, so be sure to have a fine woven strainer available, or cheesecloth.
Step 1: Combine cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest in a deep heavy pan.
Step 2: Bring everything to a boil and continue boiling until cranberries pop or burst open.
Step 3: Blend everything until smooth. We use an immersion blender but you’ll get the same results in a regular blender. Use caution if using a regular blender because the liquid is super hot and will expand in the blender.
Straining the Cranberry Orange Liqueur
There are 2 steps in the straining process:
Step 4: STRAIN #1 – Pour blended mixture through a strainer, into a clean bowl, pushing with a rubber spatula to extract as much liquid and flavor as possible. Discard the leftover cranberry skins in the strainer.
Step 5: STRAIN #2 – Repeat the straining method into a clean bowl, but use a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth this time. Discard the remaining skins.
Step 6: Add vodka and cinnamon and whisk to combine
Step 7: Pour into a decanter or jar and seal tightly
Step 8: Refrigerate for about 2 weeks. Shaking occasionally.
Step 9: Decant into smaller gift bottles, if desired. We love this style bottle but there are many choices out there.
Step 10: Store for up to 6 months in the refrigerator, sealed.
Serving Cranberry Orange Liqueur
After two weeks the homemade liqueur will be ready to use. If you want a super smooth liqueur you can strain it a third time.
This is a liqueur and is meant as a small drink after dinner or as an aperitif, so you will want to pour just about 2-3 ounces for sipping. We have a weakness for beautiful cordial or sherry glasses. If you don’t have any, try these beautiful glasses from Amazon.
Variations: Try cherries instead of cranberries
If you need something just a little sweeter try substituting half of the cranberries for cherries (I made it with the frozen variety since cherries aren’t in season). This version is a little sweeter and I omitted the cinnamon, however, everything else is the same as the recipe below.
How to make a Cranberry Orange Champagne Cocktail
This liqueur makes a great base for any cocktail but our favorite is the Cranberry Orange Champagne Cocktail. It’s a beautiful and festive drink!
Just coat the rim of our cocktail glass with a bit of orange juice and then dip it in sugar. Shake the liqueur with ice in a martini shaker, pour into the glass, and top with Champagne. Cut a thin orange slice for a garnish or drop in a few cranberries!
Great for gifting
A special thanks to our guest chef: Deb Hoage
Deb was kind enough to share this amazing recipe with us. And, to top it off the entire recipe is gluten-free!
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Cranberry Orange Liqueur
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, immersion blender or regular blender
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest, freshly grated
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups vodka
For Champagne Cocktail
- 4 oz champagne
- 2 Tbsp cranberry liqueur
Instructions
- In a large deep pan combine cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Bring to a boil.Continue gently boiling for about 6-8 minutes, or until the cranberries have popped open. Remove from the heat.
- Blend the cranberries with an immersion blender until smooth. Or place in a regular blender, being cautious as hot liquid will rise when blended.
- STRAIN #1 – Pour through a strainer into a bowl, pushing the mixture down with a rubber spatula. There will be cranberry skins left in the strainer. Discard the skins.
- STRAIN #2 – Pour the strained mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, or a strainer lined with cheesecloth, into a clean bowl. Again push the mixture down with a rubber spatula and discard the skins. *NOTE – don't skip this step because it's important to remove all of the skins
- Add the vodka and cinnamon to the strained mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a decanter or a jar with a lid and seal tightly.
- Refrigerate for about 2 weeks. Shake occasionally
- If desired, strain one more time before serving.
To make a Cranberry Orange Champagne Cocktail
- Run a sliced orange segment around the rim of a champagne or martini glass and then dip the rim in sugar to coat the rim.
- In a cocktail shaker add 2 tablespoons cranberry liqueur and crushed ice. Shake well.
- Pour shaken liqueur into a martini or champagne glass and top with champagne. Garnish with an orange slice or a few cranberries, if desired.
Variation: Cherry Cranberry Liqueur
- Substitute 2 cups cranberries and use 1 cup cherries and 1 cup cranberries
- Omit cinnamon
Notes
- Do not skip the 2nd strain. It’s an important step and I often strain 3 times
Roger
The purée is very thick, may have to do with the pectin in the cranberries. Will give further comment in 2 weeks.
Jen
The flavor is wonderful, but the same thing happened to me – it turned very thick and jelly-like. I did not double it, nor did I skip the straining. Would this be due to boiling too long? I’m unsure how to fix it. I love the color of yours!
Cyndy
Hi Jen – yes, you may have overboiled it – sorry you had trouble. I would try to fix it by adding about 1/2 cup of very warm orange juice to the mixture, letting it “melt”, stirring, and then straining again.
Liz
Hello!
I made this last night and I did a very thorough second strain with a cheese cloth. It still turned into a very thick jello-like consistency. I had doubled the recipe. Do you think doubling or boiling on too high of heat could have caused the problem?
Thank you!
Cyndy
Hi! Sorry you’ve had issues. I have never doubled it so that may be the cause as some recipes just don’t work as well when doubling. I would try to fix it by adding about 1/2 cup of very orange juice to the mixture, letting it “melt”, stirring, and then straining again. Boiling too long could begin to create a gelatinous effect, as well.
Mandi
Hi! I made this yesterday. I only strained it once through a fine mesh strainer and when I went to shake it last night, it had turned to jello in the bottle. Is there anything I can do to fix it? Now I know not to skip a step. 🤦🏻♀️
Cyndy
Hi – yes, the second strain is really important to prevent the liqueur from becoming gelatinous. You could try to fix it by adding about 1/2 cup of very hot water (or orange juice) to the mixture, let it “melt”, stir, and then strain again (maybe twice). Let us know if that works for you!
Mandi
Thank you for the quick reply! I’ll give that a shot!
Maggie
Why does it have to be refrigerated?
Cyndy
Hey Maggie – Great question and technically it doesn’t but we always do since we aren’t sure how long we will keep it. You can store in a cool dark place and that works just as well as there isn’t anything perishable inside the bottle. Thanks and hope you like it!
Krissy Allori
This was so fun to make and it turned it out great! Big hit with the grown ups in my family.
Jayne
Thanks Krissy! It’s a family favorite for us too!
Veena Azmanov
Citrus and yum and I am drooling. My favorite fruit options. Want to surely sip on this amazing Liqueur . Cant wait to check . Awesome presentation and color too.
Jayne
Thanks very much Veena! I think you will love it!
Elaine
I can’t get enough of the cranberry flavor in everything I do. Very excited to see that I can make this liqueur with it, too – must be incredibly delicious!
Jayne
Thanks Elaine! I hope you love it as much as we do 🙂
Loni
The taste is great, but it turned into a solid. I went back and removed the solid, added more simple syrup and vodka, strained it twice more (for a total of 5 times) and reblended it. It is now a liquid, but it’s not smooth. I want to try again but just barely heat it and maybe just put the whole berries in for a few days and strain off.
Cyndy
Sorry to hear you didn’t get the results you wanted. Adding more simple syrup should help, and let us know how it goes on the second try and barely heating it.
Deanne
What a beautiful cocktail! I’m so excited to bring this to our next holiday party!
Jayne
Thanks Deanne! I hope everyone loves it at your party.
Sara Welch
Now this is my kind of recipe for the holidays! Looks perfectly refreshing and sweet; can’t wait to serve this over the holidays!
Jayne
Thanks Sara – it’s so easy and so delicious. I think you will love it!