Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Christmas Cheer


Happy December to all of you!! I'll share a few of our favorite recipes this month, even though I'm not very fond of cooking, because making food as gifts is fun. And this recipe qualifies as a gift, whether it's given away or enjoyed by the maker on a cold December night. :)

Cranberry Vodka

1 pound cranberries

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean, split

1 bottle tonic

Lime slices, for garnish

Place cranberries, sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Place pan over medium heat and stir. Simmer cranberry mixture until the berries burst, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Divide mixture in half and pour into large, clean mason jars. Pour vodka into the jars to cover the berries. Set aside and allow to sit for 1 week. After 1 week, strain out the cranberries and store cranberry vodka in a clean jar in the refrigerator.

Any favorite Christmas drinks you'd care to share?

4 comments:

Lee McKenzie said...

Mmmm. This will make great cosmopolitans!

Gillian Layne said...

Good morning, Lee! Yes, it certainly does. :) And it's just so pretty...and cranberries are actually good for you. How can you go wrong? ;)

Anonymous said...

I've always been more of an eggnog person, but it sure looks pretty.

Gillian Layne said...

Alice, I love eggnog too. I'm perfectly happy to buy a good quality at the store and add my own liquor, but my husband loves to make it from scratch. He's far more talented than I in the kitchen.

I'll post an eggnog recipe soon. :)