Frosted cranberries are edible jewels

’Tis the season for sparkles!

These cranberries are so festive decked out in their sugar-coated crunchy goodness. They’re like little edible jewels. They’re the perfect sparkling garnish to a just about any holiday dish. Try them skewered on top of a glass of champagne or place them on top of your holiday apple pie. But you’ll enjoy them all on their own, too.

If you’re thinking that cranberries are too tart to snack on, you would ordinarily be right. But that classic cranberry mouth-pucker is made palatable with a short soak in some simple syrup. The cranberries retain their tartness, but they’re sweet and crunchy all at the same time. You’re basically left with fancy Sour Patch Kids for adults.

Set a bowl of these out over the holidays, and you’ll start a new family holiday must-have recipe.

Sugar-Frosted Cranberries

Ingredients

½ cup water

1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided

12 ounces fresh cranberries (1 bag), rinsed

Directions

Bring water and ½ cup sugar to a low simmer, in a medium saucepan. Let simmer until sugar is dissolved and simple syrup is clear — careful not to let boil. Remove from heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.

Add cranberries to pan and stir until well-coated. Use a slotted spoon to remove cranberries from syrup. Transfer to a wire rack to dry (set rack on top of baking sheet or foil for easier cleanup).

Let cranberries dry for at least one hour. Then roll cranberries in remaining sugar until coated.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for best results.