Frozen Cranberry Sauce Margarita

As much as I swoon over images of cozy fall things, like wood-burning fires and knit wool sweaters, Thanksgiving in San Diego just isn’t the cold holiday that it is in a lot of other parts of the country. So for anyone experiencing warm weather for the holidays, but still want the same festive vibe, this frozen cranberry cocktail should do the trick. And no, it’s not ridiculous to have cranberry sauce two ways at Thanksgiving. It just gives you one more thing to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving and happy cocktailing!

Watch Me Mix It

Start with Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Before we mix our margarita, we’re first going to make our own homemade cranberry sauce to add to our cocktail. Making homemade cranberry is so easy it’s a wonder more people still stick with the canned stuff. I’m sharing my own simple cranberry sauce recipe for you here, but if you have a tried-and-true cranberry sauce recipe you make every year, just set aside a couple tablespoons from the batch you’re already making to add to your cocktails. For my cranberry sauce recipe, you’ll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 12-oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated orange zest
• 1/2 in. fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
• 2 oz. Grand Marnier

Instructions

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Add cranberries, zest, and ginger.
3. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the berries just pop, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Let it cool completely before adding to your cranberry margarita.