12ouncesfrozen dark sweet cherries* (not frozen in syrup)
⅓cupbrandy(plus an optional additional 1 tablespoon addded after cooking)
1cuplight brown sugar, lightly-packed**
½teaspoonground cinnamon
¼teaspoonground ginger
Instructions
Stir together all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed pot (using ⅓ cup brandy). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until cranberries burst and sauce has a slightly-thickened, jammy consistency, 10 minutes.
Remove from heat. If you prefer a stronger brandy flavor, stir in an additional 1 tablespoon before transferring cranberry sauce to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until well-chilled. Sauce will thicken as it cools.
Store sauce, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. When chilled, I like to return the sauce to room temperature before serving.
Video
Notes
*Small cherries can be left whole; larger cherries should be cut in half. I often like to cut half of the cherries and leave half whole for the best-textured sauce.**This recipe is easily adjusted to your sweetness preferences. If you prefer a tart sauce, reduce brown sugar to ¾ cup. For sweeter sauce, increase brown sugar to 1-¼ cups.Prefer not to use alcohol? See theRecipe FAQ'ssection above for substitutions.