Until a couple of years ago, I didn’t know just how easy it is to make homemade cranberry sauce.

In the past, Crate & Barrel used to sell an incredible cranberry conserve the Barefoot Contessa whipped up, so that was easy. Open the jar, put in pretty serving dish, and you’re set.

But before that, yes, I was the person who served the cranberry sauce with the telltale can marks.

Yes, Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without the decorative touches of a can, right?

As it turns out, though, making the real thing yourself isn’t a big deal at all. And while it’s delicious with your turkey, I love cranberry sauce even more the next few days as it’s delicious on toast, with waffles, muffins, really anything that pairs well with cranberries and fall spices.

So, in the spirit of giving, here’s my all-time favorite cranberry sauce recipe from Tyler Florence.

Ingredients:

2 (8-ounce) packages cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 orange, zest cut into strips and juiced
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve at room temperature or cool and refrigerate. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving and enjoy. YUM! 🙂