As much as I love cranberry sauce, I also like to mix things up every once in a while. And with Thanksgiving coming up (so soon!), I wanted to try a slightly different cranberry recipe. This is super simple and doesn’t require as much sugar as regular cranberry sauce — the apples sweeten things up significantly.

I also decided to use coconut sugar, which you can do if you’re trying to eat “clean,” but normal granulated sugar will work just as well (if not better).

Make sure you go through your cranberries and pick out the shady ones and any remaining stems, and rinse the cranberries before you use them. You could peel the apples if you’d like, but I left them on and it was fine. The blender pulverizes everything pretty well.

One note: If the cran-applesauce turns out a little too tart for your taste, stir in some maple syrup. It will sweeten it right up.

Cranberry applesauce (Inspired by Gourmet magazine, makes about 4 cups)
5 small apples (use a sweet kind, NOT Granny Smith)
1 1/2 cups cranberries
1/2 cup white sugar (or coconut sugar)
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon orange juice
1 cinnamon stick
Maple syrup (optional)

Core and chop the apples into small pieces (I used an apple slicer and then cut the slices into smaller bits). Add the apple pieces into a medium or large pot. Rinse and pick through the cranberries, then add them to the pot. Add the sugar, orange juice and cinnamon stick and stir.

Turn the stove to medium heat and cook for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft. Take the pot off the heat, remove the cinnamon stick, and allow the mixture to cool somewhat before adding to a blender (you can use an immersion blender if you have one). Blend the mixture until it reaches whatever consistency you like. Add a little water if necessary for blending.

Serve cranberry applesauce immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir in some maple syrup to taste, if desired.