Recipe: Spice-Roasted Cranberry Sparkling Cocktail
Makes enough for 6 to 8 drinks
This is a fun beverage that can be made with tequila, vodka, sparkling wine, or just plain ginger ale, club soda or sparkling water. It’s like a holiday ‘Shirley Temple’!
Ingredients
1 cup whole fresh cranberries
About 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice blend
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup candied ginger
1 cup water
Sparkling wine, Club Soda, or sparkling water
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425° degrees. Arrange cold cranberries on a small baking sheet; generously sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice blend. Roast 8 minutes, shaking the pan to move the berries around about half-way through roasting time. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, make a gingered simple syrup by combining the sugar, candied ginger and water in saucepan. Heat on medium-high until sugar dissolves completely, and the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep 15 minutes. Add spice-roasted cranberries and let steep at least 1 hour at room temperature. Strain, reserving cranberries and ginger for garnish; pour infused simple syrup into a serving container.
For each drink: Pour 2 tablespoons (or more to taste) of syrup into champagne flute, rocks glass or martini glass. Top with sparkling wine and a splash of club soda or sparkling water. Optional, add a bit of tequila or omit all the alcohol and just use ginger ale, club soda or sparkling water. Garnish with reserved cranberries and ginger.