A sweet and tart spread that is perfect for any holiday. Cranberry Butter comes together easily by making a fast cranberry orange sauce, letting it cool, and mixing it with softened butter. You'll love Cranberry Butter on breads, rolls, and sandwiches!
In a small saucepan, heat the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and salt over medium high heat. Stir, bring the mixture to a simmer, and then drop the heat to medium.
Simmer, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. If the liquid cooks out before all the cranberries are tender and the skins have popped, add just a little water at a time while you continue cooking.
Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool completely.
Stir the cooled cranberry sauce with the softened butter until it's evenly combined.
You can place this in a serving dish, wrap tightly, and refrigerate until serving or you can lay out a piece of plastic wrap, scrape the butter into the center, fold in the sides, and roll it into a log. It will keep in the refrigerator this way for 1-2 weeks.
I like to let mine soften before serving.
Notes
1. It pays to use high quality butter with this recipe. Cheaper butter has more water in it and doesn't want to bind to the cranberries as easily. I skipped the store brand with this recipe and used Cabot Sweet Cream Unsalted Butter -- use your favorite!!