Cooking with Coconut Palm Sugar -- Apple, Pear and Cranberry Sauce

I love cranberry sauce.  I adore the chunky, homemade tart/sweet ruby-red cranberry sauce that's bubbling in saucepans all over America in November (not so much the jellied, in-the-can variety).  I usually make it with diced oranges and orange juice, but this time I wanted to make something a little different.  This time, I diced up a pear and a couple of apples and cooked them up with my cranberries in some apple cider and spices.

The next question...what to use for a sweetener?  In a world of alternative sweeteners, I'm still drawn to the simplicity of evaporated cane juice.  Don't get me wrong, I have found room in my heart and stomach for maple syrup, fruit juice and juice concentrates, and agave nectar.  My cabinets and recipes are rich with turbinado sugar and molasses, but this week I bought my first package of coconut palm sugar.

Coconut palm sugar, the nectar of the coconut palm blossom, is all the rage in certain healthier eating circles.  I wanted to give it a try.  It's lovely.  It has a rich flavor, and so far, is easy to work with.  I bought a package of granulated coconut palm sugar, but it can come in a paste or a block that you grate yourself, too, I think.  I baked with it, and it held up great.  I wanted to cook with it, too, so I came up with this chunky cranberry sauce.  It tasted super-Thanksgiving-y.  If you don't have any coconut palm sugar, you can use evaporated cane juice or other sugar in its place.

We shared this recipe as part of Gluten-free Friday, Wellness Weekend and  Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays; please check out the other yummy entries.

Apple, Pear, and Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups apple cider

3/4 cup coconut palm sugar

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup diced apples

1 cup diced pears

3 cups fresh cranberries (1 12-ounce package)

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, heat apple cider over medium flame.

Add coconut palm sugar and spices, stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Add fruit, cook at a high simmer; the cranberries will pop after a few minutes.

Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Happy Cooking and Happy Thanksgiving!

Kim 

My new book,  Super Seeds, is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen- & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.