Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce Recipe

So.  This is the best cranberry sauce.  Ever.

My sister-in-law, Leslee, makes it every year and I love it (and I really really hate cranberry sauce - so to say I love this stuff is big).

Since we won't be together for Thanksgiving this year I decided I needed to make it myself.  I asked her if she was willing to share this super secret family recipe.  You know how some people are with their super secret family recipes.  Lo and behold - she said she would send it to me.  She texted me saying she took a picture and emailed it to me.  I expected to open up the picture and see her great grandmothers handwriting on an old tattered and stained piece of paper for the recipe that has been passed down for generations  Nope.  Not even close.  It's a picture of a page out of a recipe book.  WHAT?  I realize that most recipes are adapted from recipes out of recipe books....but I was disappointed that this wasn't a super secret family recipe.

I have changed that.

I now present you with Leslee's Super Secret Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce (aka a recipe out of an unnamed recipe book - I'd love to give credit where credit is due but the picture doesn't show the name of the cookbook...if she will provide me the cookbook name I'll happily update this post to include it).

Leslee's Super Secret Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce

1/2 orange
2 cups water
1 Granny Smith apple
3 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Squeeze the juice from the orange half and set the juice aside.  Remove the membrane (white stuff) from the inside of the orange shell and discard.  Cut the shell into small dice.  Put into a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Drain and set aside the orange peel.

Peel, quarter and core the apple, then chop into small pieces.  Place in a saucepan.

Sort the cranberries, discarding any soft ones.

Add to the apples along with the reserved diced orange peel, the reserved orange juice, the sugar, cinnamon and cloves.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover partially.  This is what it looks like as soon as you mix all the ingredients.

Simmer gently, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened, the apples are tender and the cranberries have burst.  This will take 15-30 minutes.   The finished product will look like this.

Transfer to a bowl and let cool before putting into fridge.  Can be served cold or at room temperature.

If you make this, please let me know what you think of it!  I'd love some feedback.  And I'll let Leslee know what you think of her super secret family recipe.  :)