Love the spinach dip at restaurants like TGIFriday's and the Olive Garden? Make it at home with these easy-to-follow copycat recipes.

These sugar-coated cranberries are a tasty snack, or make a pretty holiday garnish. They are simply made with cranberries, sugar, and water.
1 cup firm red cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
After washing and drying cranberries, prick each berry in several places with a needle.
Boil sugar and water to 230 degrees F.
Add cranberries and cook gently until syrup will jell when dropped from the tip of a spoon.
Remove berries. Place on wax paper to cool and dry.
Roll cranberries in granulated sugar.
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Make sure the cranberries are completely dry after washing to prevent the syrup from becoming too diluted.
Prick the cranberries in several places to allow the syrup to penetrate.
Cook the cranberries in the syrup gently to prevent them from bursting.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the cranberries from the syrup to allow excess syrup to drip off.
Spread the cranberries in a single layer on wax paper to dry without sticking together.
Roll the cranberries in sugar when they are sticky but not wet for the best coating.
Try different sugars for rolling to achieve different textures and flavors. Using colored sugar can create festive results.
Be careful when working with hot syrup to avoid burns.
Serve candied cranberries in a decorative bowl for a festive presentation.
Enjoy the candied cranberries as a sweet treat or use them to add a pop of color and flavor to various dishes.
Yes, you can use frozen cranberries, but thaw and dry them thoroughly before using.
Use a candy thermometer to accurately measure the temperature.
230 degrees F is the thread stage of syrup. Without a thermometer, you can test the syrup by dropping a small amount into cold water. It should form a liquid thread that doesn't ball up.
Yes, you can add a cinnamon stick, orange peel, or vanilla bean to the syrup for additional flavor.
Let them dry until they are sticky but not wet, usually several hours or overnight.
Yes, you can use superfine sugar for a finer coat or coarse sugar for a more textured look.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Yes, they can be made a few days in advance.
They can be used as a snack, a garnish for desserts and cocktails, or as a festive addition to salads.
Yes, you can easily double or triple the recipe for larger quantities.
Love the spinach dip at restaurants like TGIFriday's and the Olive Garden? Make it at home with these easy-to-follow copycat recipes.
It may look like a sad little package shoved in the back of your freezer, but frozen spinach actually has a lot of culinary uses (and some may surprise you).
Ah, the unassuming envelope of onion soup mix. It's more than just for onion soup (or dip). It adds tremendous flavor (and convenience) in all these recipes.
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reviews & comments
December 16, 2013
Aren't these cute? It did take me two tries to get it right though as the directions are a little simplistic and this is a rather finicky recipe. The trick is to cook the cranberries without them bursting (they will burst even with the skins pierced if you aren't careful). I had better luck cooking the syrup just a little longer, more like to 235F. It's closer to gelling then and you won't need to simmer it quite as high with the cranberries in it. Remove the cooked berries from the syrup with a slotted spoon, letting as much of the syrup drain off as possible. Drop them onto the wax paper and carefully separate them so they won't stick together while they dry. I let them dry for about an hour then rolled in the sugar. The first batch turned out like a real mess but the second batch (using the longer cooked syrup) turned out perfectly (see photo).