I love holiday festivities: the cookie-making, the lights, the present-wrapping..you name it! One thing I enjoy come this time of year is making festive holiday cocktails…the recipe below yields a smooth, subtle orange syrup and various holiday garnishes which can be used to give your favorite cocktails some extra holiday cheer! Enjoy and happy holidays!

My Favorite Holiday Cocktail Options

A Grinchy Holiday Sour

A Christmas Eve Old-fashioned

  • Fill glass with ice. Add two dashes of bitters,
    1 teaspoon of Orange simple syrup (recipe below), and 2 ounces of good bourbon.
    Garnish with your candied orange, frosted cranberries, and a sprig of frosted
    rosemary…and enjoy your cup of holiday cheer!

On the left are green-tinted Grinchy Holiday Sours, while on the right are the more sophisticated versions of this same cocktail…and finally, we have a traditional Old-fashioned with ‘holiday twists.’

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • * Another ½ – 1 cup sugar for candying
  • 1 ½ cup water
  • 1 medium orange (I prefer Valencia)
  • 1 – 1 ¼ cup cranberries, washed, sorted, and dried
  • 1 Bunch rosemary sprigs (buy once that have short, spiky needles as opposed to long leaves)

Note: this recipe really depends on what type of cocktails you are making…and how many! If you only want to make 3-4 Christmas cocktails with the candied cranberry and rosemary garnishes, use ½ cup of cranberries and ½ bunch of rosemary…simply reduce the amount of orange syrup to 2 Tbsp each in step 12….and then you’ll have a bit more orange syrup to use later. You can store this simple syrup in the fridge for 3-4 weeks!

Tools and Timing

  • Medium pot (7 or 8 in diameter; *see notes)
  • Heat-proof whisk
  • Tongs
  • Parchment Paper
  • 2 Cooling racks and cookie sheets
  • 2 glass baking dishes
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Timing: about 2 hours total; Yields: about 5 ounces simple orange syrup

*I usually do this the night before I plan on making holiday cocktails

**Careful with changing this recipe – chemistry matters! If you use a larger or smaller pot, you may end up with a thicker or thinner syrup because of the way the sugar and water reduces as it boils in relation to volume and surface area…and if you want to double the recipe, use the original recipe on Taste of Home

Background

I first learned how to create these delectable garnishes by reading “How to Make Candied Orange Slices” from Taste of Home. Since then, one of the main things I have loved about playing with this recipe has been changing it to create a delicious orange syrup to use in bourbon and whiskey cocktails! It’s also fun to add cranberries and rosemary to the mix for an extra Christmas-y feel!

This recipe is adapted from Taste of Home

Step-by-step

  1. Prep your orange: remember, you’ll be eating the peel, so wash your orange well. I use a soft bristle scrub brush and cold water. Wash and dry your orange, then slice into circles so the rind is about 1/4 inch (remove any seeds). Throw out the slice with the stem, but you can use the bottom.
  2. Measure water and sugar into medium pot. Stir and turn to medium-high heat. Bring to a boil (about 3 minutes), whisking frequently to ensure sugar dissolves.
  3. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat to medium.
  4. Add orange slices one at a time – you may want to use tongs to avoid splashing! Oranges can overlap slightly, but you don’t want them stacked on top of each other (this is why we want a medium pot).
  5. Simmer (gently rolling bubbles) for 10 minutes.
  6. At 10 minutes, flip oranges and simmer for another 10 minutes
  7. After 20 minutes total, flip oranges again and reduce heat to medium low or low, depending on your stove and pot (you want a soft, rolling simmer). Cook another 10 minutes, flipping one more time at the halfway mark (after 5 minutes).
  8. *During these last 10 minutes, wash, sort, and dry your cranberries.
  9. **Prep cookie sheets with parchment paper; place a wire cooling racks on top of parchment paper on cookie sheets. Set close at hand.
  10. ***Set two glass baking dishes close at hand – fill one with a layer of rosemary sprigs and the other with a layer of dry cranberries.
  11. After the timer goes off for the oranges, remove oranges to a drying rack in a single layer set over parchment paper to catch any drips (leave room for later for your cranberries).
  12. You should have about 1 ¼ cups of orange simple syrup now:
    • Pour ¼ cup hot simple syrup over cranberries; use spatula to gently move cranberries so they get coated evenly with syrup; and place dish in fridge for 30 minutes.
    • Pour ¼ cup hot simple syrup over rosemary; toss to coat then transfer to other wire rack to dry (I use the same spatula to stir them around, but you could use a spoon).
    • Let your syrup cool in the pan for these 30 minutes.

13. After 30 minutes, sugar coated your cranberries (continue to let your syrup rest in the pan while you do this).

    • Fill a glass dish or a rimmed plate with a layer of sugar. *You want to choose a glass dish that fits your longest rosemary sprig so that you can use the same dish for your cranberries, rosemary, and oranges. Do not mound the sugar (you want just enough to cover the bottom of the dish – otherwise, you’ll get sugar clumps on your garnishes)!
    • Get cranberries out of the fridge.  
    • Working in batches, transfer your cranberries into the dish in an even layer (I do 7-10 at a time), working not to pour in any extra syrup – I tip the pan away so the syrup runs down from the cranberries then scoop them out with a large spoon. Using your hand, roll them around until they are sugar coated. I even pick up sugar and sprinkle them to make sure they are coated. Return to drying rack for another 10 minutes. Continue until all cranberries are sugar coated.

14. At this point, transfer your simple syrup to a jar with a lid or airtight container and let everything rest:

      • The syrup needs to cool completely before being transferred to the fridge – usually another 30 minutes.
      • The cranberries need to dry for another 10 – 15 minutes; then, they can be stored in an airtight container for later use.
      • Everything else needs at least another 30 minutes (the oranges and rosemary rest on drying racks).

15. After another 30 minutes, sugar coat your rosemary. Working with one sprig at a time, press the rosemary into the sugar and roll to coat – you can also use a spoon to gently scoop the sugar onto the leaves. Once coated, place the branch back on the wire rack. Continue this process until all branches are coated in a layer of beautiful sugar. (After each branch, you may need to gently shake the pan/plate to bring your sugar back to an even layer before dipping the next branch.) Transfer them back to the drying rack to rest for at least another 30 minutes – or, optimally, until you are ready to use. *If you are not using these later that same day, store without covering (otherwise, the sugar begins to liquify). I place mine in a large Tupperware and loosely cover with tinfoil.

16. Place your simple syrup in the fridge.

17. You also have the option to sugar coat your oranges after they have dried for at least an hour (or overnight), or store and use them without extra sugar after they rest for an hour. I honestly let mine dry overnight and sugar them the next morning.

Enjoy your cocktail creations!

Other Options

If you don’t want to use the orange slices in a cocktail, serve as Candied Oranges or make Chocolate Dipped Candied Oranges.

Notes

When I use my stainless steel pot with a copper bottom, these cook at a lower temperature (a little under medium for the first stage and on low for the second stage) and the rolling boil is more even. When I use my aluminum pot, I have to have the heat a little higher (a bit above medium and medium-low, respectively) to achieve a continual, gentle simmer.

The original recipe calls for a Dutch oven, but mine is too big for a reduced recipe…so, depending on your equipment, watch your oranges and adjust the heat accordingly!