Sugared Cranberries

Happy November!  The first snow finally came to Denver today.  Usually, snow arrives in October!  Yesterday, it was 80 degrees, and today brought snow.

It seems a little surreal that Thanksgiving is a week away.  I am grateful for such a fun fall that involved amazing travel!

I get very excited for the Christmas season.  Yes, I'm one of those people that puts up Christmas decorations very shortly after Halloween. ;-)  It just makes the house feel so happy!  The season goes by too quickly, and it really is such a special time of the year.  

My friend Kyla owns a fashion boutique, Birds & Belles (if you are in Denver, check it out!), and her Christmas soiree is always the first to kick off the Christmas festivities.  I made some appetizers for the party.  Since the party involves shopping, easy finger foods were a must.  I wanted to do something festive, so I made sugar cranberry brie bites.  Trader Joe's had some cranberry crackers, so I just topped them with a slice of brie and a sugared cranberry.  The sugared cranberries were a cinch to make, and they are a versatile way to dress up any appetizer or drink!  They also make a sweet treat.

To make the sugared cranberries, you first make a simple syrup.  Make sure to let the simple syrup cool, and after it cools, you coat the cranberries in it to make them sticky.  After they set, you then roll them in sugar.  Voila, sugared cranberries!  

Sugared Cranberries

Ingredients:
2 cups of cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water

Directions:
First, make the simple syrup.  In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 sugar with the 1/2 cup water.  Cook on medium high heat until sugar is dissolved.  Once dissolved, remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool for 20 minutes.

While cooling, set a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet lined with foil or a silpat.  Set aside.

Once the syrup is cool, add 1/2 cup of cranberries at a time into the pan, and completely coat with syrup.  Use a strainer or a slotted spoon to remove the cranberries from the syrup, and set the cranberries on top of the cooling rack.  Repeat with remaining cranberries, and allow the cranberries to set on the rack for at least an hour.

After the cranberries have set, put the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl.  Transfer a small amount of cranberries to the bowl and roll them around with the sugar (I used a spoon to do this, but fingers also work :)).  Remove from bowl and return to the cooling rack to set.  Repeat with remaining cranberries.

You can store these in a container in the refrigerator and use them as a holiday garnish!

A Simple Sweet Justice Original, inspired by the festive season

Rosemary Lemon Vanilla Home Scent

If you have ever been into a Williams-Sonoma store, doesn't the store always have this amazing fresh, but homey, smell?  After seeing so many posts on Pinterest about recreating this smell, I had to try it.

You will need a lemon, fresh rosemary, vanilla extract, and some water.  These ingredients will simmer in either a small saucepan or a mini crock-pot.  I have one of those mini crock-pots, known as a "little dipper," and they are perfect for home potpourri.  I think it is easier to use a mini crock-pot so that you don't need to worry about checking on a saucepan on the stove.

This home simmering potpourri works!  The combination of rosemary, lemon, and vanilla is calming, and this wonderful scent will permeate throughout your whole house.  You can get about two days of "scent" out of this concoction.

Now that we are into spring, it's time to open the windows, bring in fresh scents, and get rid of the winter stuffy house!  This wonderful scent of lemon with warm vanilla and rosemary will leave your home smelling marvelous.

Rosemary Lemon Vanilla Home Scent

Ingredients:
1 medium lemon, sliced
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Water

Directions:
In your "little dipper" crock-pot, add the sliced lemon, rosemary, and vanilla extract.  Fill halfway with water.  Leave warm and continue to add water as needed.

In a small saucepan, add the sliced lemon, rosemary, and vanilla extract.  Fill with about 2 inches of water.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer and continue to add water as needed.

Source: Inspired by Williams-Sonoma and adapted from Pinterest