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    Home » Dehydrating

    Author: Darcy Baldwin • This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

    Dehydrate Cranberry Sauce

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    Dehydrate cranberry sauce (use Thanksgiving leftovers) to create amazingly tart and sweet gummies to enjoy this traditional treat!

    Heart-shaped cranberry sauce gummies (jellies) on parchment paper
    Make Cranberry sauce gummies with a dehydrator for a sweet treat!

    I know...leftover cranberry sauce?! Who has that?! Well, we do, but only because we keep it in our stocked pantry all year long, and I buy an extra can or three just for this reason every Thanksgiving.

    This technique is easy since jellied sauce is fairly easy to work with, but here are tips to get you started first.

    How to Dehydrate Cranberry Sauce

    Tools needed:

    • Knife
    • Dehydrator (an oven is not recommended)
    • Cookie cutters if you choose to do shapes instead of rounds.
    • Fruit Leather trays (parchment can be used, but the nonstick silicone or Teflon-like trays will work much better)

    Ingredients:

    • 1 can jellied cranberry sauce

    If you'd like to make your own, try this recipe from The Modern Homestead

    Cookie cutters, can of jellied cranberry sauce, and sliced sauce with a few cutouts

    Instructions

    1. Chill for at least 4 hours prior to starting. You want this cold.
    2. Cut into ¼" -½" slices. Don't get too thin or they can easily break.
    3. Use cookie cutters to create shapes if desired. I'm using my grandmother's tiny shortcake cookie cutters and my mom's Valentine cookie cutters as a means of remembering them today!
    4. Place on fruit leather sheets. (these are good for the Nesco brand) This works much better than parchment, but you can use parchment instead. Use an offset spatula, or other thin blade, to help lift them off your cutting surface and place them on trays.
    5. Dry at 140F until dry, leather and a gummy consistency. This will take up to 36 hours depending on your machine and your home's humidity. Turn them a few times throughout the process - gently!
    6. Store in layers of parchment, but they don't last long!
    Heart-shaped cutouts of jellied cranberry sauce on an Excalibur dehydrator tray
    Cranberry gummies on parchment paper with cranberry sauce can and scattered cranberries in the background.

    Of course, you can always dehydrate the rounds by themselves, too!

    Sliced rounds of jellied cranberry sauce on a Nesco Dehydrator tray
    Dried rounds of cranberry sauce to make cranberry jelly fruit leathers

    Notes:

    You can cut the rounds into shapes, after dehydrating. However, I foudn that the more you handle them, the longer they are exposed to the relative humidity in your home, the stickier they get.

    Oven instructions: Unfortunately, your oven likely doesn't go low enough to make this work. It will melt the sauce more than air dry it as a dehydrator would.

    How to dehydrate whole cranberry sauce leather

    If you have leftover whole cranberry sauce

    • Mix 3:1 cranberry sauce to apple sauce and puree.
    • Spread into ¼" layers on fruit leather sheets
    • Dry at 140F until dry (flipping as soon as it is set enough to flip)
    • Takes approximately 16-24 hrs depending on your humidity.
    • Transfer to parchment paper, cut strips, roll, and store in an airtight container.

    LEARN MORE: 50 More Ways to Use Leftover Cranberry Sauce

    How to Store

    These will not last long. Sugar is highly hygroscopic, and will absorb moisture from the air quickly. So keep these in an airtight container, using layers of parchment to separate them, and eat them within a few days.

    These are definitely not for long-term storage, but fun snack to enjoy over the holiday weekend!

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    Dehydrated Cranberry Gummies

    Create these gummy, tart, sweet treats from leftover cranberry sauce after your Thanksgiving feast (or just buy some extra cans to do this alone - who has leftover cranberry sauce!?). They are perfect little treats made in your dehydrator that make dehydrating fun!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Drying Time20 hrs
    Course: Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: cranberries, cranberry sauce, fruit leather, leftovers, Thanksgiving
    Author: Darcy Baldwin

    Equipment

    • Dehydrator

    Ingredients

    • 1 Can Jellied cranberry sauce

    Instructions

    • Chill before starting
    • Slice into ¼ rounds, cut with cookie cutters if desired
    • Use a thin blade to lift and place on dehydrator sheets - silicone or fruit leather trays work best
    • Dry at 140F / 60C until completely dry, matte finished, and not sticky
    • Store for a few days in layers of parchment paper in airtight container.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @thepurposefulpantry or tag #thepurposefulpantry!
    Dehydrating Basics ebook on a tablet with a cup of coffee on a wooden background
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    heart-shaped cranberry gummies made from canned, jellied, cranberry sauce on a parchment background.
    « 200 Best Dehydrating Recipes for Fruits and Vegetables
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    Comments

    1. Debbie says

      December 08, 2020 at 4:59 pm

      I love cranberries and these look so good! Going to have to try this! Great idea Darcy! Thank you!

      Reply

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    Howdy! I'm Darcy! I've spent the last twenty years learning how to stretch our budget to meet the needs of our growing family. I want to help you succeed at it, too!

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    Howdy! I'm Darcy! I've spent the last twenty years learning how to stretch our budget to meet the needs of our growing family. I want to help you succeed at it, too!

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