Cranberry

Dried cherries and fresh cranberries pair beautifully. Cloves are a festive touch.

Chinese five-spice powder, cardamom and pears give an intriguing flavor.

"The Indians and English use them much," wrote one visitor to New England in 1663, "boyling them with Sugar for Sauce to eat with their Meat, and it is a delicate Sauce." Although there is little evidence that cranberry sauce was served at the first Thanksgiving, it is assumed that Indians brought it to the feast. This tangy version gets its intense flavor and color from a mixture of fresh and dried cranberries, along with frozen cranberry juice cocktail concentrate.

This cheesecake, a delicious contrast of sweet vanilla and tart cranberry, is a scruptious conclusion to any dinner. Whipped cream rosettes are a pretty finish.

Crunchy candy-coated cranberries make festive garnish for this inventive dessert. Begin preparing the custards a day before serving.

Though the cranberries look gorgeous, you wouldn't want to eat them—they're extremely tart when raw. The mint leaves, however, are positively delicious. Fresh raw cranberries yielded the most attractive garnish; thawed frozen berries may collapse and shrivel. Feel free to increase the amounts we've provided here if you'd like to make your decoration more elaborate.

Present this delightful tart-sweet spread in a glass jar that has been encircled with a ribbon. For a nice touch, tie a spoon into the bow. If you want to omit the canning process, go ahead. The preserves can be stored in the refrigerator up to one month.

Mangoes are a delicious tropical addition to this tangy-sweet dish.

This recipe originally accompanied Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake with Cranberry Raspberry Compote Also good over ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Perfect for the holiday season. Cranberries add tang to the filling of these colorful sandwich cookies. You will have some small unsandwiched cookies, too.

Eggs provide the leavening in this spiced cake, and melted butter keeps it tender.

Spicy and sophisticated.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Eggnog French Toast with Cranberry-Apple Compote. This colorful and festive compote is also nice on waffles and pancakes — or even spooned over vanilla ice cream.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 50 min