Grandma's Cranberry Salad

I grew up eating this cranberry salad at my Grandma's house every holiday.  I loved it so much, that back in 2001, I asked her for the recipe.  I still have the handwritten recipe card she gave me.  Since she passed away 2 years ago, it's a little bitter sweet pulling out the recipe card and seeing her handwriting.  Every time I make this recipe, I think of her.

I've slightly modified her original recipe, making it a large batch and leaving out the celery she used to add.  I also use Splenda instead of sugar to save calories without sacrificing flavor.

This isn't a cranberry sauce.  Keep that in mind.  This is meant to be eaten as a side dish on Thanksgiving or Christmas next to your turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc.  I think leftovers make a great dessert or breakfast.

It's best to make this salad the day before you plan on serving it since it needs quite a bit of time to set.

This is for you, Grandma.

Grandma's Cranberry Salad
Makes about 8 1-cup servings.
About 200 calories per serving.

Ingredients:
1 bag cranberries
4 c water
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 8-serving package sugar free Jello in cranberry, raspberry or strawberry
1 1/3 c Splenda (or sugar)
1 c chopped walnuts
4 c mini marshmallows
2 Honeycrisp apples, chopped

Method:
Rinse the cranberries and put them in a large pot.  Add the water, salt and baking soda.  Stir, and heat to medium-high.  Bring to a low boil and cook until the berries pop open, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Add the Jello and Splenda.

Let cool until the mixture starts to set.  You can put the pot on top of a potholder in the refrigerator to help speed up the cooling process.  It'll still take about 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before it's semi-set.

Meanwhile, if you have whole walnuts instead of chopped walnuts, you can easily chop them by putting them in a storage bag and pounding them with a rolling pin.

Chop the apples.

When the cranberry mixture starts to set, add the walnuts, mini marshmallows and apples.  Stir well to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl or container, ideally with a lid.  Refrigerate until completely set, ideally overnight.

Happy eating!