Sparkling Cranberry Apple Cider Punch

Elegant and delicious, this sparkling apple cider cranberry punch is festive, beautiful, absolutely delicious, and so easy to make!

Well, the good news is that this festive cranberry punch is just as tasty as it is pretty.

And. Guess what? There isn’t any bad news to follow.

Phew!

With an intro like that, I’d be a little worried to hear the news that to get this lovely pitcher on the table, it would require a 3-day, intense process to brew my own ginger ale and grow organic, backyard cranberries (both of which would take far longer than 3 days now that I think about it).

Nah. None of that nonsense here (especially since I clearly don’t know what I’m talking about with either aspect).

This delicious fizzy concoction is festive and simple.

We gulped this apple cider cranberry punch down on an average Saturday afternoon as I was playing around with quantities to get the flavor spot on and we all agreed it is a winner.

Those cranberries. Seriously. They add just the perfect tartness to the zippy, lightly sweet drink.

My kids, deprived children that they are seeing as how they are only offered water or milk at dinner, basically think we ought to serve this cranberry apple cider punch at all meals from now until forever (yes, breakfast too).

I crushed those dreams pretty quickly.

But never fear, their tender souls were saved, evidenced by the cheering, when they found out it would be appearing again for Christmas Eve dinner.

And yes, I am whole-heartedly giving thanks right this minute for children who have very low expectations about life and beverages; I’ve been forewarned that reality will not be this simple forever.

One Year Ago: Amazing Scottish Shortbread
Two Years Ago: Orange Zested Cranberry White Chocolate Bliss Bars {A Slightly Lighter Version}
Three Years Ago: Rock Salt Roast Chicken {Basically The Best Roast Chicken Ever}

Yield: Makes about 2 quarts

Sparkling Cranberry Apple Cider Punch

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 cups apple cider (see note), chilled
• 2 cups ginger ale, chilled
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups cranberry juice, chilled
• Crushed ice

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries and water and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the cranberries pop and split. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Let cool to room temperature (or chill in the refrigerator).
2. In a 2-quart pitcher, pour in the cranberry mixture. Add the apple cider, ginger ale, lemon juice and cranberry juice. Mix.
3. Serve in cups with crushed ice.

Notes:

The flavor of this punch is best using apple cider that is fresh-pressed, meaning, not the kind that is clear like apple juice – it should look slightly cloudy (but you could use the kind in the juice aisle in a pinch). Also if you can’t find 100% cranberry juice, you can try using a blend but you might want to cut down on the sugar in the recipe. I like to use Vernor’s ginger ale, it’s less sweet and just a bit more spunky in flavor.

If you want to make some of this ahead of time, combine everything but the ginger ale in the pitcher and refrigerate for several hours. Add the chilled ginger ale when ready to serve.

All images and text ©Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Recipe Source: inspired by this recipe from Martha Stewart and this one from How Sweet Eats and this one from Betty Crocker