Easy Cranberry Margaritas
Easy cranberry margaritas brings the fiesta to your holiday parties. Made with fresh lime, a delicious cranberry syrup and a good glug of tequila, this festive cocktail is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser this Christmas.
Ingredients
This cranberry margarita recipe is a classic margarita flavored with homemade cranberry syrup. If you’d prefer to keep this recipe non-alcoholic, simply leave out the tequila and Cointreau and replace with fresh orange juice or apple juice.
- Cranberries. I used frozen but fresh cranberries can be used too. If you’d prefer to skip the cranberry syrup, use cranberry juice instead.
- Sugar.
- Water.
- Orange peel.
- Fresh lime juice.
- Tequila.
- Cointreau / Grand Marnier / Triple Sec. Any orange liqueur will work.
- Ice.
- Salt, for the glass rims.
How to make cranberry margaritas
Make the simple syrup by combining the cranberries, sugar, water and orange peel in a small saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes until the cranberries have burst then allow to cool completely. Strain out the cranberries and the orange peel. The syrup can be kept in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a month.
To make the margaritas, combine the cranberry syrup, tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake well. Alternatively, blend all the ingredients together in a blender for a frozen margarita. You can make this in a large pitcher too if you’re serving a crowd.
To rim the glasses, use a lime wedge and wip the edge of the glass then dip into salt. Pour the margarita mixture into the glasses and add limes and cranberries then serve. Garnishing with rosemary sprigs will add even more Christmas cheer but is optional.
Christmas Cocktails
Ingredients
For the cranberry simple syrup
- 2 cups cranberries fresh/frozen
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- peel of 1 orange
For the Margarita
- cranberry syrup
- ¾ cup tequila
- ¼ cup Cointreau
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
To serve
- salt
- fresh limes
- cranberries
Instructions
- Make the simple syrup by combining the cranberries, sugar, water and orange peel in a small saucepan.
- Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 5 minutes until the cranberries have burst then allow to cool completely.
- Strain out the cranberries and the orange peel.
- The syrup can be kept in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a month.
- To make the margaritas, combine the cranberry syrup (I start with ½ cup and add more to taste), tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake well.
- Alternatively, blend all the ingredients together in a blender for a frozen margarita. You can make this in a large pitcher too if you're serving a crowd.
- To rim the glasses, use a lime wedge and wip the edge of the glass then dip into salt.
- Pour the margarita mixture into the glasses and add limes and cranberries then serve.
- Garnishing with rosemary sprigs will add even more Christmas cheer but is optional.
Nutrition
great idea, I’m loving cranberries in the last month in so many things, I want to use them much more often and not just Thanksgiving through Dec, and had never seen them in a margarita, so love that you though to, thank you!