My grandmother, my mother and I love to try new recipes; mixing up a new dish or dessert with traditional foods is the way we celebrate holidays. So it’s pretty significant to say, this Festive Cranberry Whip recipe has been served as dessert at (nearly) every single New Years Day dinner for nearly 6 decades.
It’s not difficult to see why. While the whipped cream and sweetened cranberries dessert is simple to make, it tastes as indulgent as any triple layer cake or other labor-intensive treat. And after spending many, many hours in the kitchen during the holiday season, a quick favorite is a recipe for the success.
The recipe first came from my mom’s godmother; Bertha Hemman was one of the nearest neighbors of my mother’s family on the North Dakota plains – about 9 miles away. My mom remembers enjoying the Festive Cranberry Whip recipe according to the original recipe as a child – with crushed pineapple, marshmallows, cranberries and nuts. My mother’s Whip version is a sort of rich ambrosia with cranberries, chocolate chips, bananas and coconut. I prefer the recipe below. Apples and cranberries are a natural pair – but don’t leave out the bananas – you’ll find a new appreciation for the combination of bananas and berries.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cranberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 medium apple, unpeeled, chopped
- 1 medium banana, sliced
- 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 pint whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Directions
- In a food processor, process cranberries until finely chopped. Pour into a bowl, add granulated sugar and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Right before serving, pour cranberries into a serving bowl, add apples, bananas, nuts. Whip cream until stiff peaks form, stir in vanilla and powdered sugar. Fold whipped cream into cranberry mixture and serve immediately.
