TikTok's 3-Ingredient Candied Cranberries Are — And I'm Completely Serious — The Best Viral Recipe I've Ever Tasted

It seems like there's a different, low-key bizarre ingredient that takes social media by storm every year. For 2023, you might argue that it was cottage cheese in all its various (and often divisive) formats — from bread to cookie dough to ice cream. But this year, we've had an 11th-hour entry that, frankly, I could've never predicted: the humble cranberry.

Yes, cranberries — those floating bog fruits you've probably only thought of in the context of everyone's favorite Thanksgiving sauce, its alleged UTI-fighting prowess in juice form, Cosmos, and dried salad toppings. That is, until now.

As Thanksgiving approached this year, thousands of videos of people making batches upon batches of "candied cranberries" popped up everywhere. In the videos, they come together pretty easily: Cranberries are soaked overnight in a sweet liquid of the maker's choosing, coated in a generous layer of powdered sugar, and then baked for a few minutes at a low temperature to dry the sugary coating.

Since cranberries float when their fields are flooded with water during harvesting season, their sizable air pockets create quite a snap when they're bitten into. The result? A crunchy, sugar-coated treat that makes an audible pop with every bite.

To me, they seem like a riff on the classic sugared cranberry, in which raw cranberries are rolled in sugar syrup and coated in much coarser granulated sugar. But honestly, it's kind of impossible to know exactly where this recipe started. The first video I personally saw, which has over 10 million views, was from @cookiterica on TikTok, who initially posted about the sweet treat in 2022 to her 3 million followers. And that recipe was from her late grandmother!

Clearly, it's safe to say that this recipe is by no means a novel invention, even though it only took off in a massive way this year. All I know is that Ocean Spray must be throwing the holiday party of the century this year because, my god, I've never seen people lose their minds over cranberries like this.

In case you didn't realize it already, raw cranberries are disgusting. Horrific! So sour, bitter, and texturally bizarre (see the below photo at your own risk) that they're basically inedible. I tried one myself before attempting this recipe in my own kitchen, so trust me, I know. The "magic" of this recipe, though, as claimed by the thousands of people making them online, is that the sugary coating perfectly masks the bitter, sour punch each cranberry packs, and theoretically creates a Sour Patch Kid-like flavor profile.

But, to be fair, many others have claimed that these candied cranberries just aren't that great. Many liken the flavor to toothpaste or soap, and I've seen plenty of videos of people spitting them straight out after taking that initial explosive bite.

As a big fan of Sour Patch Kids and every form of cranberry that isn't the raw fruit itself, I thought I'd go ahead and test this one for myself...and boy, am I glad I did.

To make these candied cranberries yourself, you only need three easy-to-find and cheap ingredients: fresh cranberries (not dried!), powdered sugar, and a sweet liquid of your choosing. Many people online chose Prosecco and/or orange juice when they recreated this recipe in their own kitchens, but I opted for Sprite to keep things PG.

Here's how I made them. And before you get started, make sure to preheat your oven to 200ºF.

If you have a convection option, this is a great recipe to use it for, as the fan will help the coated cranberries dry more evenly.

STEP #1: Measure out your cranberries (I used 2 cups, but you could totally opt for more!) and rinse them in a colander under cool water. Now's also a good time to casually pick through them and discard any that seem deflated and wrinkly, underripe, or spoiled.

STEP #2: Add your rinsed and drained cranberries to a large food storage container with a tight-fitting lid. If you only have access to a non-lidded bowl, that's OK, too — but the lidded container will make the sugar-coating step a lot easier later on.

Quick note: This is going to be a departure from all the internet recipes, but bear with me. Although everyone online says you should soak your cranberries in Sprite (or another sweet liquid) overnight, I think it's completely unnecessary. @cookiterica even mentions that she's just "doing what [her] grandma did" when it comes to this step. Cranberries aren't porous! Remember: They float. They won't soak up anything. Here's my before and after with 24 hours between them. Notice any difference? I don't.

Ross Yoder

STEP #3: Instead, pour just enough Sprite over the cranberries to thoroughly moisten them, and give them a good stir. After they're mixed, drain them once more in a colander to ensure that any excess moisture has dripped off.

STEP #4: Here's the fun part. Add your moist (but not soaking wet!) cranberries back to your lidded food storage container, if you were using one. If your container doesn't have a lid, opt for a large zip-top bag. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar for every cup of cranberries you used; here, I used 2 cups. It'll likely be more than you need, but if you don't use enough, you'll end up with a sweet 'n' slimy mess.

STEP #5: Shake that container or bag vigorously for 20–30 seconds. Really bounce those things around, which will help break up any clumps and get every cranberry nicely coated. At the end of your shaking, your cranberries should look mostly dry without any clumping.

STEP #6: Using a clean hand or a slotted spoon, scoop up the powdered sugar-coated cranberries, shaking off any excess powdered sugar, and spread them out evenly on a sheet pan.

STEP #7: Bake them at 200ºF for no more than 5 minutes. Really, no more! All you want to do is dry that candied coating so that pleasant cranberry pop remains in every bite, so honestly, you don't even want to warm them.

STEP #8: After 5 minutes, remove the cranberries from the oven and allow them to set up. If you still see a moist spot or two, it'll dry out over time, so don't toss them back into the oven! Just let the air do its [drying] thing.

And, folks, that's it. You've got a tray of mini snowball-like candied cranberries ready to serve...or, in my case, devour over the stove like you haven't eaten in days.

If that wasn't an obvious enough admission, let me officially assure you that these are ridiculously delicious. To me, the Sour Patch Kid flavor profile was spot on, even if the texture was anything but. Honestly, these cranberries had a depth of flavor that I did not anticipate; initially, they're delightfully sweet from a generous layer of powdered sugar, then you're hit with a gentle note of floral sourness as you bite in. They finish with just the tiniest hint of bitterness to keep things interesting, so if bitter flavors aren't your thing, you might not love these as much as I did. But still, any sour or bitter notes paled in comparison to what a fresh cranberry tastes like on its own.

And the pop? Good lord, that pop is so satisfying. I'm used to people lying about how crunchy or texturally satisfying foods are online — often jacking up the volume of each bite (with mouths WIDE open) to deliver the most powerful crunch — but the pop on these bad boys is the real deal. Frankly, it's hard to explain. You kind of just have to experience it yourself.

So, readers, hear my plea: Make these. These are not your run-of-the-mill viral food trend that's secretly kind of bad and not worth spending time on. These candied cranberries probably only require five or so minutes of active, hands-on time (even if you do choose to soak them overnight), they're cheap as hell, and I promise your holiday guests have never had anything like them.

I'll be making a batch of candied cranberries for every get-together I have this holiday season, but will you? Drop your thoughts in the comments to let me know what you think of this recipe — especially if you've tried it yourself.