Popping Candied Cranberries: Hit or Hype?

When I saw the viral videos of recipes for candied cranberries all over my social media feeds last holiday season, I knew I'd have to make a batch to try for myself. Time got away from me (as it often does) and I missed my opportunity to buy fresh cranberries last year, but I was ready when they hit the shelves a few weeks ago! Now, these aren't the pretty and sparkly sugared cranberries that are commonly used to decorate baked goods for Christmas; they're a whole separate trend and are eaten as more of a standalone snack than as a dessert garnish. According to the videos, they pop in your mouth when you bite down into them and explode in delicious flavor. The process is pretty simple with only a few ingredients that you might already have on-hand. It starts with soaking a bag of fresh, rinsed cranberries in a bowl of orange juice and lemon-lime soda in the fridge for 24 hours. After draining, coat them in a layer of powdered sugar, spread on a baking sheet and place it in a 200-degree oven for only five minutes. The oven heat is only to dry the berries, not to cook them, so don't leave them in there for too long or the sugar will start to melt. Remove from the oven and let cool. That's it. Your popping cranberries are done. My honest evaluation of this trend? Big, big hype. While some of the berries did pop when eaten, some didn't have much of a bursting effect at all and were a letdown. However, I did find that the longer they sat, the more they popped, and the ones that I stored in a container in my fridge overnight were somewhat crunchier. The flavor was a mixture of sweetness from the sugar and tart from the berry, and I'm not convinced that the soaking had much impact at all as cranberries are pretty much waterproof in their bog beginnings. Truthfully, I can't imagine eating them more than one or two at a time, so I suppose they might be good if served as part of a charcuterie board or as a party snack. My batch may end up cooked down into cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Not every viral recipe is a winner, and this one seems to be a perfect example of an overhype that underdelivers. Give the recipe a try for yourself and see how you feel about the popping candied cranberries trend. Candied Cranberries Recipe adapted from oceanspray.com Ingredients: 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries 1 can lemon-lime soda 1 cup orange juice 1 cup powdered sugar Instructions: Thoroughly rinse the fresh cranberries with cold water and remove any berries that look damaged or mushy. Combine the cranberries, soda and orange juice in a bowl. Cover and place in the fridge for 24 hours. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain the cranberries in a colander and pour them into a resealable bag or return to the empty bowl. Add the powdered sugar and shake vigorously until the cranberries are fully coated. Transfer the cranberries to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes and do not overbake. Allow to cool and serve or store in a sealed container in the fridge.