Naturally sweetened with orange juice and maple syrup, this Cranberry Sauce is so stupid easy to make and tastes so much better than the sugar-laden store-bought stuff... Plus, it can - and even should - be made ahead of time, so there are no excuses not to make your own!
Place the cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup, lemon juice and salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Keep a close eye on things: the cranberries will start to pop and the syrup will rise quite rapidly and might boil over if left unchecked.
As soon as the syrup starts to boil, turn the heat way down to a gentle boil and continue cooking, stirring from time to time, until the mixture has reduced to a thick vibrant red jam-like sauce, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla extract and let the sauce come down to room temperature then transfer it to an airtight container and place in the fridge to chill completely, at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. The sauce will be much thicker, and tastier, once chilled, and even more so after it’s had a chance to mature for a couple of days, so don't hesitate to prepare this cranberry sauce way ahead of time.
Stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, it will keep for up to a month.