It's easy to make homemade cranberry sauce. Cook together fresh cranberries with water, sugar, and some spices. If you've got a fresh orange, it's a lovely addition to this sauce.
Wash cranberries. In a medium pot, combine cranberries, water, granulated sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. If using an orange, add the zest and juice. Stir to combine.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir frequently. When cranberries are soft, mash with either a wooden spoon or a potato masher. Do this right in the pot. Stir to combine. Cook until thick, about 12 minutes total.
Remove from heat. Serve sauce warm or allow to cool and then store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Sugar. As written, this recipe makes a sweet and tart sauce. For a sweeter cranberry sauce, increase sugar to one cup.
Pie Spice. Replace pie spice with ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ½ teaspoon ground ginger.
Orange Juice. The fresh orange and zest can be replaced with ½ cup orange juice.