Warning: This cranberry cream cheese dip is so good that your family will request that you bring it every year to Thanksgiving dinner until the end of time.  At lest that’s what happened when we made it last year.  Every year my wife asks if she can bring something to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner and every year my mom tells her “I think we have it covered”.  This has been hard for my wife to accept, as she loves to be crafty, make things, and contribute to events.  Then out of the blue last year, another family member decided to host the dinner and welcomed my wife to bring an appetizer.  She scoured the internet and found this cranberry cream cheese dip and decided to give it a shot.   So she whipped it up, brought it to dinner and low and behold, my mom was raving about it, telling her she would need to bring this dip every year from now on.  I could just see the glow in my wife’s face as she was finally given recognition and the go ahead to contribute something to my family’s very traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  A win for the wifey!

It was such a hit with my family that we decided everyone should be able to enjoy this incredible holiday season on a cracker.  You will not be disappointed with this recipe and neither will your family or friends.  So if you are hosting the dinner yourself or taking a dish to someone else’s place, do everyone a favor and make this very delicious, slightly addictive, and all around awesome, dip.

Recipe

Ingredients:    ( Serves a good size crowd, great for a party)

2 8oz packages cream cheese
12 oz fresh cranberries
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeño, seeded and chopped finely
1 cup sugar
1 Tbl. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cumin
dash of salt

Directions:

Remove cream cheese from the refrigerator an hour or two before making the dish so the cream cheese will be soft enough to spread.

Using a food processor, finely chop the fresh cranberries and put into a medium to large bowl.

Tip: You can also use the food processor to chop the jalapeño after removing the seeds.  This way you don’t have to handle it as much, since it sucks getting that spicy juice under your nails.

Add the remaining ingredients to the cranberries, minus the cream cheese.  Stir together thoroughly.  After a few minutes you will notice the mixture creating a lot of liquid (this is because the sugar is breaking down the cranberries)

Tip: using a fine strainer, strain the liquid from the cranberry mixture.  Trust me, sweet, sticky red liquid isn’t good for any of your holiday guests clothing.  Not doing this will result in a lot of liquid to deal with when trying to dip your crackers, not fun.

Spread your cream cheese onto the serving platter you will be using.  I used the back of a spoon and it worked quite nicely.  Top it with the cranberry mixture and spread it over the cream cheese evenly.

Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves or a couple of fresh cranberries.

Serve with wheat thins.

Try not to be a pig and share some with you guests.

I found the original recipe here.  I made a few modifications and added in a couple of tips to help make it easier to make and present.

Published by daddyandmefoodie

Hi, my name is Dawson. There is a whole world out there and I want to see as much as I can with my beautiful wife and amazing daughter. It is never too early or late to discover new places and what people eat there. Born and raised in a small town in California, I've led a simple life that leaves me craving far off destinations. My mom taught me the basics of cooking and I have been working in kitchens, delis, bakeries and cafeterias ever since. So along with recommendations of cool spots to eat, I will also add a few recipes here and there to share with everyone what I have been sharing with my family. View all posts by daddyandmefoodie